It’s a new day. Republicans no longer control all three branches of the federal government, and there’s no doubt that makes the vast majority of registered voters in the state of California happy. Our team here at KALW was up late covering the election live. KALW election coordinator Angela Johnston and news director Ben Trefny help us sift through some of the results.
State
We’ll start with the state propositions. It looks like Californians said 'yes' to Propositions 2 and 4, which will issue bonds for housing people with mental illnesses and children hospitals. Voters also chose to end Daylight Saving Time, passing Prop 7. That means it goes back to the legislature, and if two-thirds agree, it’ll head to the federal government for consideration. And while affordable housing is on a lot of voters minds here in the Bay Area, voters defeated Prop 10 - a statewide proposition that would’ve repealed Costa Hawkins and made it easier for cities like San Francisco to expand rent control.
There were also some very close state races. One that caught our attention this year was the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. It was the most expensive race on the ballot and is still too close to call. Marshall Tuck a former charter school executive narrowly is ahead of Tony Thurmond - an assembly member for District 15 in Alameda. Thurmond hasn’t conceded yet.
Thurmond tweeted earlier this morning that “With millions of ballots left to be counted, we're digging in & waiting for every vote.”
San Francisco
All five ballot measures in San Francisco appear to have passed — including Measure C, which taxes businesses to pay for homeless services. One of the measure’s most prominent opponents was Mayor London Breed, so that’s a blow to her agenda. By the way, her race for next year’s re-election basically begins today.
San Francisco voters also chose five supervisors. Gordon Mar will represent District 4 on the west side of the city. He’ll be joined by Catherine Stefani in District 2 in the north, Matt Haney in District 6 in SOMA, Rafael Mandelman in the Mission representing District 8, and Shamann Walton in District 10 on the east side of the city.
East Bay
Over in Oakland, it appears that Libby Schaaf will continue as mayor of Oakland. She made a national name for herself challenging President Trump, but she’s also faced struggles during her tenure. The Oakland Raiders are leaving town, following the Golden State Warriors. And homeless encampments have popped up around the city.
Tony Thurmond’s old seat in Alameda County was also hotly contested by two Democrats. Former Obama aide Buffy Wicks and Richmond City Council Member Jovanka Beckles. Wicks won, but there was a lot of progressive excitement for Beckles, she was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.
You can check out state results here, San Francisco results here, and Alameda County results here.
