The Ventura County Elections Division released the final votes Friday from the November 8 Presidential/General Election.
Unlike the Santa Paula Unified School Board race, the results of the City Council were never questioned since release of votes when restaurant owner Clint Garman and incumbent Martin Hernandez were firmly at the top.
There were two open seats on the council with Hernandez’s first term coming to an end and City Councilman Jim Tovias declining to run for a third term.
Garmon, a political newcomer, garnered 33.45 percent of the vote, 4,687 Santa Paulans marking the ballot for him. Hernandez was solidly in second place with 30.36 percent, 4,255 votes.
Former City Councilman and Mayor Fred Robinson, now a Planning Commissioner, finished with 19.10 percent, 2,676 votes, followed by political newcomer Micah Chapman, a Marine veteran, who had 3.47 percent, 486 votes.
Cathy Carter, who had filed then announced she would not be running, appeared on the ballot and received 12.79 percent, 1,793 votes. There were 117 write-in votes, .83 percent.
Political newcomer Deputy City Clerk Lucy Blanco ran unopposed — incumbent Judy Rice declined to run for a third term — now has the top job with 98.39 percent, 7,323 votes, with 120 voters, 1.61 percent, writing in a candidate. Longtime incumbent Treasurer Sandy Easley, the city’s finance director, was reelected with 98.04 percent, 7,120 votes, with 1.96 percent, 142, write in votes.
Santa Paula voters had three ballot measures to consider and approved all by healthy margins.
Measure T, the 1-cent sales tax to benefit police, fire, youth and roads garnered a strong 58.37 percent with 5,145 yes votes; those voting no were 41.63 percent, 3,670 votes. The total number of voters that marked ballots on the measure was 8,815.
Measure B is a regular on the ballot asking residents for permission to spend funds garnered for Blanchard Community Library via a $40 annual property tax. Each election cycle voters are asked to trigger spending while BCL works to get the point across that no new tax is involved.
Voters continue to get it: Measure B passed with 73.05 percent, 6,580 yes votes; only 26.95 percent, 2,428 votes, said no.
Santa Paula’s own Measure U, SOAR (Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources), known locally as a CURB, passed with 55.30 percent of the vote, with 4,481 votes. No votes were 44.70 percent, 3,622 votes.
