The race between Santa Barbara County 4th District Supervisor Joni Gray and challenger Peter Adam was too close to call on June 5, so the candidates will head to a runoff in November.
According to the Santa Barbara County registrar of voters, Gray and Adam came within less than two percentage points of each other, with Gray taking 39.74 percent of the vote and Adam taking 37.69 percent. Community activist and former Lompoc mayor Joyce Howerton trailed with 22.43 percent. All 52 county precincts reported numbers in the election.
In a post-election interview with the Sun, Gray said she was very thankful to everyone who turned out to vote for her and “the job that they want to have done.”
“I’m looking forward to the [runoff] campaign, and I’m looking forward to doing my job,” Gray said.
Adam told the Sun, “I think we’re certainly in striking distance. It’s not going to be easy. She’s certainly got a good base of support, but so do I.”
Gray’s colleagues, 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr and 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, both reclaimed their seats on the board with healthy margins.
This article appears in Jun 7-14, 2012.
