ELECTION ROUNDUP: New mayors for Livermore, San Ramon as Kamena, Wilson lose bids for City Council seats

The mayors of both Livermore and San Ramon, both longtime top political voices in their communities, lost their bids for election to their city’s Council yesterday in races that saw newcomers wining.

Livermore’s Mayor Marshall Kamena finished fourth with 22.2%, and San Ramon Mayor H. Abram Wilson, who has served as mayor since 2002 and on the City Council since 1999 also failed to win a City Council seat.,

Livermore City Councilman John Marchand was the top

vote-getter in Tuesday’s municipal election with 47.8 percent of the vote, compared to 46 percent for community activist Barbara Hickman.

But the race is too close to call because Marchand only leads

Hickman by 225 votes and Alameda County Registrar of Voters Dave Macdonald said about 1,000 mail-in ballot still have to be counted.

College student Minuete McKernan finished a distant third with 6.2 percent of the vote.

Livermore parks district board member Laureen Turner and former Fire Chief Stu Gary were elected to the City Council, with 28 percent and 26.5 percent of the vote, respectively.

Air Force veteran and credit union marketing officer Bobby Burger finished third with 23.2 percent and outgoing Mayor Marshall Kamena finished fourth with 22.2 percent.

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Voters in San Ramon Tuesday chose two newcomers as the city’s new mayor and city council member, as well as one incumbent to fill another vacant council seat.

Small business owner Bill Clarkson, 59, defeated Carol Rowley, an educator who has worked as a teacher and principal at Country Club Elementary School. She has been on the San Ramon City Council for eight years.

Clarkson emphasized bringing new ideas and a fresh vision to the city’s leadership during his campaign, and in his candidate statement, said “city government should spend more time talking with residents than it currently does.”

He received 57 percent of the vote compared to Rowley’s 42

percent, according to complete unofficial election figures.

Another newcomer, medical director Phil O’Loane, 53, won a San

Ramon City Council seat with 33 percent of the vote. In his candidate statement, the longtime San Ramon resident said he would prioritize public safety if elected.

San Ramon City Councilman Scott Perkins, the only incumbent in the race, secured his spot on the council with 38.5 percent voter support Tuesday. Currently serving his eighth year on the council, Perkins emphasized his background as a financial manager with experience overseeing budgets up to $130 million.

O’Loane and Clarkson won out over current San Ramon Mayor H. Abram Wilson, who has served as mayor since 2002 and on the City Council since 1999.

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San Francisco interim Mayor Ed Lee is leading the mayor’s race

after all of the first-place votes were counted Tuesday night, but he did not

reach the 50 percent mark, so the city’s ranked-choice voting system will

decide the race.

Lee received about 31 percent of the vote, while Supervisor John

Avalos had about 19 percent, City Attorney Dennis Herrera had about 11

percent, and Board of Supervisors David Chiu had about 9 percent, according

to complete unofficial election results.

San Francisco’s ranked-choice system allows voters to rank up to

three candidates. If no one reaches a majority, candidates with the lowest

vote totals are eliminated and their second- and third-place votes are

reassigned until someone gets to at least 50 percent.

Tony Winnicker, spokesman for Lee’s campaign, said “we’re going to

respect the ranked-choice process and make sure every vote is counted, but

every sign points to an insurmountable lead.”

Winnicker said Lee and the campaign are feeling “very confident

and very good.”

Also pleased with Tuesday night’s numbers was Avalos’ campaign,

spokeswoman Erica Fox said.

“We’re excited,” Fox said. “It was great to see the numbers go up

each time more votes are counted, and we expect to see those numbers continue

to climb as we go through the process of ranked-choice.”

David Latterman, a University of San Francisco lecturer on

politics, said Lee’s lead will be hard to overcome.

“I don’t see how any single candidate will be able to overtake

him,” Latterman said. “But never say never in this business, and I learned

this last year.”

He is referring to the 2010 mayor’s race across the Bay in

Oakland, where former state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata had 35

percent of the vote on election night compared to 24 percent for then-City

Councilwoman Jean Quan.

However, after several rounds of ranked-choice voting, Quan

overtook Perata to become mayor.

Lee, who was appointed interim mayor in January when Gavin Newsom

was elected lieutenant governor, has been the perceived frontrunner in the

race ever since he announced his candidacy in August after initially pledging

not to run.

Turnout was low for the election, with less than 31 percent of the

city’s 464,000-plus registered voters filling out ballots.

The city’s Department of Elections will release updated results in

the race at 4 p.m. today.

