|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Livermore High School teacher Karen Fletcher said she is pleased with early election results that show her leading the Pleasanton Unified School district Area 5 trustee race by about 12 percentage points over her closest opponent, parent and attorney Thomas Choi. However, Choi said it’s still too early to declare a winner.
As of Friday morning, Fletcher had 53.2% support, or 1,611 votes, according to the initial tallies from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. An update was expected by the end of the day Friday; as of Thursday afternoon, there were still some 265,800 unprocessed ballots across the county, according to the registrar’s office.
The Area 5 seat represents Vintage Hills and Hearst elementary schools, Pleasanton Middle School and part of Foothill High’s attendance area. The winner would replace outgoing Trustee Justin Brown, who opted not to run for reelection.
“I’m thrilled to be doing so well,” Fletcher said in a statement Wednesday. “This early showing stems from a broad coalition of supporters across the Area 5 neighborhoods. I also had amazing help canvasing from teachers, family, friends and community members.”
As of time of publication, Choi trailed with 36.87% (1,116) of the vote.
“Every voter who participated in this election deserves to have their ballot counted, and with vote-by-mail and provisional ballots still being processed across Alameda County, it is simply too early to call the race,” he told the Weekly in a statement Wednesday.
Pleasanton resident Brett Martinez, the third candidate running for the Area 5 seat, did not respond to requests for comment. He had 300 votes (9.91%) as of Friday morning.
Fletcher, whose kids all attended the Pleasanton school district, has spent the last nine years as a teacher at Livermore High. She said if her lead over Choi holds, she will look forward to stepping into the trustee role and working with her colleagues “to continue to increase the financial stability of our district and support the students and staff.”
She also credited Choi for running a strong campaign, adding that he was “my biggest competition.” She said she appreciated his desire to serve his community.
“He has a deep commitment to our Pleasanton school district and strong support from the community as well,” Fletcher said.
Choi said that regardless of what the final numbers are, he will remain dedicated to supporting students, academic programs and educators. Over the past year and a half, Choi has attended dozens of school board meetings to voice concerns over a variety of issues, including budget cuts, bond-funded projects and the preliminary proposal to relocate the district’s maintenance, operations and transportation yard to Hearst Elementary School.
“Especially following the 76 student-facing cuts last year, I remain deeply concerned about the planned reductions to frontline staff in the new year and the district’s ongoing lack of overall transparency, and I sincerely hope these issues get fixed,” Choi said, adding that he looks forward to ” continuing the work to strengthen our district.”
“I am deeply grateful to every parent, educator, and neighbor across Area 5 who engaged in this election and made their voices heard,” he said.
