Primary election results solidify with latest count 

Following the largest single day of vote counting of the past three weeks, the June 7 primary election results are finally solidifying in San Luis Obispo County.

With 97 percent of the vote in, 4th District county supervisor candidate Jimmy Paulding is keeping his narrow lead over incumbent Lynn Compton—a 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent edge equating to 732 votes.

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• File Photos By Jayson Mellom
• JIMMY HOLDING ON With 97 percent of the vote counted as of June 29, Arroyo Grande City Councilmember Jimmy Paulding (right) held a narrow lead over incumbent Lynn Compton for San Luis Obispo County's 4th District supervisor seat.

Incumbent Dawn Ortiz-Legg still has a large lead for her 3rd District supervisor seat, taking 62.8 percent of the vote, while a crowded race for 2nd District supervisor is likely continuing on to November.

Paulding stopped short of declaring victory to New Times on June 29, but the Arroyo Grande City Council member said he's "feeling good and looking forward to the next round of results."

"I'm glad that we just waited patiently and didn't declare victory too early. It has been nerve-wracking watching the gap narrow," Paulding said, referring to how his large lead on election night dwindled in recent counts.

On June 28, the SLO County elections office counted more than 15,000 additional ballots, which brought the total number of ballots counted to 85,493, with 2,845 still left to count.

A final count is scheduled for July 1, with election certification expected next week. SLO County voter turnout is sitting at about 47 percent, which is higher than the statewide turnout of 33 percent.

Most local candidates expressed either surprise or frustration with the county's elongated vote count. The day after the election, June 8, Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano announced that some 48,000 ballots—more than half of the election—still needed counting. That was largely due to the number of mail-in ballots that arrived on June 6 or 7, as well as a lack of in-person voting, she said.

"I knew there was going to be a lot of them," incumbent 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson told New Times. "But there were more than I expected. We're now understanding what a largely vote-by-mail election looks like."

In the four-man race for the 2nd District seat, Gibson saw his share of the vote dip under 50 percent, which means he'll likely face a run-off election in November against the current runner-up, Bruce Jones.

As of the latest count, Gibson held 47.9 percent of the vote, with Jones at 18.9 percent, Geoff Auslen at 17.3 percent, and John Whitworth at 15.9 percent.

"It's not a surprising result," Gibson said. "It's within the range of what we expected. I've already been laying the groundwork for going again in November."

If Paulding defeats Compton and Ortiz-Legg seals her victory, that means the 2nd District runoff will determine the political lean of the Board of Supervisors for the next two years.

Gibson, a Democrat and outspoken opponent of the current conservative majority on the Board of Supervisors, will seek to fend off Jones, a Republican with the endorsement of the SLO County Republican Party, in a redrawn district that includes conservative-leaning communities like Atascadero, Templeton, San Miguel, and Lake Nacimiento.

"This race defines the future of SLO County," Gibson said, "and folks know it."

Jones and Compton didn't respond to requests for comment before press time.

Other local races remained unchanged after the last count. Cano has a comfortable lead in the county clerk-recorder contest, taking 61.9 percent of the vote over two challengers, James Baugh and Stew Jenkins.

Deputy District Attorney Mike Frye is beating attorney Paul Phillips for an open judge seat on the superior court with a lead of 66.8 percent to 33.2 percent.

Oceano's special fire tax, Measure A-22, is failing for the second time in as many elections, earning just 58.2 percent of the vote when it needed a two-thirds supermajority vote to pass. Δ