Reyes-Martin and Kyriaco lead Goleta City Council races
GOLETA, Calif. – Despite heavy rain at times there was a consistent flow of people dropping their ballots in the box outside Goleta City Hall.
District elections are fairly new in the 20-year-old city and only two seats are being contested.
Candidates in Districts 1 and 2 are up for re-election and they have challengers.
In District 1, longtime Goleta City Councilmember and former Mayor Roger Aceves is facing Luz Reyez-Martin.
As of 10 p.m. on election night, Reyes-Martin showed a lead with 58% of the votes, followed by incumbent Aceves with 42%.
On Wednesday morning with 100% of precincts reporting, Reyes-Martin still held the lead with 56% of votes.
Aceves worked in law enforcement for more than three decades and Reyez-Martin is a former school board member.
In District 2, Councilmember James Kyriaco is facing Sam Ramirez.
Incumbent Kyriaco led with 60% of the votes as of 10 p.m. on Tuesday, followed by Ramirez with 40%.
On Wednesday morning with 100% of precincts reporting, Kyriaco still held the lead with 58% of votes.
Kyriaco used to work managing other campaigns and thanked the people who helped run his latest campaign.
Ramirez is a Goleta City Planning Commissioner and is also a labor negotiator.
Although the city council races are considered non-partisan Kyriaco and Reyez-Martin spent some of the day calling voters from the Democratic campaign headquarters in Santa Barbara.
Ramirez took his children to polls so they could watch him vote and he took a memorable selfie with them.
Some people dropping off their ballots took selfies, too.
Reyes-Martin and Kryiaco both attended the Democratic watch party at Timbers Roadhouse in Goleta.
Congressman Salud Carbajal made a point of congratulating Reyes-Martin for her campaign.
She told the crowd that she credits friends, neighbors and groups of mothers who helped her walk precincts.
Kyriaco said he was looking forward to focusing on districts and housing within them.
Aceves watched the returns from home while enjoying his 7-month-old granddaughter.
Before the polls closed Aceves said he was proud that he never missed a council meeting in 16 years.
Reyes-Martin said she admired his service to the community.
She also said it is important for every vote to be counted before declaring victory.
For more district information click here.
More updates will be provided as election results are reported.
- 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