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Veteran City Councilman Alan Nagy will be Newark’s first new mayor

in 33 years, easily winning a three-candidate contest to replace David Smith,

who announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election.

Nagy received 46.2 percent of the vote, City Councilwoman Ana

Apodaca received 32.5 percent and school board member Ray Rodriguez got 21.4

percent.

Nagy, 70, has served on the City Council since 1980, which was two

years after Smith was first elected.

He says financial stability, public safety and quality of life are

the issues he will stress as mayor.

Longtime Newark resident and business owner Maria “Sucy” Collazo

topped the five-candidate race for two seats on the City Council, getting

32.9 percent of the vote, and incumbent Luis Freitas kept his post by

finishing a close second with 32.3 percent.

Mike Bucci finished third with 15.4 percent, Jack Dane was fourth

with 10.6 percent, and Richard Bensco was fifth with 8.7 percent.

Newark voters narrowly approved Measure G, a $63 million bond

measure to upgrade the city’s aging schools.

The measure got 55.8 percent of the vote, just above the 55

percent total needed for approval, according to unofficial numbers.

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In Emeryville, University of California at Berkeley lecturer and

first-time candidate Jacqueline Asher topped a five-candidate field running

for three seats with 27 percent of the vote.

Incumbents Nora Davis and Ruth Atkin were re-elected with 25.3

percent and 25 percent, respectively.

However, veteran City Councilman Ken Bukowski, who was fined by

the state for misusing campaign funds, finished out of the money in fourth

place with only 13.2 percent of the vote. Commercial real estate attorney

Michael Webber finished fifth with 9.5 percent.

Emeryville voters also overwhelmingly rejected a measure supported

by Bukowski, Measure F, which would have called for the city to contract out

for legal services instead of having a city attorney.

The City Council’s four other members all opposed the measure and

it lost by a margin of 65.3 percent opposed and 34.7 percent in favor.

However, Emeryville voters approved two measures that will

slightly increase the city’s revenues from business license fees.

Measure C, which will increase the tax rate from 0.08 percent of

gross receipts to 0.10 percent, won with 81 percent in favor and 19 percent

against.

The measure also will require Pixar Studios to once again pay the

tax, which it had stopped doing after Disney acquired it in 2006.

Measure D, which will increase the annual cap on the business tax

from $117,000 to $300,000, was approved by a margin of 79.4 percent to 20.6

percent.

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Sunnyvale voters elected three new council members and one

incumbent and passed one of two measures, according to preliminary election

results Tuesday night.

Pat Meyering, an attorney and college instructor, defeated Bo

Chang, 41, a small business owner, by 1,054 votes with 54 percent of the

vote, according to unofficial figures.

In a narrower race, Jim Davis, 59, a public safety officer, beat

opponents Jack Walker, an engineering project manager and former council

member, and Steve Hoffman, 47, a chief executive officer, with 38 percent of

the vote.

In another neck-and-neck race, Tara Martin-Milius, a teacher,

bested Fred Fowler, 54, a corporate vice president and former mayor, and

Maria Alice Pan, a community volunteer, with 46 percent of the vote.

Incumbent Councilman David Whittum, 50, was re-elected with 10,

974 votes.

Measure B, which will amend the city charter to delete the current

automatic 5 percent annual cost-of-living increase in council salaries and

reduce future council compensation increases, passed by a landslide 89

percent of the vote.

Defeated, however, was Measure B, a proposed charter amendment

that would change Sunnyvale’s method of choosing a mayor to a direct election

by voters instead of the current method where the city council selects one of

its members by majority vote as mayor for a two-year term.

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Incumbent city council members were re-elected in seven out of

nine council races in San Mateo County cities on Tuesday, according to

unofficial results from the elections division.

San Carlos City Councilman Randy Royce, who was first elected in

2007, lost his re-election bid for one of two available seats on the

five-member council, garnering 31 percent of the vote, according to

unofficial results.

San Carlos School District board member Mark Olbert and 30-year

resident Ron Collins were elected with 35 percent and 34 percent of the vote,

respectively.

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Brisbane Mayor Cyril Bologoff also failed to win re-election to

either of two open seats in his city, according to preliminary numbers.

Challenger Ray Miller was elected with 40 percent of the vote, and

Terry O’Connell won the second open seat with 33 percent.

Belmont City Councilwoman Christine Wozniak narrowly won

re-election to the five-member council in her city, winning just 14 more

votes than her closest challenger, Eric Reed, according to complete

unofficial results.

Belmont incumbent David Braunstein easily won re-election with 36

percent of the vote.

