This story was last updated at 1:26 p.m. Wednesday.
Solvang voters booted Councilman Chris Djernaes from office on Tuesday, and chose his replacement, two other council members and a new mayor, with election results showing residents rejected the current panel’s performance.
Unofficial results released early Wednesday showed the recall of Djernaes, on the ballot as Measure P2002, garnering 87.0% of the votes, with 13.0% voting against it, with all three precincts reporting.
Recall supporters cited Djernaes’ alleged disdain for constituents, disrespect to city staff and disregard for state open meeting laws among reasons for targeting his removal two years into his four-year term.
During a meeting earlier this year, one speaker noted that Djernaes did not appear to be paying attention to public comment and was openly laughing. At the same meeting, he could be heard apparently referring to the residents’ comments as “nonsense.”
Council members also were chastised after Djernaes attempted to find out who filed a Ralph M. Brown (Open Meeting) Act complaint with the District Attorney’s Office, leading prosecutors to warn the entire panel against retaliation.
In his response to the recall, Djernaes said he “rejected the specious accusations made against me.”
Lammy Johnstone, one of the recall organizers, noted the grassroots effort behind the campaign to remove “somebody who was incorrect to represent us.”
“I am so proud of the citizens of Solvang,” Johnstone said Tuesday night.
“It’s extremely unusual to be able to attain a recall, and that says a lot for the city of Solvang,” she added. “It says a lot for the people here in Solvang. We are together. We know what’s right. We know what’s wrong. If we feel there’s something wrong we’re going to do something about it. And tonight we did. “
Djernaes did not respond to a request for comment.
A decision about who should replace Djernaes — from a field of two candidates — showed retired sheriff Jim Thomas winning with 70.4%, over local businessman Jamie Baker, with 28.6%.
Those are just two of the decisions Solvang voters faced Tuesday.
With Mayor Ryan Toussaint choosing not to run for re-election, two candidates battled for the job.
Councilwoman Karen Waite went up against newcomer Charlie Uhrig, a deputy with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. He previously served as Solvang’s community resource officer and now works a bailiff in Santa Barbara Superior Court.
Uhrig earned 57.2% compared to Waite’s 42.3%, according to unofficial election results.
Meanwhile, Mark Infanti and Claudia Orona led the pack seeking two seats on the City Council with 30.7% and 26.7%, respectively.
For the two other candidates in the race, Justin Rodriguez had 25.5 percent while Chris Bowyer received 16.3%.
In the coming days, elections officials will count remaining ballots, something required after each election.
The new council members will be sworn in next month.
However, Djernaes could find himself out of a job sooner — once election results have been certified.
— 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.
