Hear from candidates for Supervisorial District 5, Assembly Districts 11 & 15 and Congressional District 10
Presented by Contra Costa TV, Elections Department and League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley
Contra Costa Television partners with the Contra Costa Elections Department and the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley to bring you unbiased voter education information.
Watch 2024 Primary Election forums moderated by KTVU Anchor Claudine Wong, from Monday, February 5, 2024 – 8:00am to Thursday, February 29, 2024 – 7:00pm on Contra Costa County cable TV or watch the videos on the LWVDV YouTube channel or on the Contra Costa TV website.
Only candidates Joe Sweeney and El Sherbini Mohamed, both independents, participated. Incumbent Mark DeSaulnier, Democrat, and Republicans Nolan Lee Chen and Katherine Piccinni, and independent Musa Jalis did not participate.
Click here to see the details, including broadcast times and channels.
Pointing to dismal test scores, veteran lawmaker and a coalition of advocacy groups introduce AB 2222
By John Fensterwald, EdSource.org – Republished with permission
A veteran legislator who taught elementary school for 16 years introduced comprehensive early-literacy legislation Wednesday that would impose requirements on reading instruction and add urgency to the state’s patchwork of reading reforms.
Evidence-based practices, collectively known as “the science of reading,” would become the mandated approach to reading instruction for TK-5, if Assembly Bill 2222, authored by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, becomes law.
The bill would shift the state’s decade-old policy of encouraging districts to incorporate fundamental reading skills in the early grades, including phonics, to demanding that they do so. This would depart from the state policy of giving school districts discretion to choose curriculums and teaching methods that meet state academic standards.
Between now and 2028, all TK to fifth-grade teachers, literacy coaches and specialists would be required to take a 30-hour-minium course in reading instruction from an approved list.
School districts and charter schools purchasing textbooks would select from approved materials endorsed by the State Board of Education in a new round of textbook adoption.
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing would receive money to add several experts for accreditation of teacher preparation programs in the science of reading. The bill would strengthen accountability for those programs that have not taught effective reading strategies, as required under recent state law.
Rubio and the advocacy nonprofits EdVoice, Decoding Dyslexia CA, and Families in Schools, the bill’s co-sponsors, argue that another generation of California children cannot wait for districts teaching ineffective techniques using inadequate materials to come around.
“California is facing a literacy crisis,” the first sentence of the bill states. “There are far too many children who are not reading on grade level by the end of third grade and who will not complete elementary school with the literacy skills and language development they need to be successful academically in middle school and high school.”
Only 43% of California third graders met the academic standards in the state’s standardized test in 2023. Only 27.2% of Black students, 32% of Hispanic students, and 35% of low-income children were proficient, compared with 57.5% of white, 69% of Asian and 66% of non-low-income students.
“There’s always this delicate balance between local control versus let’s move forward collectively,” said Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice and former candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “But when we have an issue that the vast majority of lower-income kids, who are disproportionately Black and Latino, are not reading at grade level, it requires urgency to do what we know works as fast as possible.”
Rubio, who recalled being handed coloring books instead of reading lessons in first grade as a non-English-speaking Mexican immigrant, said that data on the effectiveness of the science of reading convinced her to author the bill. However, her own experience as a fourth-grade teacher who previously taught kindergarten and first grade reinforced it.
“When I have fourth graders that are at first- or second-grade reading, something’s wrong. I can tell you right then and there, if a kid doesn’t know phonics in the fourth grade, we screwed them up somewhere. If they’re not reading in the third grade, they may never recover,” said Rubio, who was first elected to the Assembly in 2016.
A piecemeal approach to literacy changes
The science of reading refers to research from neurology, psychology, and the cognitive and developmental sciences about how children learn to read. In the last decade, 47 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted laws to incorporate elements of the science of reading strategies. Fewer — Mississippi, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Virginia among them — have adopted and funded policies that coordinate multiple key elements: preparing and training teachers, supplying them with aligned instructional materials, testing for learning difficulties like dyslexia and engaging parents.
California is among the 47 states. Within the past three years, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature enacted discrete pieces of a state policy.
They funded $25 million to the University of California San Francisco to create a screening test for the risk of dyslexia and other learning difficulties; universal screening of K-2 students will begin in 2026-27.
They passed legislation to create a teaching credential for TK-3 that includes new literacy standards grounded in the science of reading; teacher preparation programs must introduce them starting next fall, and teachers will take a performance assessment as part of their new credential.
