Updated election results released Nov. 10 changed the standings in two Santa Ynez Valley-area races, putting Mark Williams ahead of Billy Silvola in Buellton City Council District 1 and Brad Saarloos ahead of Lisa Palmer in the Los Olivos Community Services District contest.
Williams now leads Silvola by 32 votes, with 423 votes (51.77%) to Silvola’s 391 (47.86%), according to the latest unofficial results from the Santa Barbara County Elections Office.
Updated results on Nov. 4 had Silvola ahead by nine votes, with 279 votes to Williams’ 270. The updated count Tuesday reversed the lead, putting Williams ahead with all two precincts reporting.
The mayoral race in Buellton remained unchanged, with incumbent David Silva leading challenger Dave King, 1,377 votes (62.11%) to 831 (37.48%). Silva’s lead grew from 368 votes in the Nov. 4 results to 546 votes in the latest count.
Silva, who was elected to the City Council in 2022 and became mayor in 2024, is seeking a second term. He and his husband moved to Buellton in 2019.
In District 4, incumbent Carla Mead received 407 votes (92.92%). Mead was the only qualified candidate in the race. Write-in votes totaled 31.
Solvang
In Solvang, incumbent Mayor David Brown continued to lead Denise El Amin, receiving 1,525 votes (66.39%) to El Amin’s 731 (31.82%). Brown’s lead increased from 603 votes in the updated Nov. 4 results to 794 votes.
Brown was elected to the City Council in 2022 and became mayor in 2024. He is seeking a second term.
The two Solvang City Council races also remained unchanged. V. Louise Smith received 290 votes (96.35%) in District 3, with 11 write-in votes. Elizabeth Orona received 457 votes (93.46%) in District 4, with 32 write-in votes. Both were the sole qualified candidates in their respective races.
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Los Olivos
In Los Olivos, the order of the top three candidates for the Community Services District board changed. Saarloos now leads with 178 votes (23.21%), followed by Palmer with 165 (21.51%) and Greg Parks with 150 (19.56%). Julie Kennedy received 136 votes and Fred Razo received 134.
The Nov. 4 preliminary count had Palmer in first place with 142 votes, followed by Saarloos with 137 and Parks with 127. The updated results put Saarloos ahead of Palmer by 13 votes. The same three candidates remain in the top positions for the three available seats.
Santa Ynez
In the Santa Ynez Community Services District race, Jonas Winther led with 676 votes (33.65%), followed by David P. Beard with 591 (29.42%). Tina Padelford received 531 votes (26.43%), and Leslie A. McPeeters received 201 (10%).
Meanwhile, Measure D, the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District’s proposed $80 million bond measure, continued to receive support above the 55% approval threshold required for passage.
The updated count showed 5,213 votes (56.16%) in favor and 4,069 (43.84%) opposed. The Nov. 4 preliminary results showed 3,445 yes votes (55.83%) and 2,725 no votes. The measure’s yes-vote percentage increased by 0.33 percentage points in the updated count, putting it 1.16 percentage points above the required threshold.
Measure D would provide funding for repairs and modernization of aging classrooms, science labs and career technical education facilities. The proposal also includes replacing portable classrooms and repairing roofs, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, electrical systems, and improving campus safety and accessibility. District officials have said the bonds could help secure state matching funds.
Turnout was 64.16% in Buellton, 65.03% in Solvang, 69.17% in Los Olivos and 66.14% in the Santa Ynez Community Services District contest.
All precincts in the listed contests have reported. The results remain unofficial pending certification by the county in December.
Lisa André covers lifestyle and local news for the Santa Ynez Valley News and Lompoc Record, editions of the Santa Maria Times. She can be reached at landre@syvnews.com