Educators rejoice over defeat of propositions Educators rejoice over defeat of propositions (November 11, 2005)

Pardee defeat in Livermore could impact Pleasanton
by Jeb Bing

Pleasanton school officials celebrated this week after three of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's propositions that many of them opposed went down to resounding defeats.

At the same time, there were indications that the defeat of Measure D by Livermore voters and the re-election of Mayor Marshall Kamena and a continued slow-growth majority on the City Council could have a favorable impact on the Pleasanton council which shares similar views.

Although there were widespread projections that most, if not all, of the propositions would lose, the high margins of the losses stunned many analysts. For most of the eight propositions, there were double-digit spreads between the Yes and the No votes. The only close contest was over Prop. 73, which would have established a waiting period and parental notification before girls under 18 could have an abortion. That was defeated by a vote of 3,445,617, or 52.5 percent, in statewide voting, with 3,117,521, or 47.5 percent favoring the measure.

The three major propositions that pitted Schwarzenegger against many of the state's educators suffered major defeats at the polls, both statewide and even more so in Alameda County.

Prop. 74, which would have increased the waiting period for teachers to qualify for permanent employment, was rejected by 62 percent of those voting statewide and 72.1 percent in Alameda County.

Prop. 75, which would have restricted the use of members' dues paid to the unions, was turned down statewide by 53.4 percent of those voting and by 70.5 percent in the county.

Prop. 76, the state spending and school funding limits initiative, was turned down by 59.5 percent of those voting statewide, and by 73.9 percent of those voting in Alameda County.

"In the education community, we're very pleased with the results," said Pleasanton School Supt. John Casey. "While we might like to have seen some modification to the permanency status of teachers, Proposition 74 was so poorly written that we would have lost more than we would have gained."

"As for Prop. 76, the funding measure, its defeat keeps Proposition 98 (which voters earlier approved) in force," he added. "While Prop. 98 may not be perfect, it provides predictability on school funding which is very important to us."

In Livermore, Measure D, the Pardee Homes-backed initiative that would have allowed more than 2,000 homes to be built in north Livermore, the vote was 72.15 percent, or 15,911 voters, against the measure with only 27.85 percent, or 6,142 voters, favoring it.

Analysts said the unsuccessful efforts of Pardee with its millions of dollars in campaign expenditures to beat the slow-growth council majority that opposed its development plans could also affect Pleasanton. Major development plans now under consideration include new homes in Oak Grove, Lund Ranch II and the Spotorno ranch, which some on the Planning Commission and City Council have already said they will oppose.

Developers have indicated they might take their plans to voters to gain construction approval. The Pardee vote could change their minds.

In the mayor's race, Kamena won a third term in office, defeating his opponent David Mertes with 65.6 percent of the votes cast. Councilman Tom Reitter was re-elected with 11,498 votes, and John Marchand was elected to a first term on the council with 9,586 votes. The three other candidates for the two open council seats ran well behind.

In San Ramon, Councilman Dave Hudson was re-elected and Jim Livingstone was elected to his first term on the council, although he had been serving as a replacement for Jerry Cambra since last year.

In Pleasanton, where there were no local contests and little local notice about the statewide propositions, voter turnout was projected to be less than 20 percent.

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