The SLO County primary's over, but the post-election drama continues

The votes are in, and in most cases, it wasn’t even close. With one exception, local incumbents — including the sheriff and the district attorney — easily prevailed.

County voters also gave a big thumb’s up to a marijuana tax; joined the rest of the California in sending gubernatorial candidates Gavin Newsom (D) and John Cox (R) to the November general election; and mirrored the state in voting yes on every proposition except Prop. 70, which would have rejiggered the way cap-and-trade revenue is allocated (yes, it was confusing).

We offer our congratulations to the winners and condolences to those not so successful.

Without future ado, here’s our post-election roundup:

The Latino Outreach Council (with a special shoutout to President Jacqueline Frederick) and the League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County, who did an outstanding job of hosting a series of candidates’ forum. You were both fair and unflappable.

The Fourth District supervisor’s race pitting incumbent Lynn Compton, a conservative Republican, against Democrat Jimmy Paulding, a 32-year-old political rookie. By the end of the night, Compton was ahead, but only by 83 votes.

With thousands of vote-by-mail ballots still left to count, this race is way too close to call. Even if he ultimately loses, this was a huge victory for Paulding and for SLO County progressives, who demonstrated that even in a historically Republican district, conservative candidates are vulnerable.

Sheriff Ian Parkinson: “There is relief that I have people in the community who have supported me, and I know I have work to do for those who don’t.” That’s a gracious comment from any winner — especially one who’s way out in front.

Supervisor Lynn Compton, who’s locked in a tight race with Jimmy Paulding: “I hope it doesn’t drag on for days.”

North Coast Supervisor Bruce Gibson easily defeated two challengers in District 2, in a campaign that was almost annoyingly ho-hum. One challenger, Patrick Sparks, was barely heard from; Jeff Eckles put up more of a fight, but in the end, was no match for Gibson. As a result, there will be no November run-off.

It’s extremely rare for a sitting judge to be challenged at the ballot box in San Luis Obispo County, but it happened this year. (We don’t have positive confirmation, but the last time this happened may have been 40 years ago.)

That led to some hand-wringing over whether the judiciary has become too embroiled in partisan politics. In the end, Judge Hernaldo Baltodano, who was appointed to the bench last year, easily prevailed over his challenger, prosecutor Andy Cadena.

Now here’s the question: Will another SLO County judge be challenged in our lifetimes? If you’re over 50, probably not. Under 50, we’d say the odds are even.

County Assessor Tom Bordonaro cruised to his fifth straight victory, in spite of accusations that he’s rarely in the office. (He denied that.)

Sheriff Ian Parkinson and District Attorney Dan Dow also had big wins, defeating candidates whose key issue had been the jailhouse death of a mentally ill inmate who was held in a restraint chair for 46 straight hours.

While the sheriff and DA won handily, it’s worth noting that their challengers were largely unknown at the start of the campaign and were seriously lacking in management experience, yet each finished with 35 percent or more of the vote.

Lynn Compton tried to shame Jimmy Paulding because his dad gave him a house ... an accusation that was somewhat misleading, since Paulding had made some payments on the home.

The photo of the house with a big red bow Photoshopped on the roof and a “Love: Dad” notation at the bottom was a snarky touch, but the accompanying photo of Paulding sporting a five-o’clock shadow and an earring struck a particularly low note.

At least Compton had the courtesy to black out Jimmy Paulding’s home address. One of DA Dan Dow’s fliers reproduced a legal document filed by his opponent, Judge Mike Cummins, without bothering to hide Cummins’ home address. Tacky.

Statewide, unaffiliated — or decline to state — voters have overtaken Republicans as the second largest “party.”

In San Luis Obispo County, they rank third, behind Republicans (60,646) and Democrats (58,074). Still, with 37,521 “members,” SLO County’s decliners are a force to be reckoned with, and they’re a wild card. Are they liberal? Conservative? In between? Their emergence means nothing can be taken for granted.

Millennials. There are a lot more Jimmy Pauldings out there. So, Boomers, you’d best stop calling them kids and start taking them, and their concerns, seriously.

This story was originally published June 6, 2018 at 4:50 PM with the headline "The SLO County primary's over, but the post-election drama continues."