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A sign reads “Vote” outside a vote center at the Mountain View Community Center on March 5, 2024. Photo by Magali Gauthier.

The November election is less than three months away and local voters will have the chance to weigh in on much more than the presidential race, with contested races for Mountain View City Council, local school boards and the El Camino Healthcare District all on the ballot.

The window for candidates to file to run closed on Aug. 9, with an extension until Aug. 14 for races with an incumbent who didn’t file. 

With those deadlines now past, the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters has released a list of qualified local candidates, as well as local ballot measures. (Write-in candidates will have from Sept. 9 to Oct. 22 to file nomination documents.)

There will be many contested races in the Mountain View area, including nine people running for four seats on the Mountain View City Council and eight people running for three seats on the Mountain View Whisman school board.

Between now and the election, the Voice plans to publish extensive election coverage, including individual profiles of each candidate for major races. Voice reporters will also be covering campaign finance filings and sending questionnaires to candidates to help voters compare them head-to-head on the issues.

The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 21. For more information, visit the Registrar of Voters website.

Read on to see the list of candidates for various local races, followed by local ballot measures. Next to each candidate’s name is the “ballot designation” that they submitted to describe themselves.

Candidates

Mountain View City Council – four seats

  • Emily Ann Ramos – Appointed City Councilmember
  • Erik Poicon – Library Outreach Specialist
  • Pat Showalter – Incumbent
  • Nicholas Hargis – Congressional Field Representative
  • IdaRose Sylvester – Entrepreneur/Educator
  • Devon Conley – Governing Board Member, Mountain View Whisman School District
  • Jose Gutierrez – High Tech Paralegal
  • Chris Clark – Commissioner/Nonprofit Director
  • John McAlister – Local Business Owner

Mountain View Whisman School District – three seats

  • Raymond White – Retired Biology Professor
  • Erin Davis-Hung – Teacher/Parent
  • Lisa Henry – Community Volunteer 
  • Christine Case-Lo – Community Volunteer
  • Nancy Mize – Businessowner/Parent/Scientist
  • Charles Difazio – Parent/Software Engineer
  • Ana Kristina Reed – Middle School Teacher
  • Shawn Dormishian – Parent

Mountain View Los Altos High School District – two seats

  • Alex Levich – Small Business Owner
  • Vadim Katz – Engineer/Parent
  • Li Zhang – Senior Finance Manager

Los Altos School District – two seats

  • Stella Kam – Community Volunteer
  • Jim Malone – Parent

Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Area 1 – one seat

  • Jessica Speiser – School Trustee/Mother
  • Grace Mah – Governing Board Member, Santa Clara County Board of Education, Trustee Area 1

Foothill-De Anza Community College District Trustee Area 1 – one seat

  • Laura Casas – Incumbent

Foothill-De Anza Community College District Trustee Area 3 – one seat

  • Peter Landsberger – Governing Board Member, Foothill-De Anza Community College District
  • Eric Rosenthal – Retired College Administrator

Foothill-De Anza Community College District Trustee Area 5 – one seat

  • Forest Olaf Peterson – Educator/Engineer/Laborer
  • Terry Godfrey – Chief Financial Officer

El Camino Healthcare District – three seats

  • John Zoglin – Director, El Camino Healthcare District
  • Carol Anne Somersille – Physician
  • Julia Miller – Director, El Camino Healthcare District
  • Lynette Lee Eng – Councilmember/Senior Liaison

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 5 – one seat

  • Margaret Abe-Koga – City Councilmember/Mother
  • Sally Lieber – Member, California State Board of Equalization

United States Representative District 16 – one seat

  • Sam Liccardo – Small Businessperson/Educator 
  • Evan Low – California State Assemblymember

California State Assembly District 23 – one seat

  • Marc Berman – State Assemblymember 
  • Lydia Kou – Mayor of Palo Alto 

California State Senate District 13 – one seat

  • Josh Becker – California State Senator
  • Alexander Glew – Professional Engineer/CEO 

Ballot measures

Measure G: City of Mountain View 

This measure would increase the city’s property transfer tax to $15 per $1,000 on residential and commercial properties sold for over $6 million. The current rate is $3.30 per $1,000. The measure requires majority support to pass and would raise an estimated $9.5 million annually.

Measure AA: Mountain View Whisman School District

This measure would levy a parcel tax of 15 cents per square foot of building area, capped at $1,750 per parcel. Unimproved parcels would be charged $25. It would replace an existing parcel tax that expires on June 30, 2025. The measure requires two-thirds support to pass and would raise an estimated $5.4 million annually for eight years.

Measure EE: Los Altos School District

This measure would authorize the school district to issue $350 million in bonds, with an average annual expected cost to property owners of $30 per $100,000 of assessed value. The measure requires 55% support to pass.

Correction: This article was updated with the correct spelling of Ana Kristina Reed’s name. The Voice regrets the error.

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Zoe Morgan leads the Mountain View Voice as its editor. She previously spent four years working as a reporter for the Voice, with a focus on covering local schools, youth and families. A Mountain View...

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