Measures A & B pass; Librers wins District D; Martinez Beltran re-elected

By Robert Airoldi

Voters who wanted change might have got it. With 56 percent of the Nov. 8 election votes counted, Mark Turner is leading current Mayor Rich Constantine and challenger Larry Carr to sit as mayor of Morgan Hill.

Council member Yvonne Martínez Beltrán looks to retain her seat, while challenger Marilyn Librers appears to have ousted incumbent John McKay. And two measures put on the ballot to give voters more say over how the city is run are overwhelmingly winning.

As of 9 a.m. Nov. 11, Turner has the early lead over the other two candidates in the race for Morgan Hill mayor.

Turner said voters were looking for something new, which is why he believes his campaign slogan “Leadership for a Change” resonated with residents.

“Something I learned from residents during my campaign is that they no longer trust their local government,” he said. “That distrust developed because residents didn’t feel the city council was listening to them. The new city council will need to restore that trust by having more open communication, gathering input, and listening to our constituents.”

With 56 percent of the ballots counted, challenger Librers has the lead over incumbent McKay.

Librers, who served on the council from 2008-2016 thanked her constituents and said that although she has been off the council for some time, she has stayed involved.

“I am ready to get started and represent the entire city,” she said. “Morgan Hill is my home and always will be so it is without doubt I’m here to make long term decisions that are best for everyone.”

With 56 percent of the ballots counted, incumbent Martínez Beltrán has the lead over Bryan Sutherland in the race for City Council District B.

The race for Morgan Hill Unified School District Trustee Area 1 is very close with 56 percent of the ballots counted. Challenger Nancy Altman Palm has a slim 24 vote lead over Wendy Sullivan.

Trustee Area 2 sees incumbent John Horner with a big lead over challenger James Dill.

In Trustee Area 3, where candidates seek to replace Heather Orosco who chose not to run, Terry Eves Knudsen has a commanding lead over Dennis Paul Delisle and Armando Benavides.

With 56 percent of the votes counted, the race for Trustee Area 4 is close, with challenger Pamela Gardiner leading incumbent Carol Gittens by just 120 votes.

Morgan Hill’s Measure A and B are appearing to coast to victories. Measure A is an ordinance changing zoning regulations to prohibit buildings with characteristics that could be used for new storage and distribution uses in all areas of the city. With 56 percent of the votes tallied, it has 6,949 votes, or 71.68 percent, compared to 2,745 votes, or 28.32 percent.

Measure B will amend the city’s General Plan to require voter approval of any future Monterey Road lane reduction plan. With 56 percent of the votes tallied, it has 7,387 votes, or 75.5 percent, compared to 2,385 votes, or 24.41 percent.

Turner said that Measure B was also part of voters’ desire to see change. When the city council was considering reducing Monterey Road from four lanes to two lanes in downtown, they did so absent the input of the electorate, he said.

“They turned a deaf ear toward the residents of Morgan Hill, prompting a citizen’s group to take matters into their own hands gathering signatures to place Measure B on the ballot. The result is an overwhelming 75 percent of voters voting yes. The change residents want is more say in their community’s destiny.”

With 56 percent of the votes counted in the race for Santa Clara County Supervisor to replace the termed-out Mike Wasserman, Sylvia Arenas is leading Johnny Khamis with 35,876 votes, or 53.10 percent, compared to 31,690 votes, or 46.90 percent.

In the race to replace former Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, recently found guilty on six corruption and misconduct counts in a civil trial, Robert Jonsen leads Kevin Jensen with 146,311 votes, or 51.31 percent, compared to 138, 828 votes, or 48.69 percent.

For updates and races not cited here, visit www.sccvote.sccgov.org/elections/november-8-2022-general-election.