ORCUTT - A fifth-generation Santa Maria Valley farmer and newcomer to local politics, Peter Adam says he's not surprised he unseated 14 year incumbent Joni Gray for Santa Barbara County Fourth District Supervisor.
Gray edged out Adam by just over 100 votes in last June's primary leading to Tuesday's runoff.
"I'm just getting all positive feedback and my message seem to be resonating", Adam says, "I think people think its time that we deal with some of these issues that nobody seems to want to talk about."
While both Gray and Adam are fiscal conservatives, Adam favors sharp cuts in county government spending and services, instead of raising taxes, to balance the budget and reign-in run-away pension costs.
"Get some resolution on the strategic reserve and long-term debt in the pensions", Adam says, "if we can get those things organized we can make a long term plan for everything else and it should make sense."
Reached by phone while out of town, Joni Gray says she's surprised with the election results believing she had widespread support in the Fourth District.
Gray says she's disappointed she will not be able to see various projects she's been involved with come to fruition and will miss being part of Board of Supervisors.
Gray downplayed any negative impact to her re-election effort from an ongoing controversy involving the insolvent Lompoc Housing and Community Development Corporation which is being investigated for losing millions of dollars in taxpayer money on real estate investments.
Gray's former administrative assistant, Susan Warnstrom, was the President of the LHCDC Board and Gray's husband did legal work for the agency while Supervisor Gray voted on county funding for the former non-profit.
Peter Adam says he never made the LHCDC controversy and investigation part of his campaign.
"I've looked at that and been shown quite a bit of information about that issue", Adam says, "which is why I never made it into a campaign issue because I think its just plain vanilla mismanagement, where they just lost the money."
