Hollister
– Tuesday’s election saw a large number of familiar faces
winning federal, state and local offices.
Hollister – Tuesday’s election saw a large number of familiar faces winning federal, state and local offices.
Democrat Sam Farr, a longtime fixture in the U.S. House of Representatives, soundly defeated Republican challenger Anthony De Maio 77 percent to 23 percent. De Maio’s campaign has been largely invisible – he did not appear at the San Benito County Farm Bureau’s candidate forum, and a woman at the listed number for De Maio’s campaign office said he left the state due to a family emergency.
The Monterey County Republican Party described De Maio as a “non-candidate” and endorsed write-in candidate Jeff Taylor. The Secretary of State’s Web site does not list write-in votes; Taylor has said that if he does not win this year, he will use the campaign to build momentum for a bid in 2008.
Incumbent State Senator Jeff Denham, a Republican, beat challenger Wiley Nickel 59.5 percent to 40.5 percent. Denham campaigned on his accomplishments in office, which he said include straightening out the state’s finances and building bridges across party lines. Nickel painted himself as a moderate and a reformer; he offered voters a “taxpayer protection contract.”
In local contests, Robert Paradice, a former San Juan Bautista City Councilman, was leading the Mission City’s Council race, in which five candidates competed for three seats. With 40 percent of votes counted, Paradice was three votes ahead of incumbent Priscilla Hill and had 36 votes more than Jeffrey Bagley. Jim Pereyra and incumbent Chuck Geiger currently have the fewest votes.
Local Measures O, P and Q look likely to fail. Measure O would make Hollister’s City Treasurer an appointed position, and Measure Q would do the same for San Juan Bautista. Measure P would make San Juan Bautista’s City Clerk an appointed position as well. Measure O appears to be the most successful of the three initiatives, with 46 percent support.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
