By Jondi Gumz
Wednesday morning, three-term incumbent John Leopold conceded to challenger Manu Koenig in the First District county supervisor race.
Manu Koenig
According to unofficial results from Nov. 3 posted at votescount.us, Koenig had 56 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Leopold, a margin of 3,500 of the 30,000 votes cast.
Leopold posted on social media saying, “Although I wanted a different result, I accept the will of the voters.”
He said he had offered his assistance to Koenig in the transition and that he would look for new ways to contribute to the community.
All of these results are unofficial, with vote tallies to be updated.
In the Scotts Valley City Council race for three seats, incumbents Randy Johnson (currently mayor), Donna Lind and Jack Dilles each had more than 3,800 votes while challenger John Lewis, an engineer, had 2,284.
In the Scotts Valley Unified School District, a $49 million bond measure has 53.27 percent in favor, falling shot of the 55 percent needed to pass.
In the Soquel Creek Water District race for two seats, incumbents Bruce Daniels and Tom LaHue are far ahead of challengers Maria Marsilio and Corrie Kates. Daniels has 15,519 votes, LaHue 11,018, Marsilio 5,151 and Kates 3,886.
In the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency race, Stephen Rider has 55 percent to 45 percent for John Kegebein.
In the San Lorenzo Valley Water District race for two seats, newcomers Gail Mahood, a retired geology professor, has 8,180 votes, and Tina Marie To, an environmental scientist is next with 4,735 votes. Incumbent Lew Farris, a biotech manager, trails with 3,306 and newcomer Beth Thomas, a retired education director, has 3,178.
In the Cabrillo College board member races, which are by district, two incumbents are trailing by wide margins.
Two-term Watsonville City Council member Felipe Hernandez leads with 62 percent of the vote as incumbent Leticia Mendoza has 38 percent.
Retired educator Steven Laird Trujillo leads with 59 percent of the vote to 41 percent for incumbent Edward K Banks, who has been on the board since 2012.
Incumbent Rachael Spencer leads with 62 percent of the vote to 38 percent for challenger Diana Alfaro, a housing project manager.
In the race for Superior Court judge, Nancy De La Pena has 71 percent of the vote to 29 percent for Annrae Angel, who had stopped campaigning.
In the Santa Cruz County Board of Education race, which are by district, one upset was in the works.
Challenger Ed Acosta, an ag manager, has 74.5 percent of the vote to 25.5 percent for incumbent Dana Sales, a real estate agent who has been on the board since 1992. Acosta filed a ballot statement and Sales did not.
Newcomer Alyssa Wall, an educator, has 64 percent of the vote to 36 percent for newcomer Brad Williams, an emergency room nurse, in the race to succeed Jane Barr.
Incumbent Sandra Nichols, a retired teacher, has 67 percent to 33 percent for Mike Kubo, a research scientist.
Two-term incumbent Maria Orozco, founding board member of Pajaro Valley Education Association, has 58.5 percent to 41.5 percent for Adam Bolanos Scow, an environmental advocate.
Amanda Hernandez, a patient care technician, has 55 percent to 45 percent for Oscar Soto, a safety inspector, in the race to succeed Karen Osmundson.
This year’s election turnout in Santa Cruz County was 74 percent compared to 84 percent in 2016.
And the election was different because of safety precautions due to COVID-19, the contagious coronavirus. Mail ballots were sent to all registered voters under an executive order by Gov. Newsom, which Sutter Superior Court Judge Sarah Heckman ruled Monday exceeded his authority. This ruling won’t affect the election because the Legislature passed a subsequent law authorizing the all-mail mandate.
The mailed ballots led to 115,291 votes by mail and 11,133 voting in person, according to the county Elections Office.