Robert Scattini is headed back to the Hollister City Council,
and he won the seat for a second time in classic Robert Scattini
fashion
– with very little campaigning and by a razor-thin margin.
Robert Scattini is headed back to the Hollister City Council, and he won the seat for a second time in classic Robert Scattini fashion – with very little campaigning and by a razor-thin margin.
When he won his first seat on the Hollister council representing District 2 in 2002, Scattini beat incumbent Peggy Corrales by just 20 votes. With a completion to canvassing expected by the end of Monday, Scattini had been edging second-place Sergio Montanez for the same seat by 14 votes, according to the figures.
With all the ballots counted and processed by Thursday afternoon, Scattini had edged Montanez 406 votes to 392, or 36.2 percent to 34.9 percent, according to the results. He will succeed Councilwoman Eugenia Sanchez, who beat him in 2006.
Head elections official Joe Paul Gonzalez noted how candidates have five days after an official certification, expected Monday or Tuesday, to file for a recount. The state, as of this year, no longer requires a recount of any kind, so the candidates would have to pay for anymore tallying, he said.
That might come into play in the closest possible race – as it stands, a one-vote margin for the third and final seat available for the Aromas Water District. There, Stuart Cardott edged Marcus Dutra for the last spot with 204 votes to 203. Bonnie Mahler and Sylvia Borchard have comfortable leads for the two other seats, according to the results.
There were no other significant changes since Election Day three weeks ago. In other local races:
– Jerry Muenzer won the District 4 race for supervisor to represent south county with 2,200 votes, or 51.2 percent, to 2,085 votes, or 48.5 percent for Phil Fortino.
– Darren Thompson won the race for sheriff with 8,787 votes, or 57.1 percent, to 6,524 votes, or 42.4 percent for Pat Turturici.
– Pauline Valdivia won a fourth term on the Hollister City Council representing District 3, to represent the south-central side, by gaining 69.2 percent to 30.2 percent for challenger Scott McPhail.
– In two races for open seats on the Gavilan College board, incumbent Kent Child will be joined by newcomer Tony Ruiz in representing the Hollister area, while Walt Glines won the available seat representing Gilroy, and Morgan Hill’s Laura Perry ran unopposed.
– For San Benito High School’s three open seats, Tim Shellito, Bill Tiffany and Mary Encinias won out, with nearly 500 votes separating them from the nearest competitor, incumbent Steve De Lay.
– For the Hollister School District, the three seats in an eight-person race are going to Michal Query, Joe Navarro and Elsa Rodriguez, with nearly 300 votes separating her from David Redman.
– For the Southside School District’s three seats, Bob Tiffany, Scott Gilbert and Jeanne Liem have won out convincingly.
– In San Juan Bautista, for three open seats, Tony Boch, Jolene Cosio and Andy Moore have won by handy margins.
For other results, go to www.sbcvote.us.
