Original Santa Cruz Sentinel article
By: PK Hattis
With approximately 1,000 eligible ballots remaining to be counted, the race for the 3rd District Supervisor seat appears to be headed for a November runoff.
The Santa Cruz County Elections Department on Tuesday afternoon posted almost 15,000 additional vote by mail tabulations to its website. As of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, 76,344 total votes had been received, equaling 45.5% turnout.
In the race to replace outgoing 3rd District supervisor Ryan Coonerty, Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson had expanded her lead over Justin Cummings, with a total of 541 votes currently separating the two candidates. Kalantari-Johnson had 6,181 votes or 43.3% and Cummings had 5,640 votes or 39.5%.
In nonpartisan district supervisor races, one candidate must receive more than 50% of the primary vote to declare outright victory in the primary. If all fail to surpass this threshold, the top two vote getters advance to a runoff election in November. Given that about 1,000 ballots remain to be counted, it appears neither candidate will receive more than 50% of the total votes, causing Kalantari-Johnson and Cummings to advance to a runoff election in November.
Jimmy Dutra leads opponent Felipe Hernandez by 463 votes, as the two candidates continue to vie for the upcoming vacancy in the 4th District supervisor seat currently held by Greg Caput. As of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dutra had 2,846 votes or 46% while Hernandez had 2,383 or 38.6%. With only 1,000 ballots remaining, it appears unlikely that either candidate will receive more than 50% of the total votes, though it is mathematically still possible for Dutra.
Still, Dutra told the Sentinel in an emailed statement on Wednesday afternoon that his campaign had shifted its attention to the November runoff.
“We are extremely happy with the strong performance of our campaign,” Dutra wrote. “Though we were outspent by tens of thousands of dollars by my opponent, our movement in giving south county an independent and effective voice spoke louder than their overwhelming amount of resources. We have garnered over 46% of the vote and look forward to November.”
The Hernandez campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other races
As of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Democrat Gail Pellerin continues to keep her lead – both overall and within Santa Cruz County – in the race for state Assembly District 28. In Santa Cruz County, Pellerin has received 19,002 votes or 53%. Overall, she is still the top vote getter with 37,532 or 34.8%. Republican Liz Lawler is in second with 32,516 votes or 30.1%.
Democratic incumbent Robert Rivas holds a commanding lead in the District 29 race which includes portions of Santa Cruz County. He had 36,768 overall votes or 64.1%, while Republican opponent Stephanie L. Castro is in second with 20,575 votes or 35.9%. Dawn Addis, also a Democrat, is leading in District 30, which includes large swaths of South Santa Cruz County. She had 45,759 overall votes or 42.1% while Republican Vicki Nohrden is in second with 37,447 votes or 34.5%.
In the State Assembly races, the two candidates that receive the most overall votes advance to the November General Election, regardless of party affiliation .
Finally, voters opposed to measure F are still ahead, but the lead has narrowed. As of 5:30 p.m. the votes opposed were 8,354 and the votes in favor were 8,254 – only a 100 vote difference. The measure would increase the sales tax in the city of Santa Cruz from 9.25% to 9.75%, raising about $6 million annually for general city needs.
Elections results must be certified by July 5.