Election's low voter turnout makes for big wins, close calls.

Molly Evans, the independent newcomer elected to represent District 3 of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District ran largely on one qualification: science.

“A scientific presence might be helpful on that board,” says Marina Coast Water District board member Jan Shriner, who came out to Gianni’s Pizza in Monterey on Nov. 3 to support Evans on election night.

Evans is a vegetarian civil engineer and wine tasting room manager with no past experience in politics. Her monetary support came largely from retired individuals making small donations. Yet, she led Jeffrey Gorman, a longtime Peninsula resident who ran with the support of many city officials, with 54 percent of the votes.

Voter turnout for the election was low—nearly 12 percent of 93,961 voters made it to polls. But that did not stop some candidates from winning by a landslide.

Incumbent Jon Hill secured his Trustee 3 seat on the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District—a seat he has had since 2011—with more than 80 percent of nearly 2,000 votes. He defeated recent Monterey High graduate Darrick Jory.

“I’m humbled to see this response. There has been a lot of positive response from folks who said it was not time to change [the board’s] direction,” Hill says.

Hill did not host a big party on election night. He stayed home to review the results. And now, with the election out of the way, he hopes to build a gym at Marina High and restore parts of Seaside High. “They will be basic, but significant changes made to every school in the district,” he says.

Other races came in close. Conservation Supervisor Janet Wohlgemuth beat Phillip Tabera, a sitting trustee for the Salinas Union High School District, for the seat at the Monterey County Board of Education by 42 votes. That position is being vacated by Francisco Estrada.