With the spotlight Tuesday on Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. Presidency—and the Republican Party’s reclaiming of the Senate and likely keeping its House majority—there were also several local election results that will change the face of local politics.
Preliminary results posted Thursday by the Election Department showed that Kim De Serpa was ahead of Kristen Brown for the Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 2 seat.
As of 4pm, De Serpa had 50.72% of the vote.
De Serpa has served on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees since 2010.
“I’m so grateful for the amazing support of my community and colleagues,” De Serpa said. “The best part of this campaign was meeting the wonderful people that care so much about our county. I will be an independent voice for District 2.”
De Serpa works as social services manager for the Salinas Valley Health Medical Center, and has said she will leave that position to work full time as supervisor.
De Serpa and Brown made it through the March Primary Election, the top two vote-earners in a pool of five challengers seeking the seat vacated by Zach Friend.
If the results stay in De Serpa’s favor, the PVUSD Board of Trustees will appoint a member to complete her term, which ends in 2026.
The election also saw the likely defeat of PVUSD Trustee Georgia Acosta, who had garnered just 43.5% of the vote to keep her Trustee Area 2 seat, with Carol Turley the likely successor.
Incumbent Adam Scow was behind challenger Jessica Carrasco, who received 55.6% of the vote for the Trustee Area 6 seat.
Oscar Soto, meanwhile, appeared to be narrowly holding onto his Trustee Area 3 seat, having eked by with 53.1% of the 406 votes in Santa Cruz County, and exactly half of the 1,228 votes in Monterey County. Challenger Gabriel Medina could still see a reversal, if those numbers change.
For full results, visit the Santa Cruz County Election website at votescount.santacruzcountyca.gov.
