Updated with new vote counts at 10:30 p.m.
At the end of election night, Andy Pease and Jan Marx were leading with 8,002 votes and 6,682 votes respectively for the two city council seats up for election.
County Clerk Recorder Tommy Gong released the results of 117,974 ballots at about 11:13 p.m. on Nov. 3 — which is about 64% of San Luis Obispo registered voters.
All 12 precincts have reported their results, but the county will continue to count mail-in ballots throughout the week.
Andy Pease
Andy Pease has served on the City Council for four years, and she is running for her second term as a councilmember.
“I’m really excited, I’m really grateful, this has been a big race with a lot of really smart people with innovative ideas [who] care about the city, so I feel really honored to have earned the confidence of the community again,” Pease said.
An architect and business owner in San Luis Obispo, Pease centered her re-election campaign around five main points: economic recovery, housing, homelessness, climate action and diversity, equity and inclusion.
However, Pease said her first priority would be economic recovery from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Pease said that she’s glad to see Marx is leading closely behind her.
“Jan has really important experience that we need, she’s a former mayor and an attorney, so I think she has a lot of direct experience that will be important at this time,” Pease said. “She’s also really forward thinking, she’s a leader in climate action, and she’s been really supportive of diversity and inclusion.”
Jan Marx
Marx is a former city council member and mayor running for city council. Marx has 12 years of experience on City Council — six as a council member and six as mayor, according to Marx’s campaign website.
Marx currently serves as the Campus Dean and a professor of the San Luis Obispo College of Law.
Marx’s platform included focus on economic recovery, climate action and access to open space. As an advocate for open-space, she spearheaded San Luis Obispo’s first Climate Action Plan.
Issues listed lower in her priorities were topics such as homelessness, regional collaboration and government regulation.
Abrianna Torres followed Marx with 5,467 votes — which is about 17% of the votes counted so far
“I’m extremely happy with the campaign I ran with the assistance of my team,” Torres wrote in a text to Mustang News. “I have no idea which way tonight will go, but I’m so happy that I can honestly say I put it all out on the table.”
Torres is currently a small business consultant for a payroll services company called Paychex. Prior to this role, she served for almost two years as a correctional deputy for the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department.
Public health, public safety and economic recovery were some of the key issues that Torres’ campaign prioritized in the months leading up to Election Day, according to the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce. Listed lower on her priorities were diversity, equity and inclusion, regional collaboration and access to open space.
Torres’ campaign was endorsed by community members and organizations such as former San Luis Obispo Sheriff Ian Parkinson and MindBody Founder Rick Stollmeyer.
On the subject of the Black Lives Matter movement, Torres wanted to focus on “empowerment,” according to Torres’ campaign website. The website states multiple times that Torres is “troubled” by the recent popularity of the acronym “ACAB” — meaning “All Cops Are Bad.”
James Papp trailed Torres with 3,743 votes — 11.51% of the vote.
James Papp is the Former Chair of the Culture Heritage Committee, however, Papp was recently fired from the committee in June. This is Papp’s first city council election.
Papp said he’ll focus on addressing the pandemic, economy, civil rights, affordable housing, homelessness and the environment.
Over the years, Papp has saved several historic buildings in San Luis Obispo.
One of the reasons that Papp ran for a city council seat was because he felt that the council was no longer listening to their citizens, only big businesses. Papp said he feels that he could change this.
Kelly Evans followed with 3,602 votes — 11.07% of the vote
Kelly Evans has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the San Luis Obispo Democratic Party and Sunrise San Luis Obispo.
Evans ran on a platform of promoting racial justice, expanding access to housing and revitalizing the downtown area.
“The City of San Luis Obispo needs leaders who can function effectively while virtual, listen to its residents, and press for economic policy that helps people and small businesses,” Evans wrote in her campaign statement. “I can be that leader if you’ll have me.”
Robin Wolf had 1,870 votes — 5.75% of the votes
Wolf’s priorities include advocating for the hospitality industry, civil rights, affordable housing and renters rights, environment and health and safety.
One of the primary reasons that Wolf ran for the city council was because she wanted to represent people like herself — including renters and those in the hospitality industry.
Wolf has worked in the hospitality and tourism industry for two decades. She feels that she is a fierce advocate for the service and restaurant industry, as well as the arts.
She feels that another one of her priorities, especially during this time is support from the city about mask enforcement.
Erik Long received 1,830 votes — 5.63% of votes
Erik Long is a retired educator and administrator who has a career of experience in the field of political science.
Long ran on a platform focused on three areas of concern: homelessness, housing and downtown parking, according to the San Luis Obispo voter information guide.
Each of these three summits would be addressed in Fall 2021, Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 respectively, delayed to account for the continued work against the spread of COVID-19.
Jeffrey Specht had 1,326 votes — 4.08% of votes
Jeffrey Specht described himself as an entrepreneur in his campaign statement.
“As a councilman, I will work to end the culture of waste, corruption and bloated government oozing out of City Hall, as well as put a halt to the division pulling apart our community at its seams,” Specht said in his campaign statement. “San Luis Obispo needs council members who are accountable to the people, not to buddies in big business and extremist street activism.”
In an interview with KEYT, Specht listed reforming the city’s bureaucracy and addressing safety on San Luis Obispo’s streets as his most important issues.