The winds of change blew through San Benito County Tuesday night
as voters elected into office a new district attorney, a new
supervisor, a new Hollister Council member, two new San Juan
Bautista Council members and two new San Benito High School Board
trustees.
The winds of change blew through San Benito County Tuesday night as voters elected into office a new district attorney, a new supervisor, a new Hollister Council member, two new San Juan Bautista Council members and two new San Benito High School Board trustees.
John Sarsfield, a highly experienced prosecutor with the Monterey District Attorney’s Office, will replace outgoing DA Harry Damkar, who decided not to run.
Sarsfield almost won the election outright in March during the primary and his momentum didn’t wane Tuesday. Sarsfield grabbed nearly 68 percent of the vote. Sarsfield, who ran a “clean campaign” and won the backing of every law enforcement association in the county, has all the makings for a district attorney to carry the office well into the future.
Reb Monaco unseated incumbent Ron Rodrigues for Supervisor District 4 and will bring new ideas, new vision and high energy to the Board. His passion for coalition building might be the key for healing the relationship between the City of Hollister and the county.
On the Hollister City Council, District 2 challenger Robert Scattini may have taken Peggy Corrales’ seat, but at this point, it was too close to call. Scattini garnered four more votes than Corrales, 395 to 391, and with more than 2,000 provisional and absentee ballots remaining to be counted, Scattini may join incumbent Pauline Valdivia on Council.
Valdivia retained her seat in District 3, once again showing her hard work addressing issues of seniors while earning the respect of the community pays off. Valdivia is a caring and good-intentioned woman and will only benefit the five-member Council.
In the Mission City, voters called for a change, electing two new members to its Council, Arturo Medina and Charles Geiger. Both have passion, a drive for the job and will make fine representatives, as will returning member Priscilla Hill.
And in one of the most highly contested races of the election, two new members will join the SBHS Board of Trustees.
Bill Tiffany brings his 12 years of experience from the Southside School District Board, a first-hand working experience with the debated zero tolerance policy at the school and a sense of trust to the Board. Also, newcomer Jan Joseph will bring a sense of order, communication – which many believe was lacking at the Board level – and passion to the district.
And Judy Rider, a 12-year Trustee, retained her seat, a sign that her experience, knowledge and caring for students can’t be beaten. Only one question answers her keeping her seat. What high school in the area would you rather send your child to? The answer would be San Benito High School.
