Vice Mayor David Silva took an early lead Tuesday over incumbent David King in the race for Buellton mayor and kept it as updated election night results were reported.

Silva had 52.4% of the vote in final results released Tuesday night, while King had 47.4%, according to the Santa Barbara County Elections Office.

Silva works at UCSB as director of development for annual giving. He was elected to the Buellton council in 2022 and serves as the vice mayor.

Silva ran his campaign on the goal of making Buellton more modern and open to families. He said he was motivated by his desire to improve the city’s social services, and help it adapt to its changing demographic.

He said he felt very excited and motivated about the early lead.

“When I went out to talk to people they said this is the first time someone from the council reached out to them and asked what they thought. I think that really resonated with them,” Silva said.

During his campaign, King touted his record and promised voters that he could build on his successes if he was allowed to continue.

One of King’s goals during his term was to bring some changes to Highway 246, which he and other residents say is too dangerous. Locals have long complained about speeding through the area.

As mayor, King was able to negotiate with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office to get officers to patrol the area. King was also working with Caltrans to reduce the lanes to stop cars from speeding.

Two council members — Elysia Lewis and John Sanchez — ran uncontested for their seats.

In addition to City Council races, Buellton has two local measures on the ballot.

Measure C, which would extend and amend the city’s urban growth boundary, was passing with 59.8% of the vote. The measure requires a majority vote to pass (50% plus one vote).

If the measure is approved, the city would be able to expand municipal services to new areas if a developer applies and meets certain criteria.

The boundary was first adopted in 2008, and was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025.

The other ballot item was Measure D, an attempt to increase the transient-occupancy tax rate from 12% to 14%. The tax applies to people who stay in local hotels, motels and short-term rentals.

The measure was passing with 54.0% of the vote.

Buellton was not the only city attempting to increase the tax as Santa Barbara County, Solvang and Carpinteria also had TOT increases on Tuesday’s ballot.

The Elections Office will be updating results as more ballots are counted in the upcoming days and weeks. The county will certify election results on Dec. 3.

Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.