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In Redwood City, four incumbent City Council members — Rosanne

Foust, Ian Bain, Barbara Pierce and Alicia Aguirre — were re-elected to four

open seats on the seven-member council.

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Foster City City Councilman Art Kiesel was re-elected to one of

three open seats on the five-member council, winning 21 percent of the vote,

according to preliminary results.

Retired financial consultant Steve Okamoto and small business

owner Herb Perez were elected to the remaining two open seats, with 22 and 18

percent of the vote, respectively.

Raymond Buenaventura was re-elected to his seat on the City

Council of Daly City, according to preliminary numbers.

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Burlingame Mayor Terry Nagel and City Councilman Jerry Deal were

re-elected to third and second terms, respectively.

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South San Francisco Mayor Kevin Mullin and incumbent City

Councilman Richard Garbarino were also re-elected, with each winning more

than 40 percent of the vote in their city.

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Millbrae Vice Mayor Marge Colapietro was elected to serve a second

term in one of three open council seats.

Wayne Lee and Robert Gottschalk were elected to the two remaining

open posts, with Gottschalk edging out his closest competitor, Anne Oliva, by

just 16 votes, according to unofficial results.

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San Francisco’s sheriff’s race remains up in the air after the

initial round of ranked-choice voting in Tuesday’s election, with Supervisor

Ross Mirkarimi holding a narrow lead over two challengers.

Mirkarimi received about 38 percent of the first-place votes in

the election, compared to about 28 percent for former undersheriff Chris

Cunnie and 27 percent for sheriff’s Capt. Paul Miyamoto, according to

complete unofficial election results.

The candidates are running to become San Francisco’s first new

sheriff in 32 years, replacing outgoing Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who

announced earlier this year that he was not running for re-election.

Cunnie and Miyamoto have touted their law enforcement experience

in the race while Mirkarimi, who was elected to the Board of Supervisors in

2004, has the support of Hennessey, an outsider when he began overseeing the

department.

David Latterman, a lecturer on politics for University of San

Francisco, said Mirkarimi is in good position to become sheriff after

Tuesday’s first round of the ranked-choice voting process.

San Francisco’s system allows voters to rank up to three

candidates. If no one reaches a majority, candidates with the lowest

first-place vote totals are eliminated and their second- and third-place

votes are reassigned until someone gets to at least 50 percent.

“It’s going be hard to unseat (Mirkarimi), but it’s possible if

every other candidate was adamant that no one else should vote for him,”

Latterman said.

Whoever takes over as sheriff will have to deal with new state

legislation that went into effect last month moving certain offenders from

state to county jurisdiction.

Under the new realignment law, people convicted in San Francisco

of nonviolent, non-serious offenses — as well as adult parolees and juvenile

offenders — are now being overseen by the county, an estimated additional

load of up to 700 offenders.

The city’s Department of Elections is expected to release updated

results in the race at 4 p.m. today.

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Six measures were decided by less than five percentage points, but

nine of the 12 ballot measures in San Mateo County passed, according to

unofficial results released Tuesday.

Measure H, which would have provided county community colleges

with renovation funds, failed to get the necessary 55 percent of the vote to

pass, finishing with an unofficial count of 52.75 percent in the 440

precincts.

If passed, it would provide $564 million in bonds to construct and

upgrade classrooms at the three county campuses — College of San Mateo,

Canada College, and Skyline College — by adding $12.90 annually to each

$100,000 in assessed properties, according to official estimates.

Three of the four school district measures have initially passed

with the exception of Measure O, which would have given the San Bruno Unified

School District with $186 million in funds to help pay off district debts,

fund classroom projects and finance a new continuation school.

Less than five percentage points decided the four school measures.

Measure E’s educational parcel tax was passed with just more than

the two-thirds vote needed. The funds will go to the San Bruno Elementary

School District.

Measure N, the Millbrae School District bond measure, passed with

58 percent of the votes. Measure L, a Pacifica School District parcel tax,

also passed with 68.7 percent of the votes, just getting over the needed

two-thirds vote.

Foster City and Redwood City each passed a transient occupancy

tax, Measure P and Measure I, respectively. Foster City will raise the tax on

hotel guests from 8 percent to 9.5 percent and Redwood City will add a 10

percent tax to hotel guests.

A general plan and municipal code amendment, Measure G, in San

Mateo narrowly failed to pass, only earning 48 percent of the simple majority

needed to pass.

Redwood City passed a new business license tax, Measure M, with 55

percent of the vote.

Menlo Park passed a fire protection district appropriation limit,

Measure F, with 76.8 percent. Brisbane passed Measure J, imposing a new

business license tax, with a 77 percent approval.

