Santa Barbara City Council District 5 candidate Ian Baucke was ahead in election night results. He thanked supporters and volunteers and said his success as a young, progressive candidate was a good reminder not to make assumptions.
Santa Barbara City Council District 5 candidate Ian Baucke was ahead in election night results. He thanked supporters and volunteers and said his success as a young, progressive candidate was a good reminder not to make assumptions. Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photo

In the three-way race for the Santa Barbara City Council‘s District 5 seat, Ian Baucke came out with a big early lead Tuesday night and kept it as more ballots were counted.

Baucke had 62.2% of the vote in semi-official election night results. 

Cevin Cathell was in second place with 26.8%, while James Zurlinden trailed with 10.3%.

District 5 includes Upper De la Vina Street, Samarkand, Upper State Street down to Cliff Drive, and the Hidden Valley and San Marcos neighborhoods.

The candidates are running to take over the seat currently represented by Eric Friedman, who is seeking the mayor’s post.

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, Baucke is a member of the city’s Transportation Committee. He is also a staffer for state Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón.

“I’m really, really glad that folks voted in large numbers early and really showed up, up and down the ballot,” Baucke said in response to the early results. “Things are looking really great for progressive Democrats and I’m really excited to work with all of them at a local level here.” 

He thanked supporters and volunteers, noting that some of them were out at 5 a.m. on Election Day. “It makes a difference, people power,” he said. 

Baucke said his successful early showing as a young candidate “is a really good reminder to everybody not to make assumptions.” District 5 includes a lot of seniors, and many of them supported him as potentially the second-youngest person to ever be on the City Council, he said. 

“That just goes to show this country, this community, we’re ready for fresh leadership, ready for change, all the way from Washington down to City Hall,” Baucke said. 

To District 5 residents, he said, “Whether you voted for me or not, this is my town, my hometown, my forever home, where my family is, where my future family is going to be. I’m here to serve everybody.” 

Cevin Cathell on election night in Santa Barbara.
Cevin Cathell on election night in Santa Barbara. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

Cathell is a longtime film producer who moved to Santa Barbara 26 years ago with her husband.

Before settling into her film career in Los Angeles, Cathell spent time as a staffer in the Texas Legislature in different roles. She also worked in the music industry and for nonprofit organizations.

After early results come in, Cathell was still in high spirits Tuesday night, feeling proud of her campaign.

“I feel like we ran a really good race,” Cathell said.

She’s also appreciative of how involved and interested District 5 voters were in the race.

“That to me was the most endearing thing that I’ve learned,” Cathell said. “I really, really appreciate so many people in District 5 being so thoughtful about what’s happening.”

Zurlinden is a financial planner and retired chef. He was born in Arizona and studied culinary arts in Denver before moving to Santa Barbara in the early 2000s. He eventually moved back to Arizona, but he returned to Santa Barbara in 2013.

Semi-official election results were released around 1:48 a.m. Wednesday and additional updates will be released in the coming days as more ballots are processed and counted. Final, certified results will be available by Dec. 3. 

— Noozhawk staff writer Rebecca Caraway can be reached at rcaraway@noozhawk.com.