State Sen. Abel Maldonado had hoped to clean out his office later this year, but now the GOP legislator is staying put after losing a bid for State Controller on June 6.
A win by Maldonado would have triggered a special election in November to fill the vacancy in the 15th district, covering parts of Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Clara counties. As it is, Maldonado can now finish out his four-year term in the State Senate.
But the 15th District legislator from Santa Maria fell short in the Republican race to Tony Strickland by about 60,000 votes.
Strickland, who lives in Thousand Oaks, also has legislative experience. He served in the California State Assembly from 1998-2004. He now faces Democrat John Chiang in November’s general election.
The State Controller is the chief financial officer of California, the sixth-largest economy in the world.
