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Deena Kaplanis and Christiaan VandenHeuvel are set to become the newest trustees on the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District Board of Education, following a race crowded with six contenders.
At the top of the polls, Kaplanis finished with 24.01% of the votes (15,759), according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ Office. Next up was VandenHeuvel who earned 23.11% of the votes (15,173) to earn the second available seat, according to the county.
These trustees-elect will take the spots vacated by Kristie Wang and Yanira Guzmán, whose terms are expiring next month. Guzmán opted not to seek a second term for personal and professional reasons while Wang instead ran for — and won — a seat on the Livermore City Council.
“I am aware the state certifies in a few weeks, but I will humbly declare victory so we can continue moving forward with the process,” Kaplanis said.
As a second-time candidate as well as a Livermore parent and business owner, Kaplanis has led the race for school board since Election Night.
She campaigned on improving test scores in English and math, increasing college and career-readiness as well as enhancing school safety. This earned her endorsements from the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of Alameda County, BART Police Officers Association and Rachael Snedecor, former executive director of Livermore Downtown Inc., among others.
For VandenHeuvel, his win comes after neck-and-neck tallies with third-place candidate Maggie Tufts, at one point leapfrogging her by hundreds of votes during the elongated ballot counts.
But having won out, the Livermore substitute teacher, district parent and pastor said, “I’m very honored to have earned the trust of our community and am eager to begin serving on the LVJUSD Board of Education.”
VandenHeuvel added, “Over the first six months, my goal is to listen and observe, ensuring that I understand the responsibilities of this position and how best to contribute to the board’s work.”
Among his endorsers were LVJUSD trustees Wang, Craig Bueno and Steven Drouin.
The two new board members are set to be sworn in at the regular LVJUSD meeting on Dec. 17. They will join Board President Emily Prusso, Drouin and Bueno, who each have two years left of their terms.
