Scattini’s lead holds

Marshal’s 4-vote lead over Peggy Corrales in city council race
grows with absentee count
With the final tally awaiting certification, Challenger Robert
Scattini has yet to be declared the victor in the City Council race
for district 2, but his four-vote lead has risen to 17 votes.
Marshal’s 4-vote lead over Peggy Corrales in city council race grows with absentee count

With the final tally awaiting certification, Challenger Robert Scattini has yet to be declared the victor in the City Council race for district 2, but his four-vote lead has risen to 17 votes.

Though the votes have not been canvassed – batches hand counted at random-Scattini thinks he will maintain his lead over incumbent Councilwoman Peggy Corrales.

“To be honest with you I felt confident all along,” he said. “I’m not overwhelmed but, yeah, it’s going to be a tough job. It’s probably going to be one of the toughest things I ever do. I know I’m not perfect. If everybody was perfect they wouldn’t put erasers on the end of pencils.”

Nash Road and Buena Vista Road bound the west-side district on the north and south and Line Street and Apricot Lane on the east and west. The race pitted an incumbent apparently popular in her district but unpopular citywide against the county marshal who ran because he disagreed with Corrales pro-growth votes in the face of citywide infrastructure problems.

On Friday, about 75 provisional and absentee ballots were counted, with 27 of them being absentee ballots. Provisional votes are cast by people whose names for did not appear on precinct rosters, perhaps because they moved, but who cast their votes anyway. The provisional votes have to be double checked between voter registration lists and a computer database to ensure the voter in fact won the race, according to Kim Hawk of the county elections department.

“It’s kind of complicated, you have to study them,” she said. “We’ll have to hand count some races. We should finish it sometime this week. We pick at random.”

Canvassing has never produced any major surprises in the past, she said. After the provisional and absentee ballots were counted, the tally rose to 476-459 in Scattini’s favor from the previous election night total of 395-391.

Corrales indicated on election night she might press for a recount, and has not yet conceded Scattini as the victor.

“At this point, it’s still not decided so I have nothing to say,” she said.

A senior pysch technician by trade and raised in a migrant worker family, Corrales was first elected to the council four years ago. The race between her and Scattini was closely watched because Corrales seemed vulnerable in light of her votes to allow the unpopular 677-home Award Homes development and citizen discontent over the state-imposed growth moratorium that prohibits even economic development.

Provided that he is certified, Scattini hopes to reshape the city’s relationship with the county.

“There’s going to have to be a change. As far as working with the county, I don’t see a problem with that,” Scattini said. “We need to work together, we’ve got to be working together.”

Scattini is already familiar with county politics. As the county’s elected Marshal since 1988, Scattini serves court papers, restraining orders and handles some county courtroom security. The 62-year-old Scattini has lived San Benito County since age 3. He has been employed in law enforcement in one capacity or another for more than 40 years and plans to retain his elected day regardless of the certified outcome.

Though his hand hasn’t been held up in championship fashion, all the members of the board of supervisors and City Councilman Brian Conroy have called to congratulate him and the city clerk informed him she would send him some paper work.

“I’ve gotten at least a hundred phone calls from people congratulating me,” he said.

Scattini’s lead holds

Marshal’s 4-vote lead over Peggy Corrales in city council race grows with absentee count

By DEAN PATON

Pinnacle Staff Writer

With the final tally awaiting certification, Challenger Robert Scattini has yet to be declared the victor in the City Council race for district 2, but his four-vote lead has risen to 17 votes.

Though the votes have not been canvassed – batches hand counted at random-Scattini thinks he will maintain his lead over incumbent Councilwoman Peggy Corrales.

“To be honest with you I felt confident all along,” he said. “I’m not overwhelmed but, yeah, it’s going to be a tough job. It’s probably going to be one of the toughest things I ever do. I know I’m not perfect. If everybody was perfect they wouldn’t put erasers on the end of pencils.”

Nash Road and Buena Vista Road bound the west-side district on the north and south and Line Street and Apricot Lane on the east and west. The race pitted an incumbent apparently popular in her district but unpopular citywide against the county marshal who ran because he disagreed with Corrales pro-growth votes in the face of citywide infrastructure problems.

On Friday, about 75 provisional and absentee ballots were counted, with 27 of them being absentee ballots. Provisional votes are cast by people whose names for did not appear on precinct rosters, perhaps because they moved, but who cast their votes anyway. The provisional votes have to be double checked between voter registration lists and a computer database to ensure the voter in fact won the race, according to Kim Hawk of the county elections department.

“It’s kind of complicated, you have to study them,” she said. “We’ll have to hand count some races. We should finish it sometime this week. We pick at random.”

Canvassing has never produced any major surprises in the past, she said. After the provisional and absentee ballots were counted, the tally rose to 476-459 in Scattini’s favor from the previous election night total of 395-391.

Corrales indicated on election night she might press for a recount, and has not yet conceded Scattini as the victor.

“At this point, it’s still not decided so I have nothing to say,” she said.

A senior pysch technician by trade and raised in a migrant worker family, Corrales was first elected to the council four years ago. The race between her and Scattini was closely watched because Corrales seemed vulnerable in light of her votes to allow the unpopular 677-home Award Homes development and citizen discontent over the state-imposed growth moratorium that prohibits even economic development.

Provided that he is certified, Scattini hopes to reshape the city’s relationship with the county.

“There’s going to have to be a change. As far as working with the county, I don’t see a problem with that,” Scattini said. “We need to work together, we’ve got to be working together.”

Scattini is already familiar with county politics. As the county’s elected Marshal since 1988, Scattini serves court papers, restraining orders and handles some county courtroom security. The 62-year-old Scattini has lived San Benito County since age 3. He has been employed in law enforcement in one capacity or another for more than 40 years and plans to retain his elected day regardless of the certified outcome.

Though his hand hasn’t been held up in championship fashion, all the members of the board of supervisors and City Councilman Brian Conroy have called to congratulate him and the city clerk informed him she would send him some paper work.

“I’ve gotten at least a hundred phone calls from people congratulating me,” he said.