SANTA CLARA COUNTY (KRON/BCN) — In Santa Clara County, three incumbents were re-elected, all measures passed expect for a medical marijuana initiative and three of five San Jose City Council races are headed to a runoff, according to complete unofficial results.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian will continue to represent District 5 after winning 89 percent of the vote against challenger John Mumy.
Simitian, a former state senator, has held the seat since 2012, representing cities in the county’s northern cities including Cupertino, Los Altos, Mountain View and Palo Alto.
Three out of five contests for the San Jose City Council didn’t gain more than 50 percent of the vote and are heading for a runoff in the November election.
A less than 1 percent margin separated security consultant Steve Brown and Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office investigator Sergio Jimenez. Both men gained the top two spots and are vying to replace District 2 City Councilman Ash Kalra.
Kalra finished second in the race for state Assembly District 27 behind former San Jose Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen and will go to a runoff for that seat.
City Councilman Manh Nguyen fought to keep his District 4 seat with a little over 50 percent of the vote in a tight race with civil legal aid attorney Lan Diep, who came in behind with 49 percent.
Education researcher Devora “Dev” Davis and Helen Chapman, a retired resource director from the San Jose Unified School District, were the leaders in the District 6 contest, the most crowded of the five council races with eight candidates.
Davis and Chapman are looking to replace City Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio.
Davis led with almost 21 percent while Chapman trailed behind with nearly 20 percent.
Vice Mayor Rose Herrera will be succeeded by either attorney Jimmy Nguyen, with almost 25 percent of votes, or Evergreen School District Board trustee Sylvia Arenas, who had 22 percent of votes, for the District 8 seat.
City Councilman Johnny Khamis was re-elected to his District 10 chair with 76 percent over opponent J. Michael Sodergren, a network services executive who spent no money and took no donations for his campaign.
“Thank You to district 10 voters my volunteers, friends, and family for giving me the opportunity to serve our community for the next four years,” Khamis wrote on his Facebook page early this morning.
Santa Clara County’s park preservation fund Measure A passed with 77 percent approval, which exceeds the two-thirds majority needed to continue a 1.5 percent parcel tax to protect its more than 50,000 acres of open space.
In San Jose, almost 62 percent of votes supported Measure B, a quarter-cent sales tax to help fund essential city services such as police and fire response, street repairs and increasing efforts to deter gang activity.
Measure B will inject an estimated $40 million on an annual basis for 15 years and needed a majority vote to pass.
San Jose voters appear to have rejected Measure C, which would’ve eased regulations on medical marijuana clubs but came in with almost 65 percent no votes.
Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, one of the measure’s dissenters, was in office when the city passed strict rules two years ago limiting dispensaries’ hours and locations and raised violation fees. The new regulations led to a downfall in collectives and currently 16 collectives registered with the city have met the guidelines.
In the Gilroy Unified School District, Measure E was backed by 59 percent of votes to issue $170 million in bonds to build a new elementary school, upgrade technology and science labs, and make improvements to health, safety and security. The measure needed 55 percent approval.
Measure G for the Moreland Unified School District gained 72 percent of support, well above the required two-thirds majority for a $142 annual parcel tax for eight years to benefit kindergarten through eighth-grade students in seven West San Jose schools.
Measure G will assist the district by retaining teachers, expanding its reading, math and science programs, keeping small class sizes and maintaining school libraries.
With 77 percent of yes votes, Franklin-McKinley School District’s Measure H will use $67.4 million in bonds for schools in central San Jose to construct classrooms, connect students with current technology, replace leaky roofs and boost safety and access to students with disabilities. The measure needed two-thirds approval.
Measure I was taken up by voters in the Alum Rock Unified School District and garnered 78 percent approval to renew $140 million in bonds to fix leaky roofs, upgrade bathrooms, update classroom technology and increase student safety for almost two dozen campuses in East San Jose. The measure needed at least 55 percent of supporting votes.
Measure J in the Lakeside Joint Union School District gathered the necessary two-thirds majority for a $820 annual parcel tax lasting 10 years, with 70 percent of voters saying yes. The measure will help schools in the Los Gatos and Santa Cruz Mountains through with specialized training for teachers, buying newer technology and extensive science programs.Bay City News contributed to this report