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Rowse leads mayoral race Former council member and business owner accrues 40% of vote in preliminary results
Incumbent Mayor Cathy Murillo garnered 24.4% of the vote in preliminary election results, trailing frontrunner Randy Rowse, right, and challenger James Joyce III, below, who have so far accrued 40% and 26%, respectively.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Randy Rowse leads the Santa Barbara mayoral race with just over 40% of the votes, according to preliminary election results released soon after voting centers closed. “I think people were really ready for a change. I really think that was where my donor base came from was people that really want the status quo to be different,” he told the News-Press after seeing preliminary results. “They’re tired of partisanship.” James Joyce III has almost 26% of votes; incumbent Mayor Cathy Murillo accrued 24.4%; Deborah Schwartz won almost 7% of voters; Mark Whitehurst has 2% of votes, and Matt Kilrain, “Boat Rat Matt” received .7% of votes cast. Mayor Murillo spent Tuesday at her campaign headquarters, calling undecided voters until 7:55 p.m. Then, she stepped into De la Guerra Plaza to view the
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Mr. Rowse smiles at his campaign party minutes after seeing his leading election tally.
first wave of results along with community members and other candidates. “I’m feeling really grateful to the volunteers today. We were on the phones; we were knocking on doors, we were up at four o’clock this morning to do the Get Out the Vote literature drive,” she said. “So I’m happy with the campaign that I ran and with my 10 years of
public service. So we’re going to turn this into celebrating that.” She will issue a formal statement when final results are tallied. Tuesday’s results do not include ballots dropped off on the day of the election or those postmarked but yet to be received by the county registrar. Joseph Holland, the county’s
registrar of voters, expects to have an update by 4 p.m. Thursday, including election-day ballots. The County received 19,587 votes of over 55,000 ballots distributed, a voter turnout of about 35.4%. City Clerk Services Manager Sarah Gorman told the News-Press that voter turnout in Santa Barbara fluctuates from 3050% in City elections.
When Mayor Murillo was elected in 2017, voter turnout was 51%. Mr. Rowse, a former City Council member and former owner of Paradise Cafe, ran unaffiliated but was labeled by some prominent democrats as the conservative candidate. The News-Press asked Mr. Rowse if he considers himself a
conservative. “Nah,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t know what that even means anymore.” He said he is best described as a “pothole politician,” meaning he fixes problems and ensures the City runs smoothly. The “pothole politician” made some political figures nervous. Please see MAYOR on A4
Votes so far favor City Council incumbents By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Election-night results show strong leads from City Council members Kristen Sneddon, Eric Friedman and Meagan Harmon. The Santa Barbara County Registrar of Voters has yet to count every ballot, so results may shift before the registrar releases a report Thursday evening. District 4 councilmember Kristen Sneddon has almost 61% of votes. She was challenged by developer Barrett Reed, with 39% of the votes. (Write-in votes allotted for less than .3% of votes in District 4.) In District 5, Eric Friedman ran unopposed and won 96% of votes. District 6 councilmember Meagan Harmon received nearly 53% of votes cast in her district. Nina Johnson has 34%; Jason Carlon received almost 10%, and Zachary Pike has 3% of the vote. “We have a pretty clear vision for a Santa Barbara that works for everyone, that prioritizes
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the needs of working people and working families and understands how important it is that our renters have a place that they can live in the city that works for them,” Ms. Harmon told the NewsPress on Tuesday evening. “In a district that has 80% renters, I think it was really resonant that I’m a renter and I’m a working parent, and every door that I knocked on it was a similar story ... that’s our reality,” she said. “And so I think voters really want to see themselves represented, and that’s what I aim to do and hopefully what I will have the opportunity to do for five more years.” “In District Four, the voters are really used to being engaged and involved, and so they’ve been watching this whole four years and holding us accountable,” Ms. Sneddon said. “They’ve given us areas where we need to make adjustments, but I feel really grateful that they saw the work that we’ve been doing and have confidence in me.” KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
email: ahanshaw@newspress.com
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LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. b4 Life..................... b1-2 Obituaries............. a4
A vote sign graces the front entrance of the Santa Barbara County Elections Office on Tuesday.
Sudoku................. b3 Weather................ a4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 6-14-15-17-37 Mega: 3
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 9-4-6-7
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 5-10-26-58-65 Mega: 9
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 6-11-12-14-18
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 08-12-10 Time: 1:43.91
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 5-23-28-43-56 Meganumber: 19
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 2-1-9 / Midday 9-6-1