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With election season officially in full swing now that the initial candidate nomination deadline passed Friday, residents across the Tri-Valley can now begin researching the slate of contestants set to appear in key races throughout Pleasanton and neighboring municipalities this November.
Some of those important elections for Pleasanton — on top of a hotel tax increase measure — include the mayor’s race, two City Council seats and two seats on the Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees.
Incumbent Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch will be facing off against termed-out City Councilmember Julie Testa, who filed her paperwork during the final week.
The two served on the City Council for several years — Testa was first elected at-large in 2018 and then reelected in 2022 for District 3 after the city converted to district-based elections. Balch was elected to the council at-large in 2020 and then won the mayor’s seat in 2024.
Fighting for that City Council District 3 seat, which represents the southwest side of the city, will be former Pleasanton school board trustee Jamie Yee, who ran unsuccessfully for the same council seat back in 2022, and Reena Gupta, a Pleasanton resident, business advocate and first-time candidate.
In the Pleasanton City Council District 1 race, eligible candidates will have until 5 p.m. next Wednesday (Aug. 12) to submit their paperwork due to incumbent Jeff Nibert deciding not to run for reelection.
Former councilmember Kathy Narum, who is currently on the Zone 7 Water Agency Board of Directors, has publicly announced her bid for the northwest District 1 seat. She filed her paperwork on Friday but was not yet on the city clerk’s qualified list.
Vin Kruttiventi, a Pleasanton resident who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2024, is on the ballot for City Council District 1.
For the PUSD board, incumbent Trustee Laurie Walker is running unopposed for the Area 2 seat. The former school administrative assistant was first elected to the seat in 2022.
The Area 5 seat is also wide open after incumbent Justin Brown said he will not be running for reelection this year. No candidates have pulled papers, with the filing deadline extended to next Wednesday, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters’ Office.
Pleasanton residents will also be voting on increasing the city’s hotel tax rate during the Nov. 3 general election after the City Council decided to place the measure on the upcoming ballot a couple months ago.
The general tax measure, which will need a simple majority vote to pass, seeks to increase the city’s hotel tax rate from 8% to 10% starting July 2027. The measure stipulates an additional increase from 10% to 12% would take effect the following year, which the city says could generate up to $2.8 million annually once the full increase to 12% is realized.
The wider region
The East Bay Regional Park District will see four seats up for election on its Board of Directors, including a contested race for Ward 5 representing Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, Fremont and Newark. Incumbent Olivia Sanwong will face newcomer Bruce Henry.
Democrats Melissa Hernandez and Aisha Wahab are the sole candidates for Congressional District 14. The pair are also competing in the Aug. 18 special general election for the months-long remainder of the term vacated by Rep. Eric Swalwell amid sexual misconduct allegations.
In the State Assembly District 16 race, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) is set to face off against real estate appraiser Joe Rubay (R-Alamo) for the fourth time in the last six years.
The seat represents the communities of Alamo, Danville, Dublin, Lafayette, Livermore, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Walnut Creek.
Back in June, Bauer-Kahan ended the primary election with nearly 64% of the vote while Rubay finished with 32.15% of the vote.
Down in the neighboring small town of Sunol, residents will be voting for two new members for the Sunol Glen Unified School District Board of Trustees. Both Peter “Ted” Romo and Chris Bobertz are out this year, so the filing deadline has been extended to next Wednesday
On the ballot so far are Gagandeep Kaur Bassi, Jennifer Kavouniaris and Linda Hurley.
Bassi does not have any public information online.
Kavouniaris, on the other hand, is a familiar figure in the Moms for Liberty and other similar communities who ran unsuccessfully for the Fremont school board in 2022. She previously referenced the LGBTQIA+ Pride flag as the “Pedo Flag”, according to old Facebook posts obtained by the Pleasanton Weekly.
Hurley is another recognizable name in the community after she and former trustee Ryan Jergensen were recalled from their seats on the board in 2024. Both faced scrutiny over how they handled a flag resolution adopted by Jergensen and Hurley that many saw as targeting the LGBTQ+ Pride flag.
Sunol residents will also be voting on another bond measure that aims to continue funding for the Sunol Glen School’s main building renovation and other necessary structural upgrades. If approved, the measure would authorize $6.1 million in bonds being issued at rates of “$35 per $100,000 assessed value”.
According to the official bond document, the measure would need 55% of the vote to pass.
To see the lineup of candidates across the Tri-Valley, information about Livermore, San Ramon Valley and Dublin elections is available on our sister websites.
