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UPDATE: As of Friday, Nov. 6, at 1:30 p.m., the three incumbents have kept their seats for the Foothill-De Anza Board of Trustees, according to the latest election count released by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Gilbert Wong continued to lead the incumbents with 29.9% of the vote, with Peter Landsberger in second position garnering 28.3% and Laura Casas at 27.7%. Challenger Govind Tatachari placed fourth with 14.01%, with all precincts reporting. All of the incumbents gave up fractional portions of their percentages from Nov. 3, with Tatachari increasing his percentage by 0.72%. So far, 67% of the county’s ballots have been counted.
Voters appeared to be reseating three incumbents in the race for the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees on Tuesday night.
Laura Casas, Peter Landsberger and Gilbert Wong were ahead with 27.82%, 28.81% and 29.98% voter approval, respectively. Sole challenger Govind Tatachari received 13.79% of the vote as of midnight on Nov. 3, with all precincts reporting.
Tatachari, a technology professional who grew up in mining towns in India and boot-strapped himself into a professional career in computer science, ran on a platform of invigorating Foothill and De Anza colleges with 21st century technology programs that would help students prepare for industry and public transparency. It appears the incumbents, one of whom has served for 15 years, are heading toward an additional term.
They are expected to face numerous challenges. With COVID-19 impacting government budgets, funding the district receives from the state is likely to diminish and the board will need to find ways to make up the losses or slash programs. They also face two drivers that will affect the future of the colleges: affordable housing for students and teachers and shrinking enrollment.
The board also will be tasked with finding appropriate and effective ways to allocate $898 million in bond money (Proposition G) approved by local voters in March, which they have said will go largely to infrastructure upgrades, including replacing the structurally unsound Flint Center at De Anza College in Cupertino with a performing arts structure. The trustees must consider additional distance learning programs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
All three have designated the effects of the coronavirus pandemic as a serious obstacle, but revenue from the state is determined by the number of full-time students who are enrolled at the colleges. To that end, they’ll need to find ways to attract new students through relevant classes that will allow them to transition to four-year colleges and universities and to encourage additional enrollees, such as immigrants who work in Silicon Valley, they have noted.
Housing, which is badly needed to attract and retain teachers and students, will be another largely debated topic, and the three incumbents have differing views on how making up for that shortfall could be achieved. Casas is against on-campus housing while Wong is for it. Landsberger supports a Santa Clara County-led effort to provide off-campus housing on land near the Palo Alto courthouse and possible partnerships with nonprofit organizations.
Landsberger said by phone on Nov. 3 that his reelection “is much more of a reflection of the confidence the voters place on the district than the performance of any individual board members. It’s a reaffirmation of what the voters said when they went for the bond and parcel tax.”
In his coming term, he said the district would face challenges financially that will make it difficult to achieve what he thinks is its primary goal.
“It’s imperative to focus laserlike on equitable outcomes” for students, he said, so they can acquire the skills to become contributing members of society.” But that success can only come when there are no achievement gaps. “It’s absolutely imperative that we double down to eliminate those disparities,” he said.
The district also will be tasked with responding to all of the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and how they can meet the economic concerns along with providing the educational opportunities and quality students need, he said.
Wong said he was “excited and humbled” to be reelected by the voters.
On Monday, Nov. 2, the board worked hard regarding Proposition G priorities. Wong said he pushed hard for them to be fiscally conservative regarding spending the measure’s money. He will also focus on affordable housing for students, many of whom are housing and food insecure and he will find ways to address public safety through the eyes of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Like Landsberger, he said addressing the effects of COVID-19 would be a priority, and he hoped to make sure that programs such as the College Promise program, which gives high school students two years of free tuition, would continue. He is also continuing his lobbying work on the federal level, he said.
This story will be updated as more results come in.
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