Redwood City approved a charter amendment, Measure L, with a

convincing 61 percent vote.

Measures F, J, L and M each needed a simple majority to pass.

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Voters in Contra Costa County appear to have approved two out of

three ballot measures put before them in Tuesday’s election, according to

complete unofficial election results.

Pittsburg voters approved two ballot measures meant to bring the

city more revenue and allow for additional development.

Voters in Pittsburg overwhelmingly approved Measure H, which will

boost the city’s hotel tax from 8 percent to up to 12 percent to help support

a range of municipal services, from police services and youth facilities to

parks and recreational services. The measure was approved by 78 percent of

voters.

The tax will be paid by mostly out-of-town hotel guests staying in

Pittsburg and funneled into the city’s general fund.

Measure I also passed easily Tuesday, according to complete

unofficial numbers, with 78 percent of voters approving the measure, which

will extend the city’s urban limit line and allow the city to develop 193

acres of unincorporated land straddling the Pittsburg-Antioch border.

Under the measure, the city’s general plan will be updated to

allow for high-density residential development on the 193 acres, lifting the

city’s previous building limit of three housing units per acre in that area.

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Voters in Lafayette rejected Measure G, which would have collected

$89 yearly from each housing unit to complete a city project to revamp roads

and drains.

Fifty-seven percent of voters backed the special parcel tax,

falling short of the two-thirds supermajority vote needed to pass, according

to unofficial numbers.

Opponents of the measure have called it an attempt to tax

residents for services the city should already provide.

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San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon appears set to hold

onto his seat although he did not reach a majority in the initial round of

the ranked-choice voting process in Tuesday’s election.

Gascon had more than 42 percent of the votes, compared to about 23

percent for criminal justice scholar David Onek and 21 percent for Alameda

County prosecutor Sharmin Bock, according to complete unofficial election

results.

Because Gascon did not reach 50 percent, the race will now be

decided by San Francisco’s ranked-choice system, which allows voters to rank

up to three candidates.

Candidates with the lowest vote totals are eliminated and their

second- and third-place votes are reassigned until someone gets to at least

50 percent.

“We feel good about the numbers, but we’ll wait until the final

returns come in,” Gascon’s campaign spokeswoman Maggie Muir said. “We never

take anything for granted.”

Gascon was previously San Francisco’s police chief but has headed

the district attorney’s office since January, when he was appointed by

then-Mayor Gavin Newsom after Kamala Harris was elected as the state’s

attorney general.

Gascon’s opponents in the race have criticized him for his lack of

prosecutorial experience and perceived conflicts of interest in cases

involving the Police Department that he previously oversaw.

The city’s Department of Elections will release updated results in

the race at 4 p.m. today.

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Marin County voters returned eight incumbents to office in six

council races but denied San Rafael Vice Mayor Greg Brockbank’s bid to be the

city’s mayor, according to unofficial figures Tuesday night.

Gary Phillips, 66, a partner in an accounting firm and a former

councilman, defeated Brockbank, 59, an attorney, by 1,125 votes with 56

percent of the vote, according to unofficial figures.

Phillips will take the reins from Mayor Al Boro, who was first

elected mayor in 1991.

San Rafael Councilman and attorney Damon Connolly was re-elected,

and Andrew McCullough, also an attorney, was elected to the other seat on the

city council. They defeated Samantha Sargent and Whitney Hoyt.

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Novato voters returned Mayor Madeline Kellner and Jeanne MacLeamy

to the City Council. Eric Lucan, a member of the Recreation, Cultural and

Community Services Commission, was elected to the third available seat on the

council. Four other candidates unsuccessfully vied for the three seats on the

council.

Fourth place finisher Leslie Schwarze trailed Kellner by 86 votes,

according to unofficial figures.

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Mayor Alexandra Cock and Vice Mayor Bob Ravasio were re-elected to

the Corte Madera Town Council.

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Mayor Larry Bragman was re-elected and Ryan O’Neal was elected to

the Fairfax Town Council.

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Mayor Larry Chu was re-elected and Ann Morrison was elected to the

Larkspur City Council.

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Mayor Ford Greene was re-elected and Lori Lopin was elected to the

San Anselmo Town Council.

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All eight measures on the Marin County ballot appear to have

passed, according to unofficial election results late Tuesday night.

The narrowest margin of victory belongs to Measure G, a 10-cent

per square foot tax hike for fire services in the Marinwood Community

Services District. It needs two-thirds approval and had 66.79 percent

approval.

