It's too close to call. The unofficial results as of Wednesday morning show just eight votes separate the yes and no vote on Carpinteria's Measure T, with the proposal leaning slightly towards defeat.
Measure T is called the “Parcel Rezoning Initiative” and is centered around a proposal to build a hotel in Carpinteria’s downtown area. Opponents put Measure T on the ballot, which would rezone the area to permanently bloc a project of this type.
The numbers show a 50.14% no vote, to 49.86% yes. But, some mail-in ballots have yet to be counted, and that's expected to take days.
Voters are sending two members of Congress from the Tri-Counties back to Washington, D.C. for new terms.
Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara defeated Republican challenger Dr. Brad Allen by a 61% to 39% margin. The 24th District Congressman won a fourth term in office by a nearly 30,000 vote margin.
And Democratic Congressman Julia Brownley of Westlake Village is getting a sixth term in office, topping Republican challenger Matt Jacobs. The 26th District Congresswoman received 54% of the vote, to 46% for Jacobs.
There appears to be a clear-cut winner in one supervisorial race on the South Coast, but there’s a bit of a question in the second.
In Ventura County’s Fourth Supervisorial District. Janice Parvin won the seat. Moorpark’s current mayor received 64% of the vote, to 36 percent for Bernardo Perez.
But, in the Second District, things are much closer. Former Ventura County State Assemblyman Jeff Gorrell was facing longtime Thousand Oaks City Councilwoman Claudia Bill de la Pena. Gorell received 50.49% of the vote, to Bill de la Pena’s 49.51%. It’s a 414 vote difference. Still to be counted are mail-in ballots, and that could take days.
Voters decided a race for a wide open State Assembly race in the Tri-Counties.
Santa Barbara County Supervisor Gregg Hart defeated former County Supervisor Mike Stoker for the 37th District State Assembly seat. Hart received 58% of the vote, to Stoker’s 42%.
38th District Assemblyman Steve Bennett won a second term in office by a large margin. The Ventura-based Democrat defeated Republican challenger Cole Brocato by a 60% to 40% margin.
And, in the 42nd District, Democratic Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin of Thousand Oaks won a fifth term in office, defeating Republican challenger Lori Mills by 54% to 46%.
Voters in the Tri-Counties said yes to a number of bond measures to help the region’s schools, but not in all cases.
Voters in the Ventura Unified, Fillmore Unified, Rio, Oxnard, and Mupu School Districts approved bond measure to fund project to repair, and replace school infrastructure.
In Santa Barbara County, bond proposals were okayed in the Buellton and Guadalupe, School Districts. And, voters in the Hope Elementary School District approved a proposal to keep the district's parcel tax in place for another five years.
But, bond proposals ran into trouble in two of Santa Barbara County’s districts.
In the College School District, a $23 million bond proposal received a 52% yes vote. But, bond measures of this type need a 55% yes vote to pass. And, a bond proposal for the Lompoc Unified School District ran into the same problem. It also got a 52% yes vote, a majority, but not the 55% supermajority needed to pass.
Voters in one South Coast community are apparently happy with its name.
Port Hueneme residents faced a simple question: Should they change the city’s name to Hueneme Beach? The idea was to make it more attractive for visitors. Voters said no in a big way, by a 68% to 32% margin.
Oxnard voters approved Measure C, which would change term limits. City Council members can only serve two consecutive terms. Then, they have to sit out two years before running again.
In Ojai, there will be some changes in the way its city council is elected, but one question is still up in the air.
Measure L called for shifting election of Ojai’s mayor from voters, to the city council, which would pick one of its members to serve. Many cities do that. But, it appears to be going down to defeat, with a 50.35% no vote to a 49.65% yes vote. There’s a 14 vote margin, so mail-in ballots will have to be counted before the issue is decided.
Voters did approve Measure M, which switches the election of city council members from districts, to at large.
Solvang’s voters approved Measure U, a one cent sales tax hike to support city services, and programs. They okayed it by a 65% to 35% margin.
Goleta’s voters also approved a sales tax hike to help fund public safety, and street repairs. The City’s sales tax will go up 1%, from 7.75%, to 8.75%.
Goleta voters also okayed Measure C, a ban on tobacco-flavored products.
Lompoc voters approved Measure X, a bed tax to raise money for public safety.
And, in Guadalupe, Measure Z, which is also transient occupancy tax proposal, is too close to call. There’s a 50.8% no vote to a 49.2% yes vote. Here’s how close it is. The yes and no votes are separated by just one vote, so the election will be decided by uncounted main-in ballots.
All of the results are technically unofficial. The final mail-in allots have to be added in, and the results certified.
