SLO County’s primary election winners

June 8, 2016

Supervisor Debbie Arnold won reelection Tuesday night by a 6 percent margin. The other two county supervisor races are heading to runoffs, and in one of them, Supervisor Adam Hill is at risk of losing his job.

In the District 1 race, political consultant John Peschong received 45.61 percent of the vote, and Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin received 35.19 percent which mirrored a CalCoastNews poll from a month earlier. Peschong and Martin will face each other in a November runoff election.

Paso Robles Councilman John Hamon and Paso Robles attorney Dale Gustin were also on the 1st District ballot. Hamon finished with 16.05 percent and Gustin 2.86 percent.

Hill received 42.26 percent of the vote in District 3, which put him in first place. However, Hill’s two challengers received a combined total of 57.50, signalling that Hill is at risk of losing in November.

San Luis Obispo Councilman Dan Carpenter advanced to the runoff election against Hill. Carpenter edged former Grover Beach Mayor Debbie Peterson by about 5 percent. Carpenter received 31.23 percent of the vote and Peterson received 26.27 percent.

Arnold defeated challenger Eric Michielssen in District 5, the lone county supervisor race with just two candidates. The incumbent supervisor won 53.02 to 46.74. Michielssen performed better than polls indicated he would, but Arnold still managed to win a second term in office.

In the local State Assembly race, Democrat Dawn Ortiz-Legg and Republican Jordan Cunningham moved onto the general election. Ortiz-Legg received 44.9 percent of the vote, and Cunningham received 37.3 percent of the vote.

The losing candidates in the race were Republican Steve Lebard and Libertarian Dominic Rubini. Lebard garnered 14.8 percent and Rubini 3.0 percent.

Though Ortiz-Legg received the most votes in the primary, Cunningham may be favored to win the general election. Lebard split some of the Republican vote in the primary, and the Assembly district leans Republican. The 35th District consists of all of San Luis Obispo County and much of northern Santa Barbara County, including Santa Maria and Lompoc.

Voters in Cayucos rejected the only local initiative on the ballot Tuesday. A tax measure with the aim of funding a full-time fire department needed a two thirds vote to pass. Only 39.86 percent of Cayucos voters supported it.