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Corte Madera voters handily approved Measure C, a continuation for

four years of a special $60 annual parcel tax for paramedic services. The

Town Council could increase the tax to $75 over the four years. It also

needed two-thirds approval and garnered 82 percent as of late Tuesday night.

Mayor Alexander Cock and Council members Bob Ravasio, Carla Condon

and Diane Furst said the special tax has been overwhelmingly approved since

1983 and has given the town one of the best paramedic services and shortest

response times in Marin County.

Without the tax, advanced life support services provided by the

town’s fire department would be in jeopardy, supporters said.

The tax increase over four years from $60 to $75 compares

favorably to paramedic taxes in Novato and San Rafael, town officials said.

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Fairfax voters approved Measure D, a half-cent sales tax to offset

state budget cuts and declining property tax revenue. The tax will expire in

2017.

Measure D needed majority approval and received 64 percent.

Proponents said the tax hike is needed because property tax

revenues are down and pension costs are rising.

Town officials including Mayor Larry Bragman and Vice Mayor Pam

Hartwell-Herrero say the town has frozen salaries, increased pension cost

sharing by employees and implemented a two-tier system to reduce pension

benefits.

Despite those efforts, town officials said the tax hike is needed

to balance the budget and avoid severe cuts in public safety and public works

services.

Visitors as well as Fairfax residents will pay the sales tax hike,

officials said.

Tax hike opponents claimed “unwarranted” pay raises were given to

the town manager and senior staff, and unsustainable lifetime health and

pension benefits costing taxpayers $980,000 were approved between 2006 and

2009.

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In the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District, 70 percent of voters

approved Measure A, a $26 million bond issue, and voters in the Tamalpais

Union High School District appear to have narrowly approved Measure B, a

renewal of a parcel tax for 10 years starting July 1.

Measure B needs two-thirds of the vote and had 72 percent late

Tuesday night.

Measure E, an increase in an annual paramedic special services tax

from $85 to $95 per parcel, had 75 percent approval, and Measure F, a similar

tax hike in the Santa Venetia-Bayside Acres Fire District, was leading with

73 percent approval. Both measures require two-thirds approval.

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Voters in the Inverness Public Utility District approved Measure

H, an increase in the appropriations limit to include all combined revenue

through fiscal year 2014-2015.

It received 96 percent approval and required a majority vote.

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Solano County voters Tuesday appear to have elected mostly

incumbents and a few newcomers to various city councils and approved a local

measure that imposes a tax on marijuana businesses to provide for city

services while defeating a measure that would have raised a citywide sales

tax.

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In Fairfield, one newcomer and one incumbent appear to have been

chosen by a slim margin over incumbent candidate Rick Vaccaro, a former high

school principal and three-year councilman.

Pam Bertani, 47, a patent attorney, won a City Council seat

Tuesday with 27 percent of the vote, according to complete unofficial

election results. Trailing just behind with 26.6 percent voter support,

56-year-old Fairfield Vice Mayor and retired policeman Chuck Timm was also

apparently elected Tuesday.

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Benicia voters Tuesday appear to have narrowly re-elected

incumbent Mayor Elizabeth Patterson with 50.9 percent of the vote, defeating

the city’s current vice mayor, Alan Schwartzman, who received 48 percent of

voter support.

Benicia City Councilman Tom Campbell handily secured his council

seat with 37 percent of the vote. Benicia voters also elected a newcomer to

the council, small business owner Christina Strawbridge, with 30.9 percent.

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Vallejo voters also chose an incumbent, re-electing Mayor Osby

Davis, who has served as mayor for four years. Davis received 51.5 percent of

the vote Tuesday compared to rival candidate Joanne Schivley, a three-term

councilwoman, who got 47 percent of votes.

The mayor has said that despite reduced city services in Vallejo

because of the economic downturn, he has helped balance the city budget and

add to its reserve.

In the Vallejo City Council race, voters appear to have re-elected

incumbent Erin Hannigan, who received just 14 votes more than newcomer Bob

Sampayan, a retired police officer who also earned a spot on the council,

according to unofficial figures.

Voters appear to have chosen newcomer Robert McConnell, a

bankruptcy attorney, to fill the third open seat.

Measure C, which will impose a tax on local marijuana businesses

to support a wide range of city services, apparently passed by a landslide in

Vallejo Tuesday with 76 percent of the vote, according to unofficial election

numbers.

Vallejo voters appear to have rejected a second ballot measure by

just 64 votes. Measure B would have allowed the city to collect a 1 percent

sales tax to support a wide range of city services.

Patricia Decker, Bay City News, contributed to this report.

Patricia Decker, Bay City News, contributed to this report.