This is something that may have to be brought up again in an even year (when people will care), but the idea of voluntary spending limits for local campaigns is an interesting one indeed. The City Council of San Ramon has just approved such a spending limit (by law, it must be “voluntary”), and based [...]

Joe Eddy McDonald and Kris Valstad were announced as mayor and vice-mayor during the swearing-in regalia last Tuesday evening, which included Ed Balico making some odd comments…
New Hercules council eager to get to work, mindful of sobering times
By Tom Lochner
Joe Eddy McDonald began his inaugural stint as Hercules’ mayor this week with panache, conjuring up [...]

It is probably somewhat inappropriate to describe post-election analysis as “afterbirth,” but oh well…
- Don Kuehne ran his campaign as an incumbent, and in almost every single way, he was. Kuehne was hand-picked by Charleen Raines as her successor, and he received the endorsement of the entire City Council. That being said, Kuehne had a [...]

All the votes have been counted… “In the Hercules race, Donald Kuehne beat John Delgado for the final seat by 26 votes. His lead narrowed by 23 votes since the previous update.”
Ed Balico, Joanne Ward and Don Kuehne will join Kris Valstad and Joe Eddy McDonald on the Council for the next two years. McDonald [...]

From last night’s WCCUSD board meeting… “Please don’t close schools. That was one of many messages conveyed to the West Contra Costa school district board Wednesday night during an animated meeting on how the district should go about shuttering campuses to save money.“

Most votes have been counted, but a few remain… “In West County, the gap in the tight Hercules City Council race, which flip-flopped once since Election Night, grew Wednesday as Donald Kuehne’s lead increased to 50 votes over John Delgado.“

More votes remain to be counted…
Hercules council race results change as vote counting continues
By Tom Lochner
Kuehne takes lead in council vote tally: In Contra Costa’s closest election, Don Kuehne pulled ahead of John Delgado by nine votes Friday in the race for the third available seat on the Hercules City Council. An undetermined number of [...