This story was last updated at 1:43 p.m.
Early results showed a pair of North County mayors seemingly on their way to re-election, as the Santa Barbara County Elections Office released results Tuesday night including vote-by-mail and precinct ballots.
In the results with nearly 100% of precincts reporting, Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino was ahead in the three-candidate race for the mayoral seat, with 66.3% of the vote.
“I’m very pleased, I’m very happy that people are going to put me back for a third term,” Patino said late Tuesday night. “It’s exciting to be mayor at this time.”
In additon to dealing with the impacts of COVID-19, the city is prepping to update it General Plan, a pivotal project that will serve as the vision for future growth in Santa Maria, she said.
“It’s really an exciting time to be involved in politics here in California,” she added.
Candidate Will Smith, educator/author, received 16.9% in early results while barber and business owner Alberto Ugalde, a newcomer to city politics, received 16.3%.
For Santa Maria’s District 1, representing northwest neighborhoods, four newcomers sought the job. This was the first election to pick the District 1 council member since the city switched from at-large elections to district-based system.
Carlos Escobedo, a community outreach specialist, initially led the field with 43.9% of the vote in early results, followed by Osvaldo Sotelo, a nonprofit educator, who had 33.3%.
Trailing were Brian Billones, a health care business manager, who had 11.8% and Christopher Diaz, a college professor, who had 10.2% of the vote with 100 percent of precincts reporting.
Escobedo said he was grateful and proud of his team for their efforts in helping him get elected.
During the campaign, Escobedo said he walked his district visiting hundreds of residences to hear from people.
Campaigning, especially during a pandemic, brought a lot of challenges,
“But I learned a lot in the process and I’m eager to learn more now as a city council member,” said Escobedo, whose campaign was supported by Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino.
In Lompoc with all 11 precincts reporting, Mayor Jenelle Osborne appeared headed to a two-year term wielding the gavel, collecting 55.5% of the votes compared to the 43.7% for challenger Victor Vega, a city council member.
Osborne said she was proud of the community’s turnout.
“They’ve come out, they’ve voted and early signs show they are wanting to see a change in leadership here,” she said, noting the election of Councilwoman Gilda Cordova and newcomer Jeremy Ball to the council to “not just talk about potential of Lompoc but deliver that change everyone needs in our community.”
For the council’s District 4 seat representing the southwest neighborhoods, incumbent Jim Mosby faced a strong challenge from Ball, a businessman and community advocate.
In the early results tally, Ball had 59.1% of the vote compared to Mosby’s 40.6%.
“I’m just excited that Lompoc has invested in my ideas and some of the thoughts that we brought to the community and their interest to see what we might be able to do with a collaborative collective effort,” said Ball, who grew up in Lompoc.
Lompoc and Santa Maria had additional City Council seats up for election this year, but the offices were uncontested.
Santa Maria Councilman Mike Cordero, a retired police lieutenant who spent 36 years in law enforcement, will get a third four-year term. He served from 2008 to 2012 and from 2016 to 2020. As the District 2 council member, he represents the northeast neighborhoods.
Lompoc Councilwoman Gilda Cordova also ran unopposed for her first four-year term. She was appointed in January 2019 to fill a vacancy on the panel.
She represents District 1, or the northern neighborhoods in the city. Cordova, who works in the hospitality industry, also is president of Explore Lompoc.
The new terms for both Lompoc and Santa Maria councils begin in December.
Buellton City Council
The incumbent mayor was ahead in early results in the three-candidate race in Buellton.
Mayor Holly Sierra saw challenges from fellow council member, Ed Andrisek, and newcomer Isaac Oltmans, a brand manager.
Early results showed Sierra leading with 59.6% of the vote, followed by Andrisek with 30.2% and Oltmans with 9.8%.
Four hopefuls ran for the two council seats, including a pair of incumbents, Art Mercado, an irrigation supervisor, and John Sanchez. The other candidates are Elysia Lewis, a public finance manager; and Joseph Carter, a physician assistant and National Guardsman.
Vote-by-mail ballot and two precinct results, with 3,2070 cast in the Buellton City Council race, showed Sanchez leading with 32.0% of the vote, followed by Lewis with 28.5%; Mercado with 25.8%; and Carter with 13.5% of the vote.
Carpinteria City Council
Three people sought two seats on the Carpinteria City Council, and incumbent Wade Nomura appears to be heading toward another four-year term.
Nomura, who is currently serving as mayor, received 45.8% of the vote in early results, followed by Natalia Alarcon, a program manager/psychotherapist, with 41.37%, and Mark McIntire, media presenter, with 12.4%, according to unofficial results all precincts reporting.
The top two vote-getters will win the terms.
Councilman Fred Shaw chose not run for re-election, clearing the way for at least one newcomer to join the City Council.
Unofficial election results are still developing and are likely to change as more ballots are received and processed in the days afterward.
Ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 can arrive at the Santa Barbara County Elections Office by Nov. 20 and be counted.
County election results are typically finalized and certified several weeks after an election. The Board of Supervisors certified the March 3 election results on April 21, seven weeks later.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
