Backed by the full might of the Democratic Party political machine, bolstered by a foot-soldier army of supporters, and buoyed by a reputation for tireless, in-the-trenches work with city residents, former journalist and Westside renter Cathy Murillo is set to become Santa Barbara’s next mayor.
As of press time Wednesday morning Murillo held a comfortable lead over the rest of the field in the five-way mayoral race. Her closest rival, Frank Hotchkiss, sits more than 1,300 votes back, and that gap is expected to widen as the last-minute ballots still uncounted traditionally lean left and liberal. Angel Martinez, Hal Conklin, and Bendy White currently hold the third, fourth, and fifth positions, respectively. Only a miracle would put any of them over the top.
Murillo beamed as she addressed a cheering crowd of supporters at Casa Blanca Tuesday night. “It’s such an honor to stand here as your next mayor of Santa Barbara,” she said. “It’s such an honor to win the trust of the public as well. They had a lot of choices, and we went door to door and said to them, ‘I care about your family. I care about your neighborhood. I care about your prosperity.’ I meant it when I said I would work to create jobs and housing opportunities for the people and the young people.”
