Santa Barbara County and neighboring areas could have new leaders at the helm in the coming months as a result of Tuesday’s election. In other races, longtime politicians will be returning to their seats.
19th Senate District
Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson was leading Republican Mike Stoker Tuesday night for the state’s 19th Senate District seat.
Jackson had 52.8 percent of the vote and Stoker had 47.2 percent with 49.7 percent of precincts reporting.
The district encompasses Santa Barbara County and part of Ventura County.
35th Assembly District
Incumbent Republican Katcho Achadjian held a big lead over Democrat Gerry Manata for the 35th State Assembly District in early returns Tuesday night. Achadjian had 64.1 percent of the votes with 15.5 percent of precincts reporting, while Manata had 35.9 percent.
The 35th District includes the southern half of Santa Barbara County and about a quarter of Ventura County.
37th Assembly District
Democrat Das Williams appeared headed for victory Tuesday night over Republican Rob Walter in the race for the 37th Assembly District.
Williams had 58.5 percent of the votes tallied and Walter had 41.5 percent, with 59 percent of precincts reporting.
The 37th District includes about half of Ventura County and about half of Santa Barbara County.
Buellton City Council
Buellton Mayor Holly Sierra and newcomer Leo Elovitz were leading in a three-way race for two seats on the Buellton City Council with just the vote-by-mail ballots counted Tuesday night.
In very early returns, Sierra held 43.4 percent of votes, Elovitz had 31.2 percent, and Vice Mayor Dave King had 25.1 percent as election workers continued to count ballots.
Mission Hills CSD
Two newcomers appeared to be headed onto the Mission Hills Community Services District board Tuesday night after a battle pitting a trio of challengers against three incumbents.
After receiving 20.9 percent of the ballots cast, with 40 percent of the votes counted, Tim Naughton was leading the field of six candidates. Incumbent Bruce Nix followed with 17.9 percent of the vote, and Danny Hayes had 17.4 percent.
The field also includes incumbents Cathy Schlottmann and Susan Warnstrom and chemical engineer Walter Fasold. A recent fee increase prompted the newcomers to challenge the incumbents for the available four-year terms on the board.
The district provides water, sewer and street-sweeping to about 1,275 customers in the Mission Oaks and Mesa Oaks neighborhoods northeast of Lompoc.
Santa Maria Public Airport District
A mixture of incumbents and newcomers appeared poised Tuesday night to win seats on the Santa Maria Public Airport District Board of Directors.
The district had two races Tuesday — five men were seeking three four-year terms, while three other people were vying for a two-year term.
For the longer terms, incumbent Chuck Adams was in the lead with 24.2 percent of the votes cast, with 30 percent of precincts reporting. He was trailed by David Baskett with 22.2 percent followed by appointed incumbent Don Lahr at 20.7 percent. Candidates Hugh Rafferty and Tomas “Tom” Lopez trailed with 19.2 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.
The race for the short term, created by the death of Ted Eckert in 2011 and then an appointment of his replacement, had three people. Incumbent Carl Engel was leading with 62.1 percent of the vote, according to Tuesday’s early results. He was trailed by Teresa Arredondo with 24.8 percent and Marty Montez with 12.9 percent.
Unlike most airports in the state, Santa Maria’s is operated by a special district overseen by a five-member board. The airport district encompasses 400 square miles.
11/7/12 Santa Maria Times Staff report