• Santa Barbara County released its first post-election update on Nov. 9, updating vote counts for the Nov. 6 midterm elections. As of press time, approximately 56,000 ballots remained to be counted, but 101,501 were tallied of the county’s 217,417 registered voters. The total votes exceed a 70 percent turnout. That’s compared to a 57 percent turnout in the 2014 midterms with 114,106 cards cast. Some of the closer races in Santa Barbara County remained close, including the Santa Maria City Council race for District 3, which showed Gloria Soto trailing incumbent Michael Moats for most of election night, and gaining a slight lead as more poll votes were counted. Soto was projected to win the seat with 1,134 votes in the city’s southwest district, with Moats trailing her by 42 votes as of press time. Moats received 100 more vote-by-mail votes than Soto, but more poll voters supported the first-time candidate by 142 votes. In District 4, incumbent Etta Waterfield held her City Council seat with 60 percent of 4,878 total votes. The Lompoc mayoral race was projected for Lompoc City Councilmember Jenelle Osborne on election night, but Councilmember Jim Mosby waited for final results to come in. Osborne kept her lead, with 193 more votes than Mosby for the tally. More than 200 vote-by-mail voters supported Osborne, and only 69 more poll voters checked the box for Mosby over Osborne. The Lompoc City Council’s incumbent members in District 2 and 3, Victor Vega and Dirk Starbuck, respectively, kept their seats. Vega won 65 percent of the 946 total votes in District 2, and Starbuck took 59 percent of the 1,613 total votes in District 3. For the Solvang mayoral race, City Councilmember Ryan Toussaint upset incumbent mayor Jim Richardson with 59 percent of the 2,006 voters who cast a ballot in the race, as of press time. The election results will be certified by Dec. 9.
• After President Donald Trump asked for the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Nov. 7 and appointed Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) sent a letter to committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Nov. 13 calling for formal committee hearings with Whitaker and Sessions. “The circumstances surrounding Attorney General Sessions’ departure raise serious questions, including whether the appointment is lawful and the possible impact on Special Counsel [Robert] Mueller‘s investigation,” Feinstein wrote. “As you have stated previously, you ‘have confidence in Mueller, the president ought to have confidence in Mueller.’ I agree and believe it is critically important to have Mr. Whitaker before the committee to ensure that he will take no action to restrict or otherwise interfere with the Special Counsel’s work.”
• Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) issued a statement on Nov. 8 regarding the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks at the Borderline Bar and Grill where a lone gunman killed 11 attendees, one Ventura County Sheriff’s Office deputy, and himself on the evening of Nov. 7. “This tragedy hits close to home as I once taught at a Cal Lutheran program,” Carbajal stated. “It was devastating to hear that Cal Luthernan students were involved.” Carbajal expressed compassion for victims and families affected by the attack and voiced support for the first responders involved in the wake of the attack. “I am incredibly grateful to Sheriff’s deputy Ron Helus, who exhibited instinctual bravery and sacrifice during this dangerous shooting and ultimately lost his life,” Carbajal said. “Thank you to all of the law enforcement officers at the scene who put their lives on the line for their community.”
This article appears in Nov 15-22, 2018.