From choosing the next mayor to deciding what the city’s skyline will look like, Grover Beach voters had a handful of decisions to make in the midterm election. Community reporter Makayla Richardson caught up with some of the candidates and the poll workers making this election happen.
Voter Ryleigh Serpa said it’s the local races that brought him to the polls on Tuesday.
“I believe the local stuff really depends or determines your life perspective and how you live life more so than presidency in a way," Serpa said. "So the local stuff really matters to me.”
Voters decided on the mayor, two city council seats and two measures. If passed, Measure A would make the city clerk position an elected seat and Measure F could limit building heights in the city.
Deanne Stote has been volunteering her time as a poll worker for the last four years. She’s seen more people vote this year than in previous elections.
“It seems like there's a lot of people coming through, so that's a good thing," Stote said. "A lot of first-time voters and a lot of people just dropping off."
Stote said being a poll worker year after year is her way of giving back to her community.
“I think it’s my civic duty," Stote said "I think everyone should do that. Because if you know, you can't really complain about the process if you haven't participated in it. So it's important to see it from both sides.”
Holly Hively said the high turnout is because of the hot-button issues in the city. Hively believes the people of Grover Beach wanted to get out and make their voices heard this election.
“I think it's really important because without your vote, you're not going to have a say in what happens in our community," Hively said. "I know a lot of people say, 'Oh, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter,' but the more votes that we get, the better opportunities we have to live here and to thrive and grow.”
When the initial results were released, Makayla caught up with mayoral incumbent Kassi Dee and challenger David Swift at their respective watch parties on Tuesday evening.
Richardson was the first to tell Swift about the first wave of results, which showed him trailing Dee.
"That's expected at this stage," Swift said. "I would expect that to be a close race. You know, that's probably a couple of hundred votes. If that continues, it will be a couple of hundred votes either way. It's going to be a close race, so we've got to wait and see how they come in."
Dee held her watch party with city council candidates Jules Tuggle and Shilo Terek. Initial results showed each leading their respective races.
"I'm really excited," Dee said. "I mean, we ran really, really good campaigns. We worked really hard because we want to show this community that we love Grover Beach more than anything. This just feels so good to see all of us taking the lead as of right now."
