Election 2022: Final votes counted as Santa Cruz County certifies election

Source: Lookout Santa Cruz

Quick Take

The Santa Cruz County Clerk’s office finished its vote count on Tuesday and certified the results of the Nov. 8 election. In total, county voters cast 106,044 ballots in this election out of 166,837 registered voters, a turnout rate of around 63.56%.

The Santa Cruz County Clerk’s office finished its vote count on Tuesday and certified the results of the Nov. 8 election.

In total, county voters cast 106,044 ballots in this election out of 166,837 registered voters, a turnout rate of around 63.56%.

Who won and who lost:

Santa Cruz County

Justin Cummings has been elected 3rd District county supervisor, with 51% of the votes to 48% for Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson. Cummings had a 576-vote lead as of Tuesday.
Felipe Hernandez has been elected 4th District county supervisor, with 57% of the vote to Jimmy Dutra’s 42%.

City of Santa Cruz

Fred Keeley will become the first four-year mayor for the city of Santa Cruz, up by more than 40 percentage points over Joy Schendledecker. Keeley received around 70% of the vote.
Scott Newsome will represent Santa Cruz City Council District 4. Newsome had garnered more than 50% of the votes in the district as of Tuesday, well ahead of runner-up Hector Marin, with 35%.
Renée Golder, with 58% of the vote, will represent Santa Cruz City Council District 6. Challenger Sean Maxwell earned 42% of the vote.
Measures K and L, bonds for school improvements, have both passed. K — for high schools — earned 67% of the vote. L — for elementary schools — gained 71% of the vote. Each needed 55% to pass.
Measure N, the initiative that would have taxed “empty homes,” failed by 8 points, gaining 46% of the vote.
The subject of so much contention — Measure O — has failed. Fewer than 41% of voters supported the measure.
Measure P, an increase in the City of Santa Cruz transient occupancy tax, passed with 81% yes votes.

City of Watsonville

Incumbent Ari Parker won Watsonville’s lone contested city council seat, District 7, with 54% of the vote to 45% for former council member Nancy Bilicich.
On the Watsonville boundary measures, Measure Q — to maintain the city’s boundaries as they are — won over Measure S by double digits. (If both had passed, the one with the greater number of votes would have gone forward.) Q garnered 68% support, while S earned roughly 50% of the vote.

Soquel Creek Water District

The slate of three incumbent Soquel Water Creek District board members — Bruce Jaffe, Rachel Lather and Carla Christensen — will continue in their jobs, having won out over challengers Kris Kirby and Corrie Kates by a wide margin.

Scotts Valley City Council

In Scotts Valley, the slate of Derek Timm, an incumbent, and Alan Timms won two seats on council. Incumbent Jim Reed trailed Timms by nearly 6 points.

Pajaro Valley Health Care District

Joe Gallagher (41%) and Marcus Pimentel (31%) have both won seats on the new Pajaro Valley Health Care District. Jasmine Notanee Najera came in third, with 27% of the vote.

State Assembly

Former Santa Cruz County Clerk Pellerin, a Democrat, has been elected in District 28 over Republican opponent Liz Lawler. Pellerin earned 68% of the vote districtwide to Lawler’s 32%. Pellerin captured 79% support within Santa Cruz County.
District 29 incumbent Democrat Rivas, who is set to become Assembly Speaker next year, earned a nearly 28-point lead over Republican Stephanie Castro. Rivas captured 64% of the districtwide vote to Castro’s 36%. That margin was even wider in Santa Cruz County, where Rivas earned 72.5%.
Democrat Addis beat Republican Vicki Nohrden by a 24-point margin in District 30. Addis captured 62% of the overall votes counted districtwide. That margin was even wider in Santa Cruz County, where Addis earned 75% of the vote to Nohrden’s 25%.

Capitola City Council

In the county’s closest race, incumbent Yvette Brooks secured one of three Capitola City Council seats up for grabs, with 26% of the vote. Four other candidates were vying for the two remaining seats. Alexander Pedersen garnered 18.8% of the vote, while Joe Clarke received 18.59%. Two challengers, Gerry Jensen and Enrique Dolmo Jr., finished the race not far behind. Jensen earned 18.35% and Dolmo 18.03%. Just 75 votes separate the four challengers.