Hill, Mecham ahead in supervisor races

Tuesday night’s election went smoothly as voters in San Luis Obispo county elected many new faces to public office.

Cal Poly English professor Adam Hill beat incumbent Jerry Lenthall for 5th District county supervisor with 58 percent of the vote.

Hill – whose platform stressed smart growth, public safety and increasing alternate forms of transportation – thinks that voters were ready for a change.

“I’ve tried to knock on doors and meet as many people as possible. I’ve listened to what voters are concerned about and it seems that they are looking for new leadership,” he said.

Hill, who must resign as a Cal Poly professor when he takes office in January, said his first priority will be to work on budgetary matters.

“Leaving Cal Poly was the toughest part of my decision to run. I’m nothing but proud to be part of the school.”

The 3rd District county supervisor race, however, was too close to call at press time as incumbent Jim Patterson was beating challenger Debbie Arnold 51 percent to 48 percent. Arnold, former aide to both Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee and former 3rd District Supervisor Mike Ryan, mounted a strong campaign with a considerable amount of donations from the community.

The challenger for the 1st District county supervisor seat, current Paso Robles Mayor Frank Mecham, beat seven-time incumbent Harry Ovitt in a landslide victory, 64 percent to 35 percent.

San Luis Obispo County also voted no on Proposition 98 and yes on Proposition 99, both dealing with eminent domain. As of press time, only half of California precincts had reported results, but Proposition 98 – aimed to phase out rent control – was not expected to pass. Proposition 99, which would prohibit the ability of the government to seize homes for development, was winning with more than 60 percent of the vote.

Overall, officials said it was a quiet election in San Luis Obispo County with a low voter turnout.

“A lot of the ballots had very few choices,” county employee Lynn Johnson said might be a possible explanation for the low voter turnout. “Some elections only had one person running. But that doesn’t mean this wasn’t an important election.”