With early results showing two incumbents leading the race for two city council seats Tuesday night, Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate said no matter who wins he is ready to get started on the city’s general plan update to incorporate several ongoing efforts to shape and control how the city will grow for the next decade.
Tate ran unopposed for mayor, and results from the Santa Clara County Registrar’s office show about 5,500 people voted for him with two of 20 precincts reporting results. Tate will start his fourth term as mayor Dec. 1.
“The candidates that ran for council all endorsed what we’re doing, and that’s a strong endorsement of the way we’re functioning as a city,” Tate said Tuesday night.
According to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, 289,236 ballots were cast in Tuesday’s General Election as of 11:17 p.m. Tuesday. With a total of 817,837 registered voters, a mere 35.37 percent of registered voters cast ballots in this election.
The upcoming general plan update, a lengthy process that Tate wants to start “right away” following the election, will establish the long-term guidelines for how the city will approach any coming growth, in terms of traffic and parking, public safety, land development and residential growth.
One thing that is certain to be new – and challenging – in the update is a renewed downtown revitalization plan, as the current plan relies on substantial funding from the former redevelopment agency which the state closed as of Feb. 1, Tate explained.
The updated general plan will also include plans to develop the southeast quadrant, and how to keep the city’s complex residential growth control system but “reform” it so it’s not so bogged down with backlogged home allotments that haven’t been built, Tate said.
As of about 9 p.m., incumbent council candidates Larry Carr, the vice president of public relations at San Jose State University, and Marilyn Librers, the executive director of the Pauchon Foundation, were leading the field of four candidates, with two of 20 precincts reporting to the county registrar.
Carr led with 37 percent of the vote, and Librers was in second with 27 percent. Challengers Matt Wendt (18 percent), a real estate attorney, and Joseph Carrillo (17 percent), owner of Grizzly Bear Handyman service, rounded out the field.
The top two vote-getters in the council race will win the two available seats.
Also running unopposed for city offices were Irma Torrez for city clerk, and Mike Roorda for city treasurer.
The next results are expected to be posted by the registrar by 10 p.m. according to the registrar.
Check back for updates through the night and tomorrow.
