In a tight race, Scotts Valley chiropractor Aaron Hinde, a Bonny Doon resident, retained his seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Education in Trustee Area 1 by a narrow margin over challenger George Martinez.
The final margin of victory was 169 votes (6,947 to 6,778) after all the mail-in and provisional votes were counted by the Santa Cruz County Elections Office.
On election night, Hinde’s lead over Martinez was 21 votes.
In other tight races, Sherwin Gott (227 votes) and Shannar Abraham (219) won the two open seats on the Lompico County Water Board of Directors. Rob Hansel (186 votes) was unseated.
Newcomer Morgan Scarborough (908 votes) and incumbent Dave Bingham (675 votes) won the two seats on the Ben Lomond Fire Protection District Board of Directors. Bingham edged out the other incumbent, Tom Maxson (650 votes), who had served seven years on the board.
Countywide, 97,957 citizens cast votes, nearly 66 percent of those eligible, making this gubernatorial election the largest since the 2008 presidential election, for which 86.65 percent of registered voters turned out.
The turnout slightly beat the 64.76 percent who voted in 2006, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected to a second term.
