Pleasanton voting today at polling places throughout city

Votes cast today at polling places across Pleasanton will help determine some of the still too-close-to-call races for State Assembly, Pleasanton City Council and the Pleasanton school board.

It’s estimated that nearly half the voters have cast their ballots already, meaning that county registrars, who have already tabulated those votes, can start reporting vote-by-mail results when the polling places close at 8 p.m.

But still, as always, it’s likely the votes cast at polling places across the city and region, which are counted last, will determine who’s won.

Political analysts are predicting high margins of victory for Gov. Jerry Brown and Congressman Eric Swalwell, whose opponents are lesser-known Republicans in a state that is largely Democratic.

But there the sure-fire predictions end.

Certainly the race between Dublin Mayor Tim Sbranti and Republican Pleasanton attorney Catharine Baker, also a Dublin resident, appears to be a dead heat in their bid to replace termed-out Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan in the 16th State Assembly District. The two are facing off after winning an expensive primary contest where Baker finished with more than 36% of the vote to Sbranti’s 30% in the district that runs from Pleasanton north to Lafayette and Walnut Creek.

Sbranti, a teacher at Dublin High School, has the backing of local Democrats and the California Teachers Association, which helped raise more than $1.5 million for his primary campaign.

A wild-card in that primary campaign was Steve Glazer, a Democratic councilman from Orinda, who campaigned on a promise to seek legislative action to block future BART strikes. Baker has picked up that clarion call in hopes of generating some of Glazer’s crossover votes in addition to a strengthened Republican Party in the Tri-Valley.

Uncertainty also prevails in the Pleasanton Unified School District, which is seeing its most competitive political race in recent years. Incumbents often generate strong support, particularly in school board races, because they’re better known.

But that doesn’t appear to be helping current board members Joan Laursen and Jeff Bowser, who are facing tough opposition from challengers Paige Wright and Mark Miller.

Calling for a change, the two newcomers to school politics are campaigning on promises to end what they see as turmoil on the current board, where problems ranging from a school principal’s ousting to a controversial school calendar change, to security on school campuses and teacher tenure, to differences over the introduction of Common Core teaching tactics have often filled the school board’s meeting room with complaining parents.

Bowser, currently serving his fourth year on the school board, said that he voted in favor of the calendar change because it helps reduce student stress. Laursen said the calendar change addresses students’ summer learning loss. Miller disagrees, saying that there is no data to support the benefits Bowser and Laursen suggested.

In response to the Common Core debate, all the candidates believe it will bring a positive change to schools. However, challengers Miller and Wright argue that the implementation of Common Core hasn’t been the best. “Especially with math, the implementation has been rocky,” said Miller, who added that the district should have started implementing it in the elementary schools then gradually start working up towards the higher grade levels.

When asked about security measures on school campuses, all candidates agree that campuses need to increase or have stronger security measures in light of school shooting incidents elsewhere. Both Bowser and Wright added that it’s important to look at the mental health aspect also.

“In Sandy Hook, in Columbine, there were issues that caused these people to do what they did,” Wright said. “So maybe if we start looking at mental health and start treating some of the problems, we can reduce the number of incidents.”

“It’s about understanding what struggling children are going through,” Bowser said. “We do need to provide more mental health services and work in partnership with the county in order to help provide those services to students.”

Both incumbents stressed the need for experience on the school board. Bowser points to his “deep roots” within the educational community. For the last half of his career, he has worked in technology, helping bring technology to schools. This combination of an education background combined with a business background is a valuable asset to steer through some of the challenges members face while on the board, Bowser said.

Laursen said that when it comes to public education, experience matters. She cites her understanding of the educational issues and proven commitment over the years to “always put students first.”

But Miller is critical of both Bowser and Laursen. He said they have stopped listening to the community, and he believes it’s time for a change. Wright said she wants to “bring our district back to where it should be.”

In the equally stimulating Pleasanton city election, there’s no clear front-runner although here incumbency may count for more votes than in the school board race.

Most observers give the edge to Mayor Jerry Thorne to win re-election. Challenger Matt Morrison has never held public office and has been focusing on restraining further growth in the city, recalling the views of mayors Ben Tarver and Tom Pico in the 1990s.

Yet his message has resonated with no-growth coalitions from the past who have put their campaign boots back on after being riled up by Thorne’s and the City Council’s recent rezoning of properties for high-density housing and, especially, their willingness to consider plans for more housing on Pleasanton’s East Side.

Thorne, in his campaign, reviews accomplishments during his first term as mayor, which include paying off all of the city’s construction debt, bringing millions of dollars in new business to Pleasanton (including CarMax on Staples Ranch, Clorox, a major expansion of Workday and the Stoneridge Creek retirement community), and achieving a certified housing element that allows Pleasanton to continue planning and issuing permits without state interference.

If re-elected, Thorne also said he would support the upgrade of Pleasanton’s Pioneer Cemetery to park standards. “Our cemetery is more than just a cemetery. It is a part of our history,” he said.

Still housing concerns and growth are helping City Council challenger George Bowen gain traction in a race with four candidates vying for two available council seats. With the help of his neighbors in the Parkside area adjacent to Ken Mercer Sports Park and former Councilwoman Kay Ayala’s coalition, Bowen is challenging Councilwoman Kathy Narum, former Planning Commissioner Arne Olson and Economic Vitality Committee chairwoman Olivia Sanwong.

Citing the rezoning actions by the council, Narum and Olson said those were done to meet state- and court-mandated orders that Pleasanton provide more high-density housing for those who work here but haven’t been able to find affordable places to live. Now that those demands have been met, they added, the council will only approve new housing applications required to meet updated state housing requirements.

With regard to the East Side, Sanwong said she has no objections to a task force completing the planning process for the area. However, she said housing growth in Pleasanton has brought with it more traffic and school overcrowding, and added that she would want to look at the city’s infrastructure, traffic, public safety, library and more to determine their capacities before approving any new housing.

Issues that differentiate the candidates include Measure BB, a countywide transportation tax that is on the November ballot. Three candidates — Narum, Olson and Sanwong — said they support the measure because, among other benefits, it would pay for the widening of Highway 84 and help fund the extension of BART to Livermore.

Bowen said he will vote against Measure BB, which, he pointed out, has a 30-year shelf life and “will be asking our grandchildren 30 years from now to be paying for the benefits that we receive today.”