• PHOTO BY RHYS HEYDEN
• RETURNING CHAMPION: John Shoals, seen here enjoying a laugh with a supporter during his election night party, returned to the Grover Beach mayoral seat after a two-year absence, defeating incumbent Mayor Debbie Peterson.

In Grover Beach’s three main races, one was essentially settled before the Nov. 4 election, one was settled on election night, and the last one will be settled in the next few days.

Mariam Shah and Barbara Nicolls were running unopposed for two seats on the Grover Beach City Council, and both locked up those seats on Nov. 4. As of press time on Nov. 5, Nicolls had captured 57.26 percent of the vote (1,546 votes), and Shah received 40.63 percent (1,097 votes).

For the city’s mayoral seat, former Mayor and Councilman John Shoals trumped incumbent Mayor Debbie Peterson by a 55.56 percent (1,335) to 43.61 percent (1,048) margin.

Lastly, the city’s Measure K—a proposed $48 million bond that sought to repair Grover's crumbling streets—was teetering between approval and rejection as of Nov. 5.

The bond requires a two-thirds (66.66 percent) super-majority in order to pass, and it had 66.34 percent (1,646) in the “yes” camp, with 33.66 percent (835) in the “no” camp as of press time.

The bond’s fate will likely be determined as the roughly 1,000 outstanding mail-in and provisional ballots in Grover Beach are counted by the SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office.

Shoals was all smiles and laughter at his election night party, held at Grover’s AJ Spurs Saloon and Dining Hall.

“I hope my lead holds, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Shoals told New Times in the early evening. “If I’m elected, I’ll be excited to get back to the council and help people accomplish their goals—that’s what a mayor should do.”