Jones, Hartmann Forge Unlikely Alliance in 3rd District Race
The Republican Throws Her Support Behind Her Democratic Challenger
Four days after losing the June 7 primary election, Karen Jones, the most conservative 3rd District supervisorial candidate, called Joan Hartmann, her former Democratic rival, up to a stage, raised her arm, and offered her full support in the November election.
It was the day of Jones Fest, a well-known music festival in the Santa Ynez Valley held every year in Jones’s front yard. Two hundred people, young and old, trickled in and out, listening to all kinds of music. At Jones’s announcement, the crowd cheered, and the two women embraced and danced to Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
“She is an ethical person,” Jones said of Hartmann, who secured 42 percent of the vote, according to the latest tallies. “Joan and I disagree on how to solve problems and what the role of government is, but Joan and I do not disagree on moral obligations.”
