Parsing Through Percentages: Local Results from the March 3rd Primary

Whether you sent in a ballot or made it out to the polls, I hope you made your voice heard on March 3^rd ! Although not all votes have yet to be tallied, some are still coming through the mail, let’s review the preliminary results, updated on March 9^th. The official results for the County of Santa Cruz can be found here: https://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/ElectionSites/ElectionResults/Results, but they can be a little difficult to parse through.  Gail L. Pellerin, Santa Cruz County Clerk, expects all votes to be counted and results finalized by March 31^st.  Below is a quick summary of results that involve our community, beginning with Measures. All votes have been rounded to the nearest percentage.
Measure R: Cabrillo College Bond
It’s a tight vote for Measure R, but ultimately it looks as though the bond will not pass.   It needs 55% approval, but currently only has 51%. 
Measure S: San Lorenzo School District Bond
If Measure R is tight, Measure S is tighter. It also needs 55% approval to pass, but at the moment has 53%, which currently makes it falling about 120 votes short of passing.
Measure Z: Scotts Valley Sales Tax
Measure Z looks like it will pass, with 64% approval at the moment.  It could go into effect by July 1^st, raising Scotts Valley Sales tax .75% overall. 
Onto elected officials!
Fifth District Supervisor
As the only candidate on the ballot, Bruce McPherson has been reelected as Supervisor, to no one’s surprise. 
First District Supervisor
Like McPherson, the incumbent John Leopold leads with 46% of the vote.  The position requires winning at least 55% of the vote, so Manu Koenig (at 30%) will be joining him on the ballot in November.
Superior Court Judge
Nancy de la Peña leads the contested position, with 44% of the vote.  However, to win the position, the candidate needs 55% of the vote, so both de la Peña and most likely Angel with 29% will appear on the November ballot. 
 
State Assembly Member 29^th District
While Mark Stone has 79% of voters behind him, he and Shomir Banerjee will both be on the November ballot. 
State Senator 17^th District
Like the Mark Stone, although John Laird is sweeping the position, with 58% of the vote, it looks like Vicki Nohrden will be joining him on the November ballot, with 20%.
Central Committees County Councils Democratic Party 1st Supervisorial District
The Committee will soon be comprised of Tony Russomanno, Joe Hall, Nora Hochman, Adam Spickler, and Keith Gudger.
Central Committees County Councils Democratic Party 5th Supervisorial District
The Committee will soon be comprised of Coco Raner-Walter, Gwen Chiaramonte, Richelle Noroyan, Linda Kerner, and Glenn Glazer.
Republican Central Committee 1st Supervisorial District
The Committee will soon be comprised of Colin Roberson, Kristen Collishaw, Eric Erickson, Michael Lelieur, and Eugene Bustichi. 
Those are all of the current results from the March 3^rd ballot that affect our local political scene.  With that, the Press Banner will be putting our political cap back on the shelf for a bit, at least until the general election season begins! I know our editor is relieved to have a bit more space.