APTOS — Candidate Kim De Serpa jumped to an early lead Tuesday in the race to represent 2nd District residents on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.
As of 10:10 p.m. Tuesday, De Serpa had received 8,293 votes, or 50.5% while Kristen Brown, her opponent in the race, collected 7,971 votes, or 48.5%. That’s a difference of 322 votes.
De Serpa is hoping to halt her opponent’s momentum from the March primary after Brown outpaced her by 1,225 votes. However, because both candidates failed to clear the 50% threshold needed to declare victory during the primary, as the top two finishers, De Serpa and Brown both advanced to the November head-to-head runoff.
In all, five candidates appeared on the ballot in the March primary and the three that failed to advance — Bruce Jaffe, David Schwartz and Tony Crane — cumulatively took in 6,734 votes.
De Serpa has served on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees for 14 years and has a background in health care and social services. She is also a social services manager at the Salinas Valley Health Center.
De Serpa did not immediately respond to a Sentinel request for comment Tuesday.
Brown has been on the Capitola City Council since 2016 and currently serves as the city’s mayor. She is also preparing to wrap up her terms as board chair for two major transportation agencies in the county: Santa Cruz Metro and the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission.
“We are feeling good,” Brown told the Sentinel via text message Tuesday while noting the slim vote differential. “We’re feeling optimistic and continuing to celebrate all our hard work leading up to today.”
Both experienced local politicians are vying to replace Supervisor Zach Friend who has held an office in the county building since 2012 and announced last year that he would not seek a fourth term.
But no matter who wins, De Serpa and Brown have guaranteed that a woman will hold a seat on the nonpartisan, five-member board for the first time in 12 years. Ellen Pirie was the last women elected to serve among the county’s highest ranking public officials and represented the 2nd District for 12 years before Friend succeeded her in 2012.
The 2nd District has a population of 54,740 according to 2020 census data. It hugs the coastline from Capitola to Pajaro Dunes but also includes more inland areas around Day Valley, Corralitos, Amesti, Larkin Valley, Freedom and a small portion of the city of Watsonville.
A full term on county Board of Supervisors lasts four years.
By the numbers
Kim De Serpa: 8,293 votes or 50.5%.
Kristen Brown: 7,971 votes or 48.5%.
*As of 10:10 p.m. Tuesday.
