Election Day is almost here, finally

Election Day is finally upon the Tri-Valley next Tuesday (Nov. 8), although many residents have already cast their ballots with every registered voter sent a vote-by-mail a month before the election and designated early-voting centers open across Alameda County since Oct. 29 — including 80 locations open this Saturday through Tuesday.

Embarcadero Media’s East Bay Division will have Tri-Valley residents covered for reporting on local general election results as the tallies come in starting on Election Night and continuing through final certification due by early December. Ballots postmarked on time by Nov. 8 and received within seven days are eligible to be counted.

In Pleasanton, the main city elections will be for City Council District 1 between newcomers Jeff Nibert and Dean Wallace and City Council District 3 among incumbent Councilmember Julie Testa and challengers Joel Liu and Jamie Yee. Mayor Karla Brown is on the ballot too, but she is unchallenged.

The major intrigue for Pleasanton Unified School District includes the $395 million school facilities bond Measure I, which requires 55% approval in order to pass. PUSD’s Trustee Area 2 seat is also contested, between newcomer Urvi Shah and Laurie Walker.

In neighboring Livermore, the city has three elected contests: John Marchand and Mony Nop for mayor, Evan Branning and Carol Wahrer for City Council District 1 and Ben Barrientos and Mel Chiong for City Council District 2.

Nine candidates are competing for three at-large seats for the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District Board of Education: incumbents Craig Bueno, Emily Prusso and Anne White, and challengers Steven Drouin, Alexandria Izarraraz, Deena Kaplanis, John Kupski, Kristina Mazaika and Hayden Sidun.

Livermore Area Recreation and Park District has six candidates for three seats on its Board of Directors: incumbents Maryalice Faltings, David Furst and Philip Pierpont, and newcomers Corey Hahn, Ruby Moppin and Robert Sanchez.

There are three ballot measures of interest in Livermore, including LVJUSD’s $450 million school bond Measure G, the sewer extension to wine country Measure P and amendments to agricultural and open space land-uses countywide Measure D.

The Dublin City Council has three candidates vying for two at-large positions in incumbent Vice Mayor Jean Josey and newcomers Lynna Do and Kashef Qaadri. Mayor Melissa Hernandez is also on the ballot unopposed.

For Dublin Unified School District, current Trustee Dan Cherrier and former trustee Sameer Hakim are battling for a full term in Trustee Area 5, and appointed incumbent Trustee William Kuo and challenger John Wu face off for Trustee Area 3.

Dublin San Ramon Services District has two contested positions: Division 2 with incumbent Ann Marie Johnson and challenger Jim Brady and Division 5 (short term) with incumbent Arun Goel and newcomer Seema Badar.

In Sunol Glen Unified School District, incumbent Ryan Jergensen and challengers James Lowder and Peter Romo are on the ballot for a full term and newcomers Chris Bobertz and Linda Hurley are on the ballot for a two-year short term. SGUSD voters will also decide the $10.9 million Measure J bond.

For San Ramon, incumbent Mayor Dave Hudson faces outgoing Councilmember Sabina Zafar and second-time candidate Dinesh Govindarao as challengers. Appointed incumbent Mark Armstrong and challenger Sara Lashanlo are competing for San Ramon City Council District 2, and newcomers Heidi Kenniston-Lee and Marisol Rubio are vying for City Council District 4.

Area 1 for the San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education sees three candidates for the wide-open seat: Jerome Pandell, Michelle Petersen and Jesse vanZee.

For Contra Costa County Board of Education Area 4, incumbent Mike Maxwell squares off against challengers Cheri Calcagno and Anaité Letona.

With three positions up for grabs on the Diablo Community Services District Board of Directors, the candidates are incumbent Jeff Eorio and challengers Christine Chartier, Garth Hobden, Gregory Lorenz and Jerry Slavonia.

As for regional contests, there are six runoffs of interest: Pamela Price and Terry Wiley for Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, Kristin Connelly and Vicki Gordon for Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (incumbent) and Joe Rubay for State Assembly District 16, newcomers Shawn Kumagai and Liz Ortega for Assembly District 20, Mark DeSaulnier (incumbent) and Michael Kerr for Congressional District 10 and Eric Swalwell (incumbent) and Alison Hayden for Congressional District 14.

Go to the Pleasanton Weekly’s online Election Guide for candidate interviews, forum coverage and editorial endorsements. Results coverage will begin shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday and continue into the following weeks until certification on PleasantonWeekly.com, LivermoreVine.com and DanvilleSanRamon.com.