Atascadero City Council remains unchanged for another two years
Candidates for Atascadero City Council and mayor.
Voters passed two measures that would increase the sales and property tax
Though both voters and candidates were nervously awaiting the results of yesterday’s general election, the make-up of the Atascadero City Council will remain unchanged. Voters also passed two measures in Atascadero that would increase the sales tax as well as property tax.
Atascadero City Council election results
- Heather Moreno, 3,379 votes, 31.68 percent – elected
- Brian Sturtevant, 2,766 votes, 25.93 percent – elected
- Len Colamarino, 2,477 votes, 23.22 percent
- Chuck Ward, 1,991 votes, 18.67 percent
“I’m honored to have the support of the Atascadero voters and I look forward to continue serving on the city council,” Moreno said Wednesday.
Colamarino said he entered the race because he wanted “to give Atascadero voters the opportunity to vote for someone who is moderate and independent.” His disappointment showed as he watched the results roll in Tuesday evening.
In the mayoral race, Mayor Tom O’Malley received 59.12 percent and challenger Charles Scovell got 40.92 percent of the vote. Though he did not win, Scovell said he was happy with the results. Out of the 16,031 registered voters in Atascadero, 6,808 — 42.5 percent — cast votes on Tuesday.
Scovell said he ran for mayor against O’Malley because he was “unsettled” that O’Malley ran unopposed in the 2012 election. “I’m thankful for all the support, I really wanted to make a positive change in our struggling little town and I think I did a good job bringing light to the issues,” Scovell said Wednesday morning. “I really am grateful to have taken 40 percent of the vote.”
“It was an honor to serve my home town as our city’s first elected mayor during our centennial and grand reopening of our historic City Hall,” O’Malley said before Tuesday’s election. “We are now poised to develop a solid economic foundation that can meet so many unmet needs in our community. I will continue to work hard to see that foundation achieved, build community consensus and fulfill the E.G. Lewis vision of an enjoyable community for residents and visitors.”
For city clerk, incumbent Marcia McClure Torgerson will continue in the position. Running unopposed, she got 98.8 percent of the vote. One point two percent were write-ins. Retired county auditor Gere Sibbach ran for city treasurer unopposed and got 99;04 percent of the vote, 0.96 percent went to write-ins.
Atascadero voters passed two measures that affect taxes, both property and sales tax. Measure B-14, the Atascadero Unified School District Bond Re-authorization was approved with 60.79 percent of the vote — 39.21 percent said no. This measure authorizes the district to increase its debt by $58 million through the issuance of general obligation bonds, which will increase property tax by $60 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
Measure F-14 increased Atascadero’s sales tax by half a percent, bringing the city’s total sales tax to 8 percent. Measure E-14 asked voters if they want the half-cent sales tax increase, if approved, to be spent on such things as the repair of neighborhood roads and aging roadways, along with other vital city needs.”
