Stewart up big in SLO mayor election; Shoresman, Francis lead council race 

San Luis Obispo city voters embraced two incumbents and a newcomer in the local mayor and council races, according to Nov. 8 preliminary election results.

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• Cover Photo By Jayson Mellom
• EARLY SUCCESS As the polls closed on Nov. 8, preliminary vote totals showed Erica Stewart leading in the race for SLO mayor.

Mayor Erica Stewart appeared poised to win her first full mayoral term—taking 70 percent of the initial vote count over her three challengers, Richard Orcutt, Jeff Specht, and Don Hendrick.

Appointed in 2021 after the resignation of former Mayor Heidi Harmon, Stewart has since established herself as a moderate consensus-builder on an otherwise progressive City Council.

"It feels fantastic," Stewart said of the results. "Seeing it all come to fruition feels cool. I'm excited to have my own term so that it's really not me coming into someone else's shoes."

In the City Council race, incumbent Michelle Shoresman led a pack of four candidates with 35.8 percent of the early vote.

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• Photo By Jayson Mellom
• PARTY TIME SLO City Council candidate Michelle Shoresman celebrates an early election lead at an election night party in Big Sky Café.

Emily Francis, a high school social studies teacher, held a large lead for the second open council seat, taking 31.8 percent of the early vote. Joe Benson, a local attorney, was in third place at 19.25 percent. Architectural historian James Papp garnered 13 percent of the early vote.

Shoresman, who's also a council appointee (she took Stewart's seat), told New Times that she "feels good to be in this position" but noted that there are still thousands of ballots left to count.

All three leading candidates for mayor and council said they felt the results showed that voters are satisfied with the direction that SLO is going.

Francis—who, if elected, would replace retiring Councilmember Carlyn Christianson—campaigned in alignment with many of the city's current policies on housing, infrastructure, and the environment.

"I think in some ways this was a vote that people are feeling really optimistic about how hard folks at the city are working and we really want to keep on the same track," Francis said. "We need to address our big overarching issues like homelessness, child care, and really getting at our climate change goals. So I think those things resonated with folks." Δ