March 5 Vote Final Results: County Sales Tax Hike, Hospital Bond Pass

By Jondi Gumz

All of the votes are counted from the March 5 election in Santa Cruz County and none of the outcomes changed.

Santa Cruz County residents in the unincorporated areas such as Aptos, Corralitos and Soquel can expect to pay more sales tax starting July 1 as 54.6% of the voters approved Measure K to raise the sales tax from 9% to 9.5%.

The measure needed only 50% plus one to pass.

The County estimated it will get $5 million to $7.5 million this fiscal year and $10 million in future fiscal years. The supervisors’ budget priorities this year include $1 million for housing and essential work force retention, $1 million for Countywide homeless services, $1 million to support climate resiliency and County parks, $1 million to fund road repair and infrastructure projects, and the reminder unspecified.

As of June 30, 2022, the county was liable for $403.1 million for pension benefits and $198.1 million for other retirement benefits.

Sales tax in Capitola is 9%.

In Scotts Valley and Watsonville, it’s 9.75%.

Sales tax in the City of Santa Cruz is going up, to match them, as 61.78% of voters approved an increase from 9.25% to 9.75%.

The Pajaro Valley Health Care District’s $116 million bond to purchase the Watsonville Community Hospital property from the out-of-town owner and upgrade the facility passed.

The district extends from Aptos into Pajaro.

In Monterey County, 1,096 voted, with 64.42% in favor — short of two-thirds needed to pass — but 14,479 voters in Santa Cruz County voted, with 68.55% in favor, made Measure N successful.

County Supervisor Races

In District 2, where the incumbent did not run, Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown got 5,310 votes – 32.77% — but she did not get a majority in the five-person race.

Kristen Brown

Kim De Serpa

She will be in a runoff Nov. 5 with Kim De Serpa, a member of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board, who finished second with 4,085 votes—25.21%.

David Schwartz, Bruce Jaffe and Tony Crane got 41% of the vote, and their supporters will have to choose another candidate.

In District 1, the incumbent Manu Koenig earned a second term with 9,264 votes to 8,310 for nonprofit founder Lani Faulkner and 104 write-ins. That’s 52.40% to 47.01%.

In District 5, where four candidates ran to succeed a retiring incumbent, no candidate got a majority of votes.

Monica Martinez

Christopher Bradford

Monica Martinez, CEO of the nonprofit Encompass, got 7,849 votes — 46.43 – will be in a runoff with Christopher Bradford, a software engineer, who got 3,619 votes for 21.41%.

Builder Tom Decker and Theresa Ann Bond, a member of the Los Gatos Saratoga Joint High School District board, got 31 % of the votes, and it remains to be seen who their backers will support.

All local school tax measures passed.

Live Oak School District’s $44 million bond measure needed 55% to pass and 64.63% voted yes.

In Happy Valley, a one-school school district, 83.97% of voters said yes to a $99 parcel tax for six years. A 2/3 yes vote was needed.

Voters in the Pacific Elementary School District in Davenport passed two bonds, which needed 55% to pass, one for $1.3 million, with 61.26% yes and one for $675,000 with 67.71% yes.

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March 5 Election Final Count
Supervisor, 1st District (Live Oak)

 Supervisor, 2nd District (Aptos)

Supervisor, 5th District (SLV-SV)

K – Santa Cruz County Sales & Use Tax Increase – Majority to pass

N – Pajaro Valley Health Care District 30-Year Bond – 2/3 to pass

Monterey County
Pajaro Valley Health Care District 30-Year Bond – 2/3 to pass

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For state offices, the top two vote-getters move on to the general election regardless of party preference or whether one candidate receives a majority of all votes cast in the primary election.

Here are the final Santa Cruz County results at www.votescount.us:

State Assembly 28th District

State Assembly 29th District

State Assembly 30th District

State Senate District 17th District

U.S. Congress 18th District

U.S. Congress 19th District