Hollister
– District Attorney candidate Candice Hooper Mancino narrowly
avoided a run-off election this November against challenger Arthur
Cantu, according to the final, yet uncertified, vote count released
Friday.
Hollister – District Attorney candidate Candice Hooper Mancino narrowly avoided a run-off election this November against challenger Arthur Cantu, according to the final, yet uncertified, vote count released Friday.
Hooper Mancino emerged as the clear victor with 50.77 percent of the nearly 10,000 votes cast in the June 6 election. Although she beat both Cantu and incumbent District Attorney John Sarsfield by a wide margin, a run-off race against Cantu had been a possibility before all the votes had been counted. A scant 86 votes pushed Hooper Mancino over the 50 percent marker. Cantu trailed with 27 percent, leaving Sarsfield in a distant third with 21 percent.
For Hooper Mancino, the last week of waiting for the final numbers to be released has been tense.
“It’s like having a jury out,” the career prosecutor said Friday. “But it’s nice to know that there won’t be a run-off. I want to thank everyone for their support and I want them to know that I will do my darnedest to live up to their expectations.”
Hooper Mancino has already taken over the entire criminal caseload of the San Benito County District Attorney’s office at the request of Sarsfield.
“I am going to be coming in during off-hours to catch up,” Hooper Mancino said. “These next months will be very busy.”
Hooper Mancino won’t officially take office until January, but she has already started working on many of the things she promised voters during her campaign.
She has already begun conversations with officials from the San Benito County Victim Witness Center in an effort to get the center moved back to the former location in the district attorney’s office in downtown Hollister. The program was moved from the office in 2003 after two Victim Witness officials filed a sexual harassment suit against Sarsfield and the county.
Hooper Mancino said she is also working to familiarize herself with the office’s budgetary process and plans to keep pledges that as district attorney she will not go over budget.
San Benito Clerk/Auditor/Recorder John Hodges said that while all the votes have been tallied, elections officials are still in the process of certifying the final numbers. One percent of all votes from each precinct will have to recounted to check for accuracy, but Hodges said he does not expect the outcome of the district attorney race to change.
Cantu was out of the country and could not be reached for comment Friday. His campaign spokeswoman, Rebecca Jones, said the defense attorney was “mildly disappointed” at the final results, but “glad that there will be a new district attorney.” She also said Cantu would not request a recount.
Sarsfield could not be reached for comment on Friday.
The final vote count confirmed a run-off election this November between District 4 incumbent Supervisor Reb Monaco and challenger Tracie Cone, former publisher of the Pinnacle newspaper. Monaco netted 36 percent of the vote compared to Cone’s 33 percent in a very close race. Monaco received 82 more votes than Cone.
Incumbent District 3 Supervisor Pat Loe also avoided a run-off race, winning nearly double the number of votes of her challenger, Richard Place.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
