The races for three seats on the San Miguel Community Services District (CSD) board remain close, with two candidates overtaking early leaders as additional ballots were counted.
According to the Nov. 10 vote tallies, John McClure maintained his lead in the five-candidate race for two four-year seats, while Andrew Havard moved into second place, narrowly surpassing John Butler II.
McClure leads with 141 votes, or 25.5 percent, followed by Havard with 129 votes, or 23.3 percent, and Butler with 125 votes, or 22.6 percent. Incumbents Rod Smiley and Owen Davis trail with 90 and 67 votes, respectively.
The latest count marks a change from election night, when McClure and Butler held the top two positions. Just four votes now separate Havard and Butler in the contest for the second seat.
A similarly close race is unfolding for the remaining two years of a vacant board seat.
Former board member Berkley Baker has overtaken Raynette Martines, who initially led with 53.1 percent of the vote on election night. Baker now holds 161 votes, or 51.3 percent, compared with Martines’ 153 votes, or 48.7 percent.
“We’re just so neck and neck,” Martines told New Times. “It’s just anyone’s race at this moment.”
The election could reshape a majority of the five-member board following nearly two years of disagreements over district leadership, local control, and infrastructure priorities.
The board has operated with four members since Director John Green died in late 2025. Efforts to appoint a replacement failed after directors repeatedly split 2-2, leaving the seat vacant until the November election.
Martines, who served on the board from 2019 through 2024, was among four applicants interviewed for the vacancy earlier this year. Despite receiving nine letters of community support, she failed to secure enough votes for an appointment.
The district has also faced disagreements over whether to explore dissolving the CSD and transferring its services to San Luis Obispo County. Although the proposal was discussed twice in 2025, the board took no action toward dissolution.
The incoming board will oversee several infrastructure projects, including water and wastewater improvements, as the community considers additional housing and downtown development.
McClure, a San Miguel resident of 30 years who has served on the San Miguel Advisory Council for 14 years, previously told New Times that conflict among directors had made him hesitant to seek a board seat.
“One of the things that shied me away was the chaos that went on in these meetings,” he said during an October candidate forum.
Butler, a local business owner, similarly identified division among directors and residents as a prescient issue.
“The most pressing issue I see is division, both within the current board and between the board and the community,” Butler previously told New Times.
Martines said she hopes the election brings greater cooperation among directors and renewed attention to infrastructure projects already underway.
“I hope that the board can … do that in a reasonable … no-drama kind of way, and be respectful of each other and opinions,” she said.
Regardless of the outcome, Martines said she was encouraged by the number of candidates seeking office, particularly after years in which board members often ran unopposed.
“This is the first time in a lot of years that board members haven’t just walked on,” she said. “We’ve had a true election this year, and I think that’s wonderful and exciting for our community.”
The results remain preliminary, with additional ballots yet to be counted before the election is certified. ∆
This article appears in Nov 12-19, 2026.
