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The Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees Area 4 race continues to be the closest contest of the two contested school board seats as the most recent county numbers continue to show Charlie Jones holding a slim 26-vote lead over his opponent, Jen Flynn.
In the Area 3 race, Trustee Kelly Mokashi holds a relatively strong lead over first-time candidate Donalyn Harris, according to the tallies reported by the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ Office as of Thursday evening.
This is also the first time the Area 3 and Area 4 seats — which cover central Pleasanton and east-central part of Pleasanton, respectively — were decided by a trustee-area election after PUSD transitioned from at-large elections.Â
Mokashi originally won her seat during at-large election in 2020. Current Area 4 Trustee Steve Maher opted not to run for reelection this November, which is what led to this close race between Jones and Flynn.
According to the tallies reported by the county as of Thursday evening, Jones — who grew up in Pleasanton and now teaches social studies at a high school in Hayward — has 50.64% (1,023 votes) while Flynn has 49.36% (997 votes).Â
“I’m excited about the results,” Jones told the Weekly on Wednesday after the initial results on Election Night. “There are still a lot of votes left to count, but we feel we will continue in a positive direction.”
Jones is a product of the PUSD after his family moved to the city when he was in first grade. After graduating college, Jones said he moved back to Pleasanton and began teaching social studies at Hayward’s Tennyson High School in 2017.
He said his campaign ran a great race where they really focused on the issues that matter most to the district. During his campaign, he said his experience as an educator who has worked on school budgets and who understands the students’ needs at a classroom level made him the perfect candidate for the seat.
“I’m proud of our efforts and the connection we built with voters,” Jones said.
However, one of the main talking points within the community during the race was how Jones received thousands of dollars in campaign funds from people and organizations outside of Pleasanton.
Jones previously received over $13,000 in contributions from the APT, but apart from that a lot of his past donations came from organizations like the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Political Action Together Legislative Education Committee, based in Hanover, Md, according to his campaign finance statements. The committee donated a total of $2,200 to his campaign in October, according to his most recent filings at the end of October.
Flynn on the other hand, mainly received local funds with the furthest contributors still coming from residents in Bay Area cities.
A former Hearst Elementary School administrative secretary and parent of three PUSD students, Flynn said that with the race being so close tight she is still waiting for more updates before conceding.
“This race is incredibly close, and at this point, it’s too soon to say what the final outcome will be,” Flynn said. “I would like to first, thank my amazing team of volunteers and supporters for everything they’ve done to get us here. We will remain hopeful and wait for the additional ballots to be counted.”
Over in Area 3, Mokashi started off Election Night strong and has continues to hold a significant lead.
According to the registrar’s office, as of Thursday evening Mokashi had 56.94% (1,767 votes) while Harris had 43.06% (1,336 votes).
Harris — a Pleasanton native, longtime member of various parent-teacher associations across the district and a former substitute teacher — told the Weekly on Thursday afternoon she is still waiting for more ballots to be tallied but that either way, she is grateful for her supporters.
“I’d like to say thanks to our community for all their support,” Harris said. “We’ll see how everything stands after absentee ballots, but I’m grateful to have had the chance to run.”
Mokashi, who would be looking at four more years on the board if the voter margin maintains over the next few days, told the Weekly on Thursday that she is also waiting for additional ballot tallies for the race before declaring victory.
However, she wanted to similarly thank everyone on her campaign who helped and said if the tallies hold in her favor, she promises to continue serving her district to the best of her ability.
“If elected, I would be honored to serve a second term as a PUSD trustee, with my experience and qualifications especially with the upcoming fiduciary budget cuts and hiring of a full time superintendent,” Mokashi said.