Newsom included $500 million in the last two state budgets for hiring and training of literacy coaches in the 5% of schools with the most low-income students. The Sacramento and Napa county offices of education, strong advocates of the science of reading, are overseeing the effort.
At the encouragement of State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond, a professor emerita at the Stanford University School of Education, Newsom included $1 million in the current budget for a “literacy road map,” which will serve as a guide, with online resources, for districts to implement evidence-based reading strategies. Leading that effort are two respected literacy experts, Bonnie Garcia and Nancy Brynelson, whom State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond named the state’s first state literacy co-directors.
Tuck credits the steps taken by the Legislature and Newsom, “who has been an anchor on early education.” But guidelines won’t ensure that students in all districts will receive effective reading instruction —especially high-poverty schools that may be “slower to make adjustments when they’re dealing with so many challenges and so much complexity.”
Megan Potente, co-state director of Decoding Dyslexia CA, points to her 20 years as a teacher, who, as a new teacher frustrated by the ineffectiveness of her reading training, took a course on phonics and fundamental reading skills. “You feel like you’re not good at your job, and you weren’t equipped. And that’s a terrible feeling for new teachers,” she said. “So I went back to school, and I learned what I needed.”
Years later, she became a coach, supporting teachers in districts using balanced literacy that de-emphasizes evidence-based practices. She found it difficult to apply what she knew, she said, “because the curriculum materials didn’t follow the science; the teaching methods didn’t follow the science.”
A piecemeal approach to reading reforms inevitably leads to a game of “whack-a-mole,” former Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, who is credited with implementing successful comprehensive policies in her state during the pandemic, told EdSource.
Newsom did not require nor explicitly encourage districts to use the $20-plus billion they received in federal and state Covid-relief funding on teaching training in the science of reading nor on updating reading texts and materials. Now that the state is heading into a lean budget year, a scarcity of funding, particularly for teacher training, could set back a timeline to implement the bill. Newsom’s proposed budget for 2024-25 includes no significant money for new TK-12 programs.
A spokesperson for the Newsom administration, which usually declines to discuss pending legislation, offered no further comment.
What’s in Assembly Bill 2222
AB 2222 would define evidence-based literacy instruction as “evidence-based explicit and systematic instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary and oral language development, fluency, comprehension, and writing … that adheres to the science of reading.” (Phonics are rules that relate letters in words to the sounds of spoken language. A phoneme is the smallest element of a sound within spoken language. Phonemic awareness reflects the ability to understand that words combine multiple phonemes when pronounced.)
The bill sets requirements for three principal elements of literacy instruction:
Teacher training
Starting in March 2026 and no later than June 30, 2028, all teachers in grades TK to 5 must complete an approved professional development and training program satisfactorily. The California Department of Education would appoint one or more county offices of education with expertise in the science of reading and evidence-based literacy instruction to serve as the state literacy expert lead that would select the list of eligible training programs. Districts would have to notify parents if fewer than 90% of the required teachers failed to complete the course.
Instructional materials
The last state textbook adoption for English language arts and English language development was 2015. The bill would require the State Board of Education to complete the next adoption cycle by Jan. 1, 2026, for TK through eighth grade. The materials would have to adhere to the science of reading. School districts would not be required to replace materials they’re currently using, but they would need a waiver to buy basic instructional materials that aren’t approved.
Textbooks like “Units of Study,” by noted literacy author Lucy Calkins, whose instruction relies on visual cues, including the three-cuing method of reading, would not be eligible for the approved list.
Teacher preparation
The bill would strengthen the accountability requirements of landmark Senate Bill 488, the 2023 law that requires instructing candidates for a TK-5 or elementary credential in evidence-based reading instruction.
It would require the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish a probationary accreditation process for teacher prep programs that aren’t meeting the literacy instruction requirements. Faculty in those programs would have to complete professional development in the science of reading for the program to avoid a loss of accreditation.
The bill would provide funding for the credentialing commission to hire experts in the science of reading to help with program accreditation. One of the dozen members of the Committee of Accreditation would have to be an expert in the science of reading.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day!“Looking for love in all the wrong places?”
Many have turned to online dating and social media throughout the last couple of years. New apps have been developed, and some social media platforms have even created ways to find your better half online. Unfortunately, these platforms have not only made it easier than ever to meet new people and find dates but have also made it easier to be scammed as well. Con artists create compelling backstories and full-fledged identities, then trick you into falling for someone who doesn’t exist. This form of deception is known as “catfishing”. Better Business Bureau (BBB) has witnessed a growth in romance scams in recent years. With Valentine’s Day around the corner BBB encourages those looking for love to be wary of fraudsters. Don’t let your quest for love blind you to the realities of romance scams.
