Open Space Bond Rejected, Several Incumbents Lose In San Mateo County Election
SAN MATEO COUNTY (CBS SF) -- In San Mateo County's first all-mail election, voters in San Carlos solidly rejected a bond measure to finance the purchase of open space, but elsewhere in the county voters were looser with the purse strings and approved several school district and city tax and bond measures, according to complete unofficial election results.
Measure V in San Carlos, which needed a two-thirds majority to pass, drew only 38.3 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial results.
The $45 million bond would have allowed the city to purchase nearly 25 acres on Black Mountain along Alameda de las Pulgas between Madera Avenue and Melendy Drive for the creation of a park.
Supporters argued the measure was a unique opportunity to acquire open space and prevent the development of housing on the site, while opponents criticized the lack of concrete plans and the steep cost of the land.
Elsewhere in the county, San Mateo and South San Francisco voters approved sales tax measures by solid majorities.
San Mateo's Measure S, which will continue the city's existing quarter-cent sales tax for 30 years, received 70 percent of the vote, while South San Francisco's Measure W, a half-cent sales tax, received 61.5
percent. Both measures needed only a simple majority to pass.
Both cities said the funds will go toward city services, including police and programs for teens, youth and children. The only opposition to both measures came from the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association.
Voters also approved school bond measures for the Redwood City Elementary School District and the San Mateo-Foster City School District to finance facility renovations and upgrades.
Measure T, which will allow the Redwood City district to issue $193 million in bonds, passed with 62.5 percent of the vote, while San Mateo-Foster City's Measure X, a $148 million bond measure, passed with 57.5 percent of the vote. Both measures required a 55 percent majority to pass.
The Menlo Park Fire Protection District's Measure Y, which would raise the district's appropriations limit, or amount of tax revenues it can spend, to $50 million for the next four years, also passed. The measure, which required a simple majority for approval, received 77.3 percent of the vote.
The closest races came in San Bruno, where voters appear to have narrowly approved measures making the positions of city clerk and city treasurer appointive rather than elected. Measures R and U, which both needed simple majorities, passed with 50.3 percent and 50.9 percent.
The state Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown last year authorized San Mateo County to hold an all-mail election for any upcoming election that does not include a state or national office on the ballot.
The county must report back to the state on the election's cost, voter turnout and demographics, the number of ballots not counted and any evidence of voter fraud.
According to the county's elections website, 71,131 ballots were cast, 19.9 percent of the 357,191 registered voters in the election. Three states -- Oregon, Washington and Colorado -- currently have statewide all-mail elections in place. While California has authorized such elections only in San Mateo and Yolo counties, lawmakers are considering expanding the practice to the rest of the state.
More information about the election can be found on the county's website at www.shapethefuture.org.
Several incumbent city council members appear poised to lose their seats Tuesday night.
In San Bruno, appointed incumbent Michael Salazar was in last place with 29.6 percent of the vote in a three-way race for two seats.
Newcomer Marty Medina, a construction inspector, led the pack with 36.7 percent of the vote, followed by incumbent Irene O'Connell at 33.7 percent.
In Redwood City, where four seats were up for grabs, longtime incumbent Rosanne Foust, president of the San Mateo County Economic Development Association, trailed in fifth place with 14.6 percent of the vote.
Her fellow incumbent Ian Bain was the top vote winner with 21 percent of the vote, followed by Shelly Masur, a school board member and nonprofit executive, with 19.2 percent, Alicia Aguirre, an incumbent with 18.9 percent, and Janet Borgens, a small business owner and planning commission member with 18.1 percent.
In Millbrae, where three seats were available, incumbents Wayne Lee and Robert Gottschalk were in third and fourth place, with 22.8 percent and 19.8 percent of the vote, respectively. The top vote getters were environmental manager and educator Ann Schneider, with 29.3 percent of the vote, and Gina Papan, a deputy attorney general, with 28.1 percent.
In other cities, incumbents trailed challengers but still appeared likely to win reelection.
In Foster City, where three seats were available, incumbent Herb Perez was in third place with 25.8 percent of the vote, behind small business owner Sam Hindi at 26.8 percent and attorney Catherine Mahanpour at 26.2 percent. Broker and educator Patrick Sullivan was in last place with 21.3 percent of the vote.
In San Mateo, where two seats were open, incumbent Maureen Freschet was in second place with 35.6 percent of the vote, behind challenger Diane Papan, a nonprofit executive, who led with 37.3 percent. Trailing were accountant Thomas Morgan at 16.2 percent and marketing manager Karen Schmidt with 10.8 percent.
In Brisbane, which had two open seats, incumbent Terry O'Connell easily led the pack with 27.8 percent of the vote. Behind her, Madison Davis, a parks and recreation commissioner and special advocate for foster children, drew 23 percent of the vote, while planning commissioner and engineer Jameel Munir drew 20.5 percent.
In Belmont, where no incumbents ran for two open seats, transportation and environmental planner Doug Kim was leading with 43 percent of the vote and attorney and planning commissioner Davina Hurt was in second with 42.3 percent. Product development manager Dwight Looi trailed at 14.8 percent.
And in Burlingame, where no incumbents ran for two open seats, nonprofit executive Emily Beach was leading with 37.9 percent of the vote, followed by business owner Donna Colson with 34.9 percent. Entrepreneur Nirmala Bandrapalli drew 21.1 percent and marketing consultant and community volunteer Eric Storey drew 6 percent.
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