San Luis Obispo Mayor incumbent holds the seat against three challengers as votes continue to come in
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. – As voters finish up casting their votes on Tuesday night, four candidates' race for San Luis Obispo Mayor nears its end.
On today's election ballot, incumbent Erica A. Stewart faces off with entrepreneur Jeffery Specht, retired fireman Richard Orcutt, and seventh-time SLO Mayor candidate Welder Donald Hedrick.
As of 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Stewart holds the seat with 72% of the votes so far, followed by Orcutt with 14%, then Specht with 12% and lastly Hedrick with 2%.
On Wednesday morning with 100% of precincts reporting, Stewart still held the lead with 70% of votes.
While they differ in their backgrounds, the four candidates all said their top priority is to address the homeless situation.
Stewart said her main goals are increasing housing and reducing the effects of climate change, all through a lens of equity, inclusivity, respect, and sustainability.
Specht, who also ran for mayor in 214, said his ideas include more free parking and that Cal Poly should build more housing on campus to reduce the burden on the rest of the town.
Also advocating free parking, Orcutt said his main priorities would touch on feeding the homeless, changing parking enforcement, preventing street crime and revitalizing downtown.
Hedrick said "we need jobs that can pay people to afford a house," adding that there's too much development driven by people from outside the area.
Updates on this race will be provided here as election results continue to come into the station.
- For live election results, visit: keyt.com/your-vote.
- For live election interactives, see:
- keyt.com/local-regional-races for local/regional races
- keyt.com/statewide-propositions for statewide propositions
- keyt.com/national-races for national races
- And lastly, for more local voter resources, visit: keyt.com/voterguide
