And the 2014 winners are . . .

November 4, 2014

Here we are, live in CalCoastNews Election Central, waiting for the first returns to be posted. Check with us throughout the evening as we report on the results from today’s election.

And feel free to add comments as we go along. We want to make this as interactive as possible. Glad to have you along.

6:14   Republicans now need only three more seats to seize Senate control, according to a CNN projection.

7:13   Floridians will not have legalized medical marijuana, bucking a national trend. The amendment received about 57 percent of the vote, with 60 percent required. In Alaska, voters will get a chance to legalize recreational marijuana.

8:00   Locally, the polls have closed and the people have spoken — those who decided to vote, that is.

8:14   Paso Robles native Dana Peterson reports she hit two deer en route to her voting place. The yearlings survived, and Peterson made it to the polls on time.

8:44   Congressional 24th District candidates Lois Capps and Chris Mitchum are half a point apart with Capps at 50.55 percent of the vote and Mitchum at 49.45 percent with less than a third of the votes counted.

8:48   At 53.55 percent of the vote, 4th District supervisor candidate Lynn Compton has more than a 7 percent lead over incumbent Caren Ray with 46.24 percent of the vote.

8:50   Shocker! Arroyo Grande mayoral write-in candidate Jim Hill has 38.96 percent of the vote against incumbent Tony Ferrara, who is also the president of the League of California Cities, who is leading with 61.04 percent. This could be a close race with Hill throwing his hat in late and the current votes being limited to mail-in.

9:01   In Arroyo Grande’s city council contest, newcomer Barbara Harmon has taken an early but solid lead with 36.7 percent of the vote tallied thus far, followed by incumbent Tim Brown at 31.7 percent. The other incumbent, Joe Costello, a close ally of Mayor Ferrara, follows with 30.9 percent.

9:10  Arroyo Grande voters are saying no to becoming a charter city with 61.82 percent saying no.

9:11   Grover Beach Mayor candidate John Schoals has a 10 point lead over incumbent Debbie Peterson with 23.9 percent of the votes in. The voters are clearly in favor of a bond to fund road repair with 67.91 in voting yes.

9:12   The race for Pismo Beach Mayor is close with incumbent Shelly Higginbotham having 51.7 percent and he challenger Kevin Kreowski at 48.65 percent. Four candidates are running for two council seat, with Sheila Blake at 26.90 percent and Marcia Guthrie at 24.46 percent leading.

9:15   Atascadero Mayor Tom O’Maley has an 18 point lead over his challenger Charles Scovell. Atascadero council incumbents Heather Moreno and Brian Sturtevant are leading against challengers Len Colamarino and Chuck Ward.

9:18   Cuesta College’s Measure L bond has broad support with 60.91 percent voting yes.

9:23   Steve Martin, unopposed, will be Paso Robles’ new mayor, but there are 96 write-in selections against his early 97 percent total. Incumbent council member John Hamon has an early edge at 21.8 percent, followed by current mayor Duane Picanco, who seeks a council seat, with 19.7 percent, and Pamela Avila, Jim Reed, and Steve Gregory trailing by mere fractions of a point. This may be the tightest of the county’s races, with only two of the five making it to the dais.

9:33   San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Marx has a strong lead with 76.46 percent of the vote. Incumbent Carlyn Christianson is leading five candidates for two seats with 32.82 percent of the vote. Second in line is Dan Rivoire with 24.92 percent. Measure G, the 1 percent sales tax increase, is winning with 69.99 percent of the vote.

9:50   Plenty of votes to be counted yet, but Arroyo Grande’s quest for charter city status is failing by a large measure, 61.82 percent of voters saying no, no, no, and 38.18 percent giving the plan a nod.

1:19   Absentee ballots still need to be counted and several races are too close to call.

In Pismo Beach, Mayor Shelly Higginbotham is beating Kevin Kreowski by just 15 votes. While one council seat appears to be taken by newcomer Sheila Blake, incumbent Mary Ann Reiss and Marcia Guthrie are currently tied, both having 1,084 votes.

The Paso Robles City Council race for two seats has five candidates still in the race. Running from 21.9 percent to 18.5 percent, each candidate still has a chance. Incumbent council member John Hamon leads the pack followed by current Mayor Duane Picanco, Jim Reed, Pamela Avila and Steve Gregory.

A fight between Tony Ferrara, the embattled current mayor of Arroyo Grande, and late write-in candidate Jim Hill is likely to go in favor of the incumbent, but the race is still open.

Amid allegations of mismanagement and a coverup, Arroyo Grande Council candidate Barbara Harmon received 37.4 percent of the vote garnering one of two seats while incumbent Tim Brown came in second with 32.3 percent of the vote and Joe Costello lost his seat receiving 29.3 percent of the vote.

Arroyo Grande Mayor Tony Ferrara is ahead of write in candidate Jim Hill by 386 votes.

Nevertheless, Hill’s campaign was not launched until after the mail in ballots were sent. And while he lost in early returned mail-in-ballots, Hill led in Tuesday’s voting.

In the mayor race, in 721 votes  a bubble was not filled in leading the vote to be determined blank. If Jim Hill’s name is on the line, even though the box is not checked, in a recount the vote will go to Hill.

Congressional District 4 Rep. Lois Capps  won against her challenger Chris Mitchum by slightly more than 3 percent.

Voters elected Lynn Compton by more than 7 percent to serve as District 4 supervisor in January.

In other races, incumbents squashed their opponents. Atascadero Mayor Tom O’Malley won by approximately 19 percent while council members Heather Moreno and Brian Sturtevant kept their seats.

Grover Beach mayor Debbie Peterson lost by 11 percent to former Mayor John Shoals and San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Marx walked away with 74.9 percent of the vote.