How the scam works:
Most romance scams start with fake profiles on online dating sites created by stealing photos and text from real accounts or elsewhere. Scammers often claim to be in the military or working overseas to explain why they can’t meet you in person. Over a short period of time, the scammer builds a fake relationship with you, exchanging photos and romantic messages, even talking on the phone or through a webcam.
Just when the relationship seems to be getting serious, your new sweetheart has a health issue or family emergency or wants to plan a visit. No matter the story, the request is the same: they need money. But after you send money, there’s another request, and then another. Or the scammer stops communicating altogether.
Tips to spot this scam:
Too hot to be true. Scammers offer up good-looking photos and tales of financial success.
In a hurry to get off the site. Catfishers will try very quickly to get you to move to communicate through email, messenger, or phone.
Moving fast. A catfisher will begin speaking of a future together and tell you they love you quickly. They often say they’ve never felt this way before.
Talk about trust. Catfishers will start manipulating you with talk about trust and its importance. This will often be the first step to asking you for money.
Don’t want to meet. Be wary of someone who always has an excuse to postpone a meeting because they say they are traveling or live overseas or are in the military.
Suspect language. If the person you are communicating with claims to be from your hometown but has poor spelling or grammar, uses overly flowery language or uses phrases that don’t make sense, that’s a red flag.
Hard luck stories. Before moving on to asking you for money, the scammer may hint at financial troubles like heat being cut off or a stolen car, or a sick relative, or they may share a sad story from their past (death of parents or spouse, etc.).
Protect yourself from this scam:
Never send money or personal information that can be used for identity theft to someone you’ve never met in person.
Ask specific questions about details given in a profile.
Do your research. Many scammers steal photos from the web to use in their profiles. You can do a reverse image lookup using a website like tineye.com or images.google.com to see if the photos on a profile are stolen from somewhere else.
Check out our romance scam resource page at BBB.org/romance.
ABOUT BBB: The Better Business Bureau has empowered people to find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust for over 110 years. In 2022, people turned to BBB more than 250 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.3 million businesses and Charity Reports on about 12,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. The International Association of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Voting in person and by mail has begun; public test of county’s Vote by Mail counting equipment Friday, Feb. 9
Across the Bay Area, elections officials have dropped ballots in the mail and those ballots will be arriving in mailboxes this week. Bay Area Elections Officials encourage you to vote early!
Contra Costa residents should note that if they do not receive the ballot they were expecting, they can contact their local Registrar’s office to find out more about receiving the ballot they wish to vote.
All eligible California voters will receive a ballot in the mail for the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election. Remember that Contra Costa residents have many options to cast their ballot.
You can vote in person from February 5th through March 5th.
Mail your completed ballot to your Elections office in your postage paid return envelope.
Drop your completed ballot in the return envelope in an official ballot drop box.
You can even register and vote on the same day.
Don’t forget to sign your envelope!
Contra Costa County Registrar of Voters, Kristin Connelly, wants you to know “we are here to help you understand the process and ensure that you cast your vote and that it is counted.”
Voters who vote by mail can track their VBMballot to know when it is mailed, received, and processed by the county elections office. Sign up at the Secretary of State’s office (https://wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov). See the attached graphic to better understand what the vote by mail process looks like.
Information on this topic as well as direct links to local elections offices can be found on our website, BayAreaVotes.org, or our Facebook page, Bay Area Votes. For more local information, go to your local county election official, who is your trusted source of nonpartisan election information.
Ballots lined up to be counted in the Contra Costa County Elections office on Nov. 15, 2016. Herald file photo
Contra Costa Election Equipment Testing to Ensure Accuracy, Friday, Feb. 9
The March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election is underway. Ballots have been mailed and the elections office is ready to receive voted ballots sent by mail or dropped in drop boxes. The Contra Costa County Elections Division will perform the County’s official logic and accuracy testing on central ballot counting and processing equipment at 10:00 am Friday, February 9, 2024, at the Elections Office, located at 555 Escobar Street in Martinez and the public is invited to observe.
Logic and accuracy testing is a standard pre-election procedure. The test will confirm that all central count equipment is in working order and functioning properly. A set of test ballots will be run through each scanner to ensure they are properly programmed and operating as expected.
