There’s a new mayor in Solvang.
Councilmember Ryan Toussaint unseated incumbent Jim Richardson by a margin of more than 300 votes, or roughly 60 percent of all ballots cast. Elected in 2008, Richardson held the position for a decade before being ousted by the sitting council member known for starting an IT company at 19 years old.
Toussaint and Richardson could not be reached for comment by press time.
Richardson’s loss came on the same night Solvang residents overwhelming voted in favor of taxing cannabis within city limits. A whopping 80 percent of voters (1,347 people) voted in favor of the tax while 330 opposed it.
The initial tax rate for cannabis is set at 5 percent for gross receipts, with a maximum annual increase of 1 percent with a cap of 10 percent.
This article appears in Nov 8-15, 2018.