Barely more than 25 percent of San Benito County voters took the time to cast ballots in the June 5 primary, but in the county supervisors’ races at least, they will get another chance.
With final counts in, the preliminary results mean there be contested races for supervisor in both District 3 and District 4, as no candidates got more than 50 percent of the vote.
County election officials reported that 7,357 of 28,774 registered voters turned out June 5.
In the race for District 3, Patricia Loe and Peter Hernandez will face off in November. Loe, a former supervisor, mayor and councilmember, led the field with 526 votes, or 46 percent, while Hernandez, a Hollister School District trustee, polled 369 votes, 32 percent of the total.
In the District 4 race, the margins were similar, with business owner Jim Gillio, a former Gilroy police officer and county sheriff’s deputy, topping the field with 925 votes, or 44 percent. Gillio’s total was twice that of incumbent Supervisor Jerry Muenzer. The two will meet in November.
The election for Superior Court judge was a nailbiter for the second runoff position. Gregory Michael Laforge, a veteran criminal defense lawyer, came in first with 1,905 votes, or 28 percent. The race for second was close, with Jose “Omar” Rodriguez, a former San Benito assistant district attorney, capturing 1,753 votes to Frances Henderson’s 1,712.
