The Central Coast has a new senator. Finally.
On Aug. 18, current Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) declared victory over Democrat John Laird and two other candidates in the 15th District Senate special election.
Voting records from the five counties in the district—including Santa Barbara County—reported Blakeslee took approximately 48.8 percent of the vote, followed by Laird (44.1 percent), independent candidate Jim Fitzgerald (5.2 percent), and Libertarian Mark Hinkle (2 percent).
As a result, California Senate Republicans managed to prevent Democrats from coming one vote shy of a two-thirds majority.
In a statement to the media, Blakeslee said: “Tonight’s result sends a clear message to Sacramento—it’s time to fix California. It’s time to create jobs. It’s time for reforms that return jobs to our state instead of driving them out of California. It’s time for reforms that will help protect our schools and provide more money to teach our kids. It’s time for reforms that change the way the Legislature operates and restructure state government. It’s time for reforms that restore fiscal responsibility to our state finances.”
As many local voters know, this is the second time Blakeslee has faced off against Laird at the voting booths.
In the June 22 primary for the Senate seat, Blakeslee garnered the most votes in the district, but not enough to avoid the August follow-up. According to the California Secretary of State, Blakeslee had 49.7 percent of that early-summer vote. A candidate needed 50 percent
plus one vote to win the election
straight out.
Both elections sparked some controversy throughout the district, since they were estimated to have cost the counties about $6 million total.
“This was a hard-fought contest. The Sacramento status quo fought us every step of the way. But tonight is a victory for the grassroots,” Blakeslee continued in the release. “This is a huge and diverse district, and it took an immense amount of work to reach out to the voters in every part of the 15th District.”
Now that Blakeslee is set to move up the political ladder, voters will have to choose his successor for the 33rd District Assembly seat. According Blakeslee’s campaign, his seat will remain vacant until after the November general election, after which Republican Katcho Achadjian, Democrat Hilda Zacarias,
or Libertarian Paul Polson will be sworn in on Dec. 1.
This article appears in Aug 19-26, 2010.
