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The candidate lists are set for local elected offices in the Tri-Valley on the Nov. 8 ballot as the final nomination deadline — for races where an eligible incumbent did not file — passed on Wednesday afternoon.
That puts into clear view contests such as both Pleasanton school board seats, Livermore mayor, Dublin City Council and the local representative for East Bay Parks.
The extended filing period for both Pleasanton Unified School District positions on the Nov. 8 ballot ended with one late addition to the Area 2 seat race and an unchallenged election for Area 5.
Laurie Walker, who joined the contest this week and is listed as an office manager and parent, will be running against Christine Lutz (listed as a human resources recruiter) and Urvi Shah (a mother and businesswoman) for the Area 2 seat, which represents the areas surrounding Hart Middle School and Fairlands Elementary. Resident Sylvia Tian pulled nomination papers but subsequently told the Weekly she would not be pursuing the election.
Justin Brown, a planning commissioner with the city of Pleasanton, is the only candidate to file thus far for the Area 5 seat, which includes Vintage Hills and Hearst elementary schools and Pleasanton Middle School.
This will be Pleasanton’s first election using a district-based format for the PUSD Board of Trustees. Incumbent trustees Joan Laursen and Mark Miller each declined to run, which opened the Area 5 and Area 2 seats and led to the nomination period to be extended beyond last Friday’s initial deadline, when many other local candidate lists were confirmed.
In Livermore, former mayor John Marchand qualified for the 2022 mayoral race this week, setting the stage for a two-candidate contest against his prior campaign manager Mony Nop, a local Realtor and former city police officer.
The seat is fully up for grabs as first-term Mayor Bob Woerner opted not to seek re-election, citing health reasons. Woerner defeated Nop in the mayoral election two years ago, 64.82% to 34.88%.
Marchand, who served as mayor from 2011 to 2020, is eligible to run again after sitting out at least two years following eight consecutive years in office – the limit needed before a break in service under the city’s term limit law.
Mayor was the only position in Livermore for which there was a deadline extension this year.
The two at-large Dublin City Council seats for the upcoming Nov. 8 election remain competitive, although no new candidates came forward during the extension period.
The updated final list posted by the city of Dublin on Wednesday confirms the three council candidates are former planning commissioner Lynna Lan Tien Nguyen Do, Vice Mayor Jean Josey and alternate planning commissioner Kashef Qaadri as the confirmed candidates.
Others who considered a run for the council position included resident and senior program manager Monica Shangle and Dublin Human Services Commissioner Shawn Costello. Both had pulled papers but did not file by the final deadline.
The deadline was extended beyond last Friday because current Councilmember Shawn Kumagai is not seeking re-election as he is a finalist in the runoff for State Assembly District 20 on the November ballot.
For Dublin Unified School District Trustee Area 2, local engineer and parent Kristin Speck is the lone candidate as no other challengers qualified during the extension period – which was in place because Trustee Megan Rouse is not running again.
Zone 7 Water Agency Director Olivia Sanwong was the only candidate to qualify for the East Bay Regional Park District Board of Directors Ward 5 seat, which is fully open this year as longtime incumbent Ayn Wieskamp is not running. Livermore Area Recreation and Park District Director Jan Palajac pulled papers for EBRPD Ward 5 but did not file before the deadline.
No new candidates took advantage of the deadline extension for the Sunol Glen Unified School District Governing Board, which has all three seats on the ballot this fall.
For a short-term position of two years, information technology manager Chris Bobertz and teacher/nurse Linda Hurley have qualified for the election.
Trustee Ryan Jergensen, who currently holds the short-term position in an appointed capacity after a vacancy, is instead running for one of the two regular full terms on the ballot. The other candidates for the full four-year seats are business owner James Lowder and corporate attorney Peter “Ted” Romo. Both incumbents Liz Monti-Hall and Mike Picard are not seeking re-election.
