A runoff election for the Santa Clara County Assessor’s seat is looking likely, based on county polls, and Measure A is poised to pass.
The Santa Clara County Registrar of voters began counting votes at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Approximately 100% of precincts were reporting as of 10:50 p.m. that night, according to the Santa Clara County special election results webpage.
The Santa Clara County Assessor’s seat opened after Larry Stone, former assessor, announced his June 23 retirement after a 30-year career. The seat, voted in by county residents, required a Nov. 4 special election to fill Stone’s seat for the one-year remainder of his four-year term.
Another election for a new four-year term will be scheduled the following November. Four candidates have emerged to succeed Stone: Los Altos Vice Mayor Neysa Fligor; Saratoga City Council member Yan Zhao; former Saratoga councilmember Rishi Kumar; and Bryan Do, current president of the Eastside Union High School District.
As of 10:50 p.m. Tuesday, Fligor is leading the race with 118,661 (38.25%) of counted votes. Kumar follows with 75,508 (24.34%), Zhao with 63,995 (20.63%) and Do with 51,569 (16.62%) votes. The remaining 524 votes, .17% of those who voted, were write-ins, 100% of precincts reporting.
In the event no candidate earns more than 50% of the vote, the top two contenders will square off in a runoff election, set for Dec. 30.
Measure A calls for a sales tax of five-eighths of a cent for five years, or 0.625%, generating $330 million per year in annual revenue and needs a simple majority to pass. The measure, put on the ballot by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, was a response to funding cuts signed into law in July by President Donald Trump, including more than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid nationally. Santa Clara County receives more than $2.3 billion in funding from the federal Medicaid program, representing the largest single source of federal funding to the county each year, which threatens Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, according to a county press release. The cuts would threaten both public and private healthcare, potentially resulting in a $1 billion loss in revenue to Santa Clara County’s $4.6 billion public hospital system.
As of 10:50 p.m. Tuesday, Measure A is passing with 200,430 (56.73%) votes in support and 152,850 (43.27%) against the measure, 100% of precincts reporting.
Approximately 33.94%, or 362,704 of the county’s 1.06 million registered voters, voted, as of Tuesday.
