The latest results in the race for District 4 on the Santa Maria City Council show local attorney Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez with a slight edge over physician, Dr. Carol Karamitsos.
Dr. Karamitsos told KSBY she has already extended her congratulations to her competitor, despite a few ballots left to be counted.
Meanwhile, Aguilera-Hernandez says her work is just getting started.
As of Wednesday morning, data from the County of Santa Barbara shows just over 51% of the vote going to Aguilera-Hernandez.
If confirmed, she will be assuming the role of veteran councilwoman Etta Waterfield, who has held the District 4 seat for the past eight years.
Aguilera-Hernandez says if elected to the City Council, she will work to address public safety needs, enhance local outreach programs for Santa Maria's youth population, and provide resources for small businesses.
On Wednesday, she spoke with us about her biggest takeaways as her campaign comes to a close.
"Getting to meet so many people that I have never met and getting to know better the district and the residents, and really understanding what their everyday issues are. That was the best part of the campaign," she said.
Santa Maria's fourth district makes up the southeast portion of the city, stretching from Alvin Avenue, all the way down to Santa Maria Way, east of South Broadway.
Aguilera-Hernandez has not yet been officially named as the winner of the open District 4 seat, but we will continue providing the latest election results on the remaining ballots to be counted.
In the District 3 race, Steven Funkhouser leads incumbent Gloria Soto 51% to 48%.
