Moreno emerges as supervisor race frontrunner in early vote count 

Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno clinched the initial lead in the preliminary results for the San Luis Obispo County 5th District Supervisor race.

click to enlarge

• Cover Design By Alex Zuniga
• STILL WAITING Preliminary results show that we need more votes to be counted before knowing who won Debbie Arnold's SLO County Board of Supervisors seat, but we have a good idea of who's moving to November's run-off in our county's state and federal contests.

Fewer than 700 votes separated her from her opponent and Atascadero City Councilmember Susan Funk, according to the latest count on March 6. The county Clerk-Recorder's Office tallied 8,510 eligible votes in the 5th District race, which is around 26 percent of votes counted. The county Clerk-Recorder's Office will periodically update the vote count and will certify it by April 4. The winner of the primary will become the next 5th District supervisor, starting in 2025.

Republican Moreno received 53.9 percent of early votes while Funk, a Democrat, obtained 46 percent.

That gap appeared smaller on March 5 minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m. Moreno held a roughly 0.3 percent lead and celebrated with her supporters during the election night watch party at Mountain Mike's in Atascadero.

"We've known all along that this race has been a marathon and not a sprint," she told the small crowd. "We focused on issues and [proceeded] with integrity every step of the way."

click to enlarge

• Photo By Jayson Mellom
• EARLY LEAD Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno captured 53.9 percent of the votes while her opponent Susan Funk received 46 percent of votes, according to the March 6 preliminary results.

Moreno told New Times that if she wins the supervisor seat, she will spend the rest of the year familiarizing herself with local advisory bodies, focus on strategies around affordable housing and homelessness, and push for a performance audit for the county. If she loses, she said, she will work on tackling similar issues at the city level as Atascadero's mayor.

"My door is always open whether you voted for us or not," she told New Times.

Roy Ashburn, a five-year resident of the SLO portion of the 5th District, said he voted for Moreno because she's in touch with her constituents.

"Financial and budget problems are going to be pretty serious [for the county]," he said at the watch party. "I have confidence in her judgement in allocating the budget."

Former Atascadero Planning Commission member Tom Jones added that he supported Moreno as a voter with no party preference. The way she addressed homelessness as mayor and promoted businesses during COVID-19 stood out to him, he said.

"She approaches homelessness passionately, but when there is a criminal element associated with it sometimes, that is not excused," Jones said.

The same night, Funk also celebrated her campaign with her supporters nearby at Wild Fields Brewhouse.

"While I rather be on the upside, ... that's a rather close race," she told the group on March 5. "Every provisional ballot coming out of Cal Poly at 7:55 p.m. ... we got to count all those ballots too."

Both Funk and Moreno visited Cal Poly in a final push for votes, hours before joining their watch parties and waiting for polls to close.

"I spoke with a lot of students who had voted and a lot of students who didn't realize they had a right under California law to vote today," Funk told New Times.

She said that if she wins, she will spend the next nine months with more advisory boards, touring with other committees in the county, studying how to "create moments of readiness" for people to participate in the county's medical detox program, and examine the 5th District's controversial water issues.

Santa Margarita resident and Funk watch party attendee Ralph Nicovich told New Times that he hopes for "less fear" if she wins, criticizing the gathering of people holding "White Pride" signs in Templeton last year.

"I liked the way she connects with people and fixes problems," Nicovich said. "I asked her, 'How do you fix the gasoline problem for farmers way out in the county?' She said, 'We need to talk to them and fix their roads because they pay for them.'"

Former 5th District Supervisor Jim Patterson, who represented the area from 2005 to 2015, belonged to the throng of people supporting Funk. He said he was impressed with her work as an Atascadero City Council member.

"She's issue-oriented, independent, and evaluates issues fairly," he said. "I hope she wins ... I like Heather, and I think Susan will be more objective." Δ