Vote No opponents hold slim lead in Carpinteria measure
Carpinteria’s hotly contested Measure T ballot measure continued to show an evenly divided community Election Night, as mail-in ballots results showed the two sides running virtually neck and neck.
As of 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, the numbers for mailed-in ballots show Vote No opponents of the ballot measure holding a slim lead over Vote Yes supporters.
Out of 2,566 votes cast by mail, those opposing the measure numbered 1,257, or 50.93%, versus those supporting the measure, 1,211, or 49.07%.
In the City Council District 5 contest, incumbent Al Clark led incumbent Gregg Carty by a nearly 2-1 margin, with 292 votes cast for Vice Mayor Clark and 161 votes cast for Councilmember Carty. Political newcomer Patrick O’Connor had received 40 votes, or 8.06% of the total.
In City Council District 3, City Councilmember Roy Lee, who ran unopposed, garnered 412 votes, or 86.55%. An unnamed, unqualified write-in candidate got 64 votes, or 13.45 percent.
And in City Council District 1, political newcomer Monica Solorzano received 265 votes, or 95.32% while write-in candidate Patty Boyd got seven votes, or 2.52%. An unnamed, unqualified write-in candidate, received six votes, or 2.16%.
Vote No on Measure T spokesman Jason Rodriguez, who had predicted a close election, told the News-Press he was pleased with the vote despite the narrow margin.
“So far, so good,” he said. “But let’s not count the eggs until they’re hatched.”
He said his side seems to be prevailing because voters saw through the confusing, misleading nature of the ballot measure. The Vote No people never tried to directly influence voters regarding how to vote, he said.
“We wanted to stay true to our position and provide accurate information to voters to let them decide for themselves without pushing, but by simply providing material and hoping they made the best choice.
“Maybe people who voted at the polls really, really wanted to make sure their vote was an educated one and wanted to wait until the last minute to get information. If you just read the text over and over again, you can’t connect the dots in favor of Yes, while you can connect the dots in favor of No very easily.”
Measure T was initiated by Carpinterians opposed to a proposal to build a two-story boutique hotel on a downtown parking lot, saying they want to preserve open space and prevent private commercial development of public property.
Opponents said Carpinterians should trust their elected officials — i.e., the Carpinteria City Council — to carefully review projects that come before them and make sure they adhere to the General Plan. They oppose using ballot measures to make land-use decisions.
Vote Yes spokeswoman Ann Sly said it was “way too early” in the vote-counting process to say which side would prevail. “We’re hopeful,” she said. “We did the very best we could.”
Ms. Sly said she believes some voters were swayed by the endorsements received by the other side. “But that doesn’t have to do with the issue itself, but about the initiative process itself, which is unfortunate.”
She also accused the Vote No group of using “scare tactics, exaggerations and in some cases, outright lies, and people believed it.
“We tried to stay positive and run a very positive campaign,” she said, adding that residents came up to Vote Yes supporters and thanked them for running a positive campaign, “and expressed disgust at the negativity coming from the other side.”
But Mr. Gonzalez said that’s simply not true.
He said his last interaction with voters before hunkering down to watch election results came at the checkout line at Albertson’s.
One person he knew told him he voted No, but another person unknown to him chimed in that he, too, voted No.
“At the end of the day it’s really easy to see what this is all about,” he said. “We’re not trying to influence or sway one way or another, but give our honest opinion that you could see right through (the ballot measure) and see something wrong.
“It was very reassuring to me that someone thought the same thing, even though we had not made contact until tonight. That was very reassuring to me.”
In the Carpinteria City Council District 5 contest, neither Vice Mayor Clark or Councilmember Carty returned calls seeking comment, but Mr. O’Connor did.
“All I’d like to say is Carpinteria will be in good hands regardless of the outcome in District 5 … and, Carpinterians deserve fair decisions without fear or favor,” he said.
email: nhartstein@newspress.com