If you would like to observe this process, we encourage you to let us know in advance by contacting the Elections office at 925-335-7800. On the day of testing, visitors will be asked to check-in at the Elections lobby on the first floor.
Sources: Hernandez-Thorpe and Pacific Environment.
The pledge would reject any new, renewed public investments in gas or oil infrastructure in the city
“It does result in something if any of that comes about.” – Hernandez-Thorpe
Claims current atmospheric river storm is due to climate changecaused by fossil fuel use
By Allen D. Payton
Today, Thursday, February 7, 2024, Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe made a world-leading commitment to reject public investments in new, renewed, fossil fuel infrastructure in Antioch and steer the city toward timely climate mitigation and resilience.
“I’ve promised to address climate change head on,” saidHernadez-Thorpe. “We’ve ended oil and gas drilling in Antioch and, today, following a historic atmospheric river caused by climate change that has wreaked havoc across California, I have committed to end investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure. Moving away from fossil fuels will protect the health of our community, our air and water and leave a liveable planet for the next generation.”
Following the mayor’s press conference held earlier in the day, a press release on the matter was issue. It reads, “The pledge is a commitment to reject public investments in new, renewed or expanded fossil fuel infrastructure in the city of Antioch, CA. Fossil fuels are harming our families and communities. The average global temperature on Earth has irreversibly risen by at least 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, with most of this increase occurring since 1975. Fossil fuels, including coal, oil and gas, are the largest contributor to global warming, accounting for 75% global greenhouse gas emissions and 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.”
“We applaud the city of Antioch’s first-ever commitment to rejecting new fossil fuel infrastructure,” said Dawny’all Heydari, Climate Campaign Manager, Advocacy for Pacific Environment, which works to protect people, wildlife and ecosystems around the Pacific Rim and the authors of the pledge. “The warnings from the international scientific community and recent catastrophic weather in California make clear that there is no time to waste in moving to a zero emissions world. We call on mayors across the United States and globally to follow Hernandez-Thorpe’s lead and say no to new fossil fuel buildouts.”
The press release further claims, “As a result of fossil-fueled global warming, Antioch will continue to experience longer, hotter and more common heatwaves, and increased flooding from increased chances of extreme precipitation and sea level rise.
In the last week, a historic atmospheric river made worse by the effects of the climate emergency has wreaked havoc on communities across California, causing at least 875,000 power outages, four deaths, record-breaking rain and flooding, and $11 billion in damages to homes and other property.”
PLEDGE BACKGROUND
By signing the pledge, the Mayor of the City of Antioch has committed to:
Mitigate Climate Change: We will prioritize the adoption of clean energy solutions, such as renewable energy generation, energy efficiency measures, and sustainable transportation systems, to significantly reduce carbon emissions and promote a low-carbon future.
Protect Public Health: By rejecting new fossil fuel infrastructure, we will improve air quality, reduce respiratory diseases, and promote a cleaner and safer environment for all, prioritizing the health and well-being of our residents.
Foster Sustainable Economic Growth: We will stimulate economic growth and create new employment opportunities by investing in renewable energy projects, energy-efficient buildings, and innovative sustainable technologies, supporting local businesses and attracting green investments.
Lead by Example: As city leaders, we commit to lead by example, demonstrating our commitment to climate action, inspiring other cities to follow suit, and contributing to the global effort to combat climate change.
Pacific Environment Rep, Hernandez-Thorpe Clarify His Pledge
Hernandez-Thorpe was asked what public investments and fossil fuel buildouts he is referring to, and if it’s the City’s gas pump used by the city-owned vehicles. Gwen Dobbs of Pacific Environment was asked the same question and passed them along to Heydari.
In response, the Climate Campaign Manager shared, “The mayor is committing to reject new, renewed or expanded public investments in the following fossil fuel infrastructure: oil and natural gas wells and drilling, coal mining, petroleum gas stations, bunkering facilities for ships and planes, power plants (including coal, oil, and natural gas), pipelines, oil refineries, transport terminals, natural gas processing plants, petrochemical plants and gas connections to new buildings.”
But while the city council can vote to approve or deny all those things, the City of Antioch has never invested in them, except for perhaps, possibly gas connections to new buildings that the city builds and owns. Hernandez-Thorpe, Heydari and Dobbs were then asked to further clarify the matter that if, by signing the pledge, the mayor is committing he will not vote to approve another home or commercial building in Antioch that has a connection to natural gas and that all new construction in Antioch must be all electric.
