Results last updated 5 p.m. Nov. 18
The general election yielded mostly predictable results with voters favoring incumbents in local council and school board races. But there were a few Nov. 5 surprises.
The race for the Area 1 seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Education saw challenger Jessica Speiser taking a narrow lead over 17-year incumbent Grace Mah. Speiser is a Los Altos resident and Los Altos School District trustee, finishing her second term on the board.
Although thousands of uncounted ballots remained the week of elections, Speiser said she was happy about the early returns.
“Still not cause to celebrate, but I feel good,” she told supporters Thursday as she built an 1,800-vote lead.
Speiser is taking the lead with (46,491, 51.30%) while Grace Mah is following short of the votes with (44,137, 48.70%).
Meanwhile, Measure EE, the Los Altos School District’s $350 million bond measure, was passing Monday by a razor-thin margin. So far, the bond measure is just ahead of the 55% needed to pass with 12,804 votes (56.03%) to 10,048 (43.97%).
The district faced loud opposition to the bond. Detractors picked apart the proposal, citing declining enrollment and spending on a 10th school site that wasn’t needed. Proponents stayed the course with the message of improving all schools that would, in turn, improve property values.
Following are other key races and results for the Town Crier coverage areas of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. Results are as of Monday afternoon. The paper’s print deadline for today’s issue was 5 p.m. Monday.
Los Altos City Council
The Los Altos City Council race had five candidates running for three seats on the five-seat council. Returns showed incumbents Sally Meadows (8,504 votes, 26.27%) and Mayor Jonathan Weinberg (7,644, 23.62%) ahead, followed by challenger Larry Lang (6,737, 20.81%). Challenger Ibrahim Bashir is in fourth (6,161, 19.03%), despite record campaign contributions totaling more than $75,000. Planning Commission chairman Eric Steinle has 3,323 (10.27%).
“I am honored to be re-elected to council and appreciate that many of our residents have confidence in my ability to have a positive impact in our community,” Meadows said. “The past four years have shown that I am committed to being fair, objective and to listen to all points of view as we try to navigate the opportunities and issues that come up for our city.”
“I am both delighted and humbled to have won a second term on the Los Altos City Council,” Weinberg said. “The city is in good shape, but we face challenges. Working together with residents and staff, I am confident that my colleagues on the city council and I will continue to bring good results that benefit our community.”
Lang was solidly ahead in the vote for the final open seat. His success, he indicated, could be attributed to face-to-face interactions with residents.
“The current tally suggests I may be among the last at-large council members elected by all Los Altans,” Lang said. “I walked neighborhoods throughout the city, and I’ll keep all those conversations in mind as I seek to serve every member of our community.”
Bashir was not giving up.
“Given the large number of outstanding ballots, the election is too close to call,” he said. “I am very proud of our campaign and look forward to knowing the results once all the votes are counted.”
In the wake of a recent change to by-district elections, this race marked the last at-large council election for the city.
The council last month approved a map dividing the city into five voting districts.
Mountain View City Council
Nine candidates, a mix of political veterans and fresh-faced newbies, competed for four seats up for grabs on Mountain View City Council.
The top four candidates are incumbents Pat Showalter (13,376 votes), Emily Ann Ramos (13,133 votes), Chris Clark (10,869 votes) and John McAlister (6,393). Not far behind is IdaRose Sylvester with 8,802 votes.
Measure G
Mountain View’s revenue measure is passing with overwhelming support, 72.22% of counted voters (21,081 votes) saying yes to the bond, while 27.78% (8,109 voters) voted no. Measure G would provide funding to capital improvement and city infrastructure projects.
The measure raises the city’s pre-existing, voter-approved property transfer tax on properties valued at more than $6 million. It is projected to raise more than $9.3 million a year in tax revenue. One of the projects eyed is a new police station.
Mountain View Los Altos High School District board
Alex Levich (18,586, 35.62%) and Vadim Katz (17,315, 33.19%) were in position Monday to win the two open seats on the board. Li Zhang received 16,272 (31.19%). The race was unusual in that it featured three challengers, no incumbents.
Mtn. View Whisman School District board
Six candidates ran for three open seats on the board. Ana Kristina Reed is first with 7,486 votes (17.24%), followed by Lisa Henry (7,237, 16.66%) and Charles Difazio (6,774, 15.6%).
Foothill-De Anza Community College District
Incumbent Peter Landsberger amassed an insurmountable lead (25,721 79.35%) over Eric Rosenthal of Los Altos Hills (6,692 20.65%) in the Area 3 race for the seat. Area 3 includes Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.
Cupertino Union School District
Incumbent Sylvia Leong is far and away in first place, accumulating 29,055 votes (35.86%). Long Jiao is in a good position to take the second open seat with 17,060 (21.06%). There were six challengers for two open seats. The district includes Montclaire Elementary School in Los Altos and Cupertino Middle School.
State Assembly 23
State Assemblymember Marc Berman beat Palo Alto City Councilmember Lydia Kou to retain his seat in the Assembly. So far, Berman has 60% of the vote (114,800). Kou has 40% (76,467). The 23rd district includes Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View.
In an email to supporters last week, Berman remarked: “I faced the stiffest competition I’ve had in eight years, and I’m very proud that as of this morning I’ve received 61% of the vote.”
State Senate 13
Sen. Josh Becker easily bested Los Altos Republican Alex Glew to retain his seat. State Senate District 13 represents most of San Mateo County and northern Santa Clara County, including Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View.
Becker leads with 72.5% (310,485) of the vote, with Glew at 27.5% (117,616).
U.S. Congressional District 16
Sam Liccardo beat Evan Low in a heated race to succeed longtime Congressional Rep. Anna Eshoo.
Low conceded the race last Wednesday. Liccardo led 58.2% of the vote (177,510 votes) to 41.8% (127,382 votes), 100% of election night precincts partially reporting. Liccardo is a former mayor of San José. Low is a 10-year state Assembly member. Both ran expensive, aggressive campaigns accusing the other of being corrupt.
Low faced off with Liccardo after a razor-thin win in the March 5 primary over county Supervisor Joe Simitian.
Santa Clara County Supervisor, District 5
Mountain View City Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga, facing Mountain View councilmember Sally Lieber, was poised to win in the race to succeed Joe Simitian.
Abe-Koga was ahead of Lieber 70,621 (57.37%) to 52,486 (42.63%).
El Camino Healthcare District board
The three incumbent directors, Carol Ann Somersille (39,535, 29.62%), Julia Miller (37,855, 28.36%) and John Zoglin (of Los Altos) (34,542, 25.88%) have likely earned re-election. Lynette Lee Eng, currently on the Los Altos City Council, is in fourth with 21,556 votes (16.15%).
Board members serve on the El Camino Hospital Board which overseees operations.
