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With two seats on Mountain View Whisman’s school board up for a vote this November – and just over a week left for candidates to file to run – only the incumbents have thrown their hats in the ring.
As of July 28, trustees Devon Conley and Bill Lambert were the only ones who had pulled nomination paperwork, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Both of their four-year terms on the governing board expire this year.
If no other candidates emerge, the situation will mirror 2022, when Conley and Lambert were the only candidates to qualify for the ballot, leaving the race uncontested.
However, an unopposed race would stand in sharp contrast to the 2024 election, when eight candidates – none of them incumbents – vied for three seats on the Mountain View Whisman board. At the time, the district was embroiled in controversies on multiple fronts, with the superintendent resigning just days before the election.
In the end, Ana Reed, Lisa Henry and Charles DiFazio were elected to the five-member board. Their terms run through mid-December 2028.
Unlike the Mountain View Los Altos High School District, which recently switched to area-based elections, each Mountain View Whisman board member is elected by voters from across the district.
Candidates have until Aug. 7 to file nomination documents with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
Devon Conley
Conley was first elected to the board in 2018 and previously worked as a teacher, including at Mountain View Whisman’s Stevenson Elementary School. She ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2024.
Conley told the Voice that she was running for another term on the school board “to continue the work that we’ve started,” pointing to accomplishments during her tenure, including adopting a new literacy curriculum, hiring counselors for each school and expanding free after-school care for low-income students.
“I envision a district where every student thrives, regardless of their background or the challenges families face outside of school,” Conley said in an email to the Voice.
Conley faced an unsuccessful recall attempt last year, which didn’t garner enough signatures to get on the ballot. The recall effort followed a year of controversy in the district, as members of the public scrutinized spending, including pricey meditation sessions and coaching for administrators.
Bill Lambert
Lambert originally joined the board in 2012, serving a single term before deciding not to run for reelection in 2016. He rejoined the board in 2022. Lambert told the Voice that he is running for another term this year because the work “had just started.”
“My commitment is straightforward: Every student leaving 8th grade should be academically prepared to pursue a college-preparatory path — not because every student will, but because every student should be able to choose it,” Lambert said in his statement.
He added that he brings “a scientist’s rigor and a lawyer’s thoughtfulness” to the board. Lambert works as an intellectual property partner at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP.