The mayor was also asked to further clarify what he’s committed to not doing and how far and wide the commitment reaches. Specifically, he was asked regarding “transport terminals” if he is also committing to not vote for a deepwater port along the Antioch shoreline if the ships that dock there use fossil fuels.
Challenged with the statement that the pledge really doesn’t mean anything in Antioch since the city doesn’t invest in the items listed, Hernandez-Thorpe provided clarity explaining, “It does result in something if any of that comes about. I would not support something like that. It doesn’t mean it can’t happen in Antioch.”
Speaking specifically about the City’s gas pump in the Maintenance Department’s yard he said, “We wouldn’t want to expand that. But we are working to expand to more charging stations and converting the city’s fleet to all electric. That’s the most obvious example. Our best option was to purchase hybrid vehicles for now, because the supply chain was preventing going all electric, which are matters beyond our control. We have to live in reality.”
Regarding the transport terminals, Hernandez-Thorpe said, “This wouldn’t preclude a deepwater port. What the pledge states is that there are fueling stations for ships. But we’re not stopping a deepwater port from being approved.”
“Our goal is to transition from this but not leave workers behind. There needs to be a balance,” he added.
Follows Other Actions Opposed to Oil and Gas Issues in Antioch
Today’s actions follow two others he has supported to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. In 2021, the mayor, following the lead of current Mayor Pro Tem and District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson and joined by District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker, voted, in a split council action, to not renew the franchise agreement with the company that owns the natural gas pipeline that runs beneath the city. As a result, the pipeline owner, California Resources Production Corporation is suing the city costing thousands in fees to contract attorneys. CALIFORNIA RESOURCES PRODUCTION CORPORATION vs CITY OF ANTIOCH
Police seek all three unknown males, public’s help
By Lieutenant D. Bittner #3252, Antioch Police Community Policing Bureau
On Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, at 6:50 p.m., Antioch Police officers were dispatched to E. 18th Street and Hillcrest Avenue for multiple callers reporting gun shots followed by a vehicle collision with injuries. It was determined that two unknown males assaulted another male in a nearby parking lot. As the two initial assailants retreated to their vehicle, the assault victim retrieved a handgun and fired multiple gunshots at the vehicle as it was leaving the parking lot.
The vehicle performed a U-turn against a red light at the above intersection while fleeing from the gunfire and collided with an uninvolved vehicle traveling east on E. 18th Street. The occupants of the vehicle being shot at fled on foot after the collision and were not located. The shooter fled the scene in a vehicle and was not located. The driver of the uninvolved vehicle was transported to an area hospital with complaints of pain.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441.
“Candidate’s stances on how to make it easier for people to get around the Bay Area and what needs fixing is essential information for voters,” said Carter Lavin, the project lead at the Transbay Coalition. “Transportation policies impact everyone and every elected official, no matter the office, has the power to make it easier, greener, safer, more affordable, just and accessible for people to get around– or they can make it harder. Voters deserve to know where the candidates vying for their vote stand.”
“To my knowledge, this is the only vetting process that really seeks to demystify where candidates stand on the region’s transportation issues, which is critical given how much public funding goes into transportation and the pivotal moment we are in” said Laura Tolkoff, Transportation Policy Director for SPUR, a public policy nonprofit rooted in the Bay Area.
Candidates were asked the following questions included in the survey:
Which forms of transit and active transportation (bicycling, walking, scooters, wheelchair) do you use on a regular basis and for what types of trips– and why?
Would you seek additional funding for Bay Area transit and what form of funding do you think makes sense?
Public transit in the Bay Area is highly fragmented, with 27 transit agencies, each with different fares, schedules, branding, and customer information. Do you believe it should be a priority for the region to create an well-coordinated transit system? And as an elected leader or potential member of a local transit agency board, would you support state legislation that advances a more integrated, high ridership system, even if it diminishes local control?
Transportation is the largest single source of carbon emissions in California, and in the Bay Area, and the largest share of transportation emissions come from single occupancy vehicles. What are your top priorities to achieve substantial reduction in transportation-related GHG emissions?
The Bay Area still has road projects under development that would increase Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution. What decisions would you make about projects that increase VMT and pollution?
Transit priority improvements are proven to make taking the bus faster and more reliable, while also reducing operating costs. Should local governments be able to stop transit priority improvements on local roads?
What do you think are the most important actions that can be taken to make public transit comfortable, accessible, and safe for all communities?
Traffic violence and deaths in California are increasing annually; in 2021, 4,258 people died in vehicle crashes, a 10.7% increase from the prior year. If elected, what will you do to reverse the trend, increase street safety, save lives and reduce injuries in our community? What policies or specific projects would make the greatest impact?
What do you think are the biggest access and mobility needs for disadvantaged populations in your district, and how would you propose to solve them?
In what circumstances do you support removing parking or repurposing vehicle travel lanes to create safer and more efficient bus, biking, and walking options? How do you propose balancing the demands of different interest groups who may disagree on how streets should be designed?
Contra Costa County Candidates Who Responded
So far, only the following candidates have responded to the questionnaire in the following races (the questionnaires in the races those that include Antioch are provided)
No candidates have responded yet in the races for Contra Costa County Supervisor District 5, Assembly District 11, State Senate District 9 nor Congressional District 8.
“Over the next few years, the region faces important decisions about continuing on a path toward convenient, rider-friendly, accessible worldclass public transportation – or taking steps backward. Our elected officials at the local, state and federal levels will make key decisions steering our region on a path toward improvement or into a downward spiral. Voters deserve to know where candidates stand at this pivotal time,” said Adina Levin, Co-Founder and Advocacy Director, Seamless Bay Area.
“With the rise of biking and walking fatalities across the Bay Area, it is more important than ever that voters know where candidates stand in building communities that are joyful, safe, and inclusive” said Justin Hu-Nguyen, Bike East Bay’s Co-Executive Director of Mobility Justice.
“Public transit is a lifeline for so many people in the Bay Area. Allowing transit agencies to go unfunded would hurt economically disadvantaged and transit-dependent people the worst, leaving thousands of transit riders — including workers, seniors, and people with disabilities — without a reliable way of getting around. It connects folks with everything from food, to healthcare, family, friends and fun. We’re excited to release this questionnaire, which lifts the issues that matter to transit riders, with our other partners in the space. In order to make the Bay Area a more pleasant, affordable, and green place to live, our elected representatives need to center public transit and transit riders in the choices they make for us,” said Dylan Fabris, Community & Policy Manager for San Francisco Transit Riders.
Candidates who have not yet responded can email their answers to info@transbaycoalition.org and the coalition could potentially update their website and include them, Lavin later shared.
The Transbay Coalition is a grassroots public transportation advocacy group championing bold near-term solutions to the Bay Area’s regional transportation challenges. Learn more at www.transbaycoalition.org.
Sources: Contra Costa County and State of California.
Supervisors Burgis, Andersen face no opposition, no Republican running for State Senate District 9
By Allen D. Payton
According to the schedule of Key Dates on the Contra Costa Elections Office website, the deadline to file a Write-In Declaration of Candidacy runs through February 20th. So, if you want to run in the March 5th primary it’s still a possibility and there are three races in the county that offer opportunities.
Supervisor Districts 2 and 3
First, in the County Supervisor District 2 race, incumbent Candace Andersen is running unopposed for a fourth term and in the District 3 race, incumbent Diane Burgis is also facing no opponent as she seeks a third term.
If either receives more than 50% of the vote they will be re-elected to another four-year term. But if one or more write-in candidates enter either race and the incumbent doesn’t receive more than 50% of the vote in the primary election the top two candidates in that race face off in the November election.
District 2 includes Lamorinda and the San Ramon Valley, including the cities of Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, Danville and San Ramon and the communities of Rheem, Canyon, Alamo, Diablo, Blackhawk, Tassajara Valley, the Rossmoor area of Walnut Creek and the unincorporated area of Saranap between Walnut Creek and Lafayette.
District 3 includes the cities of Brentwood and Oakley, the communities of Discovery Bay, Bethel Island, Knightsen and Byron and most of the City of Antioch. (See map)
State Senate District 9
Then, in the State Senate District 9 race to replace incumbent Steve Glazer, who would not be able to complete a full, four-year term if re-elected due to term limits, there is no Republican or any other party candidate running. Only two Democrats, Assemblyman Tim Grayson and San Ramon Councilwoman Marisol Rubio.
The Senate district includes all of East and Central County, Crockett in West County, Lamorinda and the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, plus the cities of Castro Valley and San Leandro and the community of San Lorenzo in Alameda County. (See map above)
The top two candidates face off in the November election.
There is no filing fee to run as a write-in candidate. To learn more call (925) 335-7800 and to obtain the Write-In Declaration of Candidacy form visit the Elections Office at 555 Escobar Street in Martinez.
