Challenger Roy Lee appears to have achieved an upset victory over incumbent Das Williams in the race for the First District seat on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.
With all precincts reporting, Lee had 51.9% of the vote to 47.6% for Williams.
They were separated by 637 votes in the district that includes the Carpinteria Valley, Montecito, Summerland, and much of Santa Barbara. But it’s unlikely the remaining uncounted mail-in and provisional ballots will be enough to change the outcome.
Turnout in the race was very low — just over 27% — and it’s not known how many ballots remain to be counted.
“There’s a lot of counting left to do, but we are thankful for all the support so far,” Lee told Noozhawk early in the evening. “I am happy and I am grateful for all of the support. It’s not over yet, but I am just happy.”
Lee celebrated with about 100 supporters at Uncle Chen Restaurant in Carpinteria, which his family owns.
Williams, who lives in Carpinteria, held his party in Goleta, at Pepe’s Restaurant.
Williams raised three times as much money for his campaign as Lee, who jumped into the race late and didn’t see his campaign start to gain momentum until January.
Williams has served two terms on the board, and spent six years in the state Assembly, and seven years on the Santa Barbara City Council.
“I learned a lot from the last few months, you know, both good and bad,” Williams said Tuesday night.
“I want to take what I’ve learned and try to do an even better job and to be as open as possible to folks who may not see things the way that I do. I am a bit overwhelmed by the volunteers, the people who walk for me, who phone for me, but I also want to be there for the folks who had their doubts,” he said.
Williams has faced criticism for helping to craft the county’s cannabis ordinance and taking campaign donations from industry members.
He did not get political endorsements this year from some organizations who have previously supported him, including the Women’s Political Committee and the Santa Barbara County Democratic Women.
Meanwhile, Lee was endorsed by several prominent former county and city employees, including District Attorney Joyce Dudley, Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Pat McElroy and Undersheriff Barney Melekian, who also briefly served as head of the Santa Barbara Police Department.
The County Elections Office will provide additional election results updates before the results are certified in early April.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story and other election results stories.
