Bay Area election roundup

By Brigid Gaffikin, Bay City News Service

June 7, 2006

Measures to increase funding for transportation, schools and colleges as well as several mayoral races dominated Bay Area ballots in Tuesday's Gubernatorial Primary Election.

Two Bay Area Democratic primaries also drew attention, with one incumbent appearing to cruise to victory and another clear leader emerging in a three-candidate race.

Former Congressman Ron Dellums may be able to avoid a runoff contest with Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente in November in the race to be Oakland mayor.

With almost 89 percent of ballots counted this morning, Dellums had more than 49 percent of the vote, just shy of the 50 percent he needs for a clear victory, while De La Fuente had 33.5 percent. A third contender,

Nancy Nadel, has received 13.2 percent of the vote so far, according to unofficial results.

Vote counting in Alameda County has been slow because elections officials have had to hand-feed votes into ballot reading machines.

Another hotly contended mayoral race, in San Jose, saw Councilman Chuck Reed out ahead of Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez.

Both candidates seem headed for another race in November.

Reed's 28.23 percent of the votes bested Chavez's 23.46 percent, but with 10 candidates in the race, no one contender has come close to attaining a clear 50 percent of the vote, according to unofficial election results.

Santa Clara County also saw a proposed sales tax increase headed for a sound defeat, preliminary results indicate. Measure A, which would have raised the countywide sales tax to 8.75 percent, was rejected by almost 58 percent of voters.

In Solano and Napa counties separate measures, each named Measure H, both proposed half-cent sales taxes that, combined, would have raised more than $2 billion for road and highway maintenance and public transportation infrastructure.

Money raised in both counties would also have gone toward widening Jameson Canyon Road, which traverses Napa and Solano counties.

But voters blanched at the spending plans and unofficial results suggest neither measure will pass.

In Marin County voters in the Tamalpais Union High School District appear to have approved Measure A, which would provide $79.92 million in bonds to modernize five district high schools.

But in Contra Costa County voters appear to have rejected Measure B, a proposed parcel tax that would have provided funds to make teachers' salaries in the three-school John Swett Unified School District more competitive with salaries in other school districts. John Swett Unified School District teachers are currently in salary and benefits mediation sessions with district officials.

Measure B required two-thirds of the vote to pass and came up just shy of that mark, with 64.16 percent of voters approving it, according to unofficial results.

In San Francisco Measure A, which proposed allocating $10 million a year to homicide prevention services appears to have fallen short of the simple majority it needed to pass, while Measure D, a proposal to re-zone Laguna Honda Hospital apparently endured a resounding defeat, with almost three quarters of voters opposing it.

Measure B, which would require landlords selling buildings to notify prospective buyers about evictions of the elderly or disabled looks like it has squeezed by with just over 52 percent of voters in favor.

In San Mateo County voters came out in support of Measure U, a bond request to provide funds to the Menlo Park City Elementary School District, while rejecting Measure S, a parcel tax proposed for the Cabrillo Unified School District, unofficial results indicate.

In the Democratic primary race for the state Senate seat in District 8 and which drew San Mateo and San Francisco voters, Leland Yee has emerged as the leader, with 49.7 percent of the vote, ahead of challengers Mike Nevin and Lou Papan.

Unofficial results for the primary race between Democrats Lynn Woolsey and termed-out Assemblyman Joe Nation for Woolsey's heavily Democratic-leaning 6th District Congressional seat, which covers parts of Marin and Sonoma counties, put Woolsey as the clear winner.

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