Kristen Sneddon has pulled ahead in the tight race for Santa Barbara mayor, with a 296-vote lead over fellow council member Eric Friedman, according to Tuesday’s election results update.
Friedman led Sneddon in semi-official election night results and last week’s update, but she has edged ahead with about 33,000 ballots counted, according to the Santa Barbara County Elections Office.
Tuesday’s update includes an additional 7,999 ballots counted in the city of Santa Barbara and another 36,234 tabulated countywide.
Sneddon and Friedman found out about the updated results while they were on the dais during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The council took a short break soon after results were released, Noozhawk staff writer Rebecca Caraway reported from the council chambers.
“I feel cautiously optimistic and am still going to wait for the final count,” Sneddon told Noozhawk minutes after hearing about Tuesday’s results.
The wait for updates has been difficult, she said.
“It’s been difficult, I think for all of us, and you know, for the city, too, waiting to hear what’s going to happen,” she said.
She added that the city is in “good hands with the councilmembers,” noting the three new members elected: Gabe Escobedo, Ian Baucke and Devon Wardlow.
Sneddon also said she was proud of the city’s high turnout: 59.6% overall so far, and even higher in District 4 (67.1%) and District 5 (63.8%), which both had contested council races, according to the Elections Office.
“It shows people really care and really care about the outcome,” she said. “I’m just really, really impressed with the city of Santa Barbara.”
Friedman has also talked about the challenge of waiting for more results for the close race, which has kept candidates within a few hundred votes of each other in each new count.
He said Monday — when he had a narrow lead — that he wouldn’t dwell on the race and instead would focus on going to community events and spending time with his family.
“The way I’m approaching it right now is that all the votes are in. They just need to be counted,” Friedman said, “so it is completely out of anyone’s control at this point.”
Updates for Close Supervisor, Council Races
Ricardo Valencia has stayed ahead of Maribel Aguilera for the Fifth District County Supervisor seat, with 52.9% of the vote in the latest count.
The Santa Barbara County Elections Office update showed more changes for some races that were too close to call, with roughly 25,000 uncounted ballots.
Close races include seats on the Buellton and Lompoc city councils.
In Buellton, Mark Williams pulled ahead of Billy Silvola with a 32-vote lead for the District 1 seat. It was within 16 votes, with Silvola ahead, in earlier counts.
There was another change for the District 2 Lompoc City Council seat. Sharlameigne Segovia is now ahead of incumbent Victor Vega with a 12-vote lead, according to Tuesday’s results.
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Superintendent Kim Sheehan was encouraged that the Measure D $80-million bond appeared to be passing. It has 56.2% approval and requires 55% to pass.
“Our community has a long history of investing in the next generation, and we are deeply thankful to everyone who recognizes the importance of providing these opportunities for today’s students and those who will follow,” Sheehan said Monday.
The county will release additional updates Thursday by 3 p.m. Final results must be certified by Dec. 3.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
Noozhawk staff writer Rebecca Caraway contributed reporting to this story.
