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Election season is officially underway in the San Ramon Valley, with Friday (Aug. 9) marking the deadline to file nomination papers for a majority of local races and some candidates already campaigning to defend their existing positions, challenge incumbents, or vie for open seats.
According to the candidate list from the county after the deadline, competitive races are taking shape for seats for both the Danville and San Ramon councils and other local agencies including the BART Board of Directors and the San Ramon Valley Unified School District’s Board of Education.
Four candidates are set to compete for three at-large seats on the Danville Town Council, with incumbents Renee Morgan and Newell Arnerich seeking to continue their tenures and two new faces – Mark Belotz and Julia Gillette – seeking to join the town’s governing body.
That number could still grow in the coming days, however. With incumbent councilmember David Fong announcing earlier this year that he would not seek reelection to a second term, the deadline for nominations has been extended in Danville through Wednesday (Aug. 14) at 5 p.m., automatically triggered by Fong’s decision.Â
The same goes for the race for San Ramon mayor, with incumbent Dave Hudson set to retire from the position after serving the longest-ever tenure on the San Ramon City Council. As of Friday, Mark Armstrong was the only candidate to have filed nomination papers – in contrast with the last mayor’s race, in which Hudson beat out two other candidates to continue for a second term as mayor.
With Hudson out of the race, a deadline extension through Wednesday is also triggered for the San Ramon mayor’s seat – meaning that it remains unclear until then whether or not the race will be a competitive one.
A deadline extension through Wednesday has also been spurred by the decision of Hudson’s fellow longtime Councilmember Scott Perkins not to seek reelection to his District 1 seat, paving the way for three new candidates – Vasanth Shetty, Jim Hansen and Robert Jweinat – to compete for the position so far. That list could grow in the coming days.
The one San Ramon city race finalized as of Friday is for the District 3 council seat. Incumbent Sridhar Verose is seeking another term in the position. He had been set to face a challenge from political newcomer Jonathan Adams, but Adams had not qualified for the ballot as of the final report on Friday evening.Â
With incumbents for both seats up for election on the SRVUSD board seeking reelection, that race is also finalized. Area 2 trustee Shelley Clark is facing a challenge from newcomer and district parent Karin Shumway, while Area 3 trustee and Board President Laura Bratt is facing challenger Sukriti Sehgal, described as a scientist and mother, according to the candidate list.
The nomination period for EBMUD’s Ward 2 seat was also closed as of Friday evening. Incumbent and former San Ramon City Council candidate Luz Gomez – who was appointed to the board for a partial term following the departure of longtime director John Coleman – had been facing a challenge from Arvind Mallya, but the latter had not qualified for the ballot as of Friday evening.
Former Dublin mayor Melissa Hernandez – also appointed to a partial term on the BART Board of Directors’ District 5 seat vacated by the retirement of longtime director John McPartland – is also seeking election to a full term in the position. She is facing a challenge from Joseph Grcar, who was among the four candidates on the ballot for the March 5 primary vote for the State Senate District 9 seat, but who failed to make it to the runoff vote for that race set for November’s ballot. Assemblymember Tim Grayson and San Ramon City Council member Marisol Rubio are the two candidates who will be on the ballot for the runoff vote in that race.
Meanwhile, in the other Tri-Valley BART seat, District 1 Director Debora Allen initially pulled papers to run for reelection but did not submit them by Friday’s deadline, leaving Pleasant Hill Mayor Matt Rinn as the only candidate thus far. Allen confirmed to DanvilleSanRamon.com on Saturday that she opted not to seek reelection and will be backing Rinn in the race.
For Dublin San Ramon Services District, board divisions 1 and 5 only saw the incumbents file for the race – Dinesh Govindarao and Arun Goel, respectively. However, in Division 3, Director Rich Halket is being challenged by asset accounting manager Javier Lopez Rivero.
All three incumbents on the SRVFPD Board of Directors – Jay Kerr, Michelle Lee and Matthew Stamey – are set to be unchallenged in their bids for reelection.Â
For coverage of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin and Sunol candidacy deadlines, visit PleasantonWeekly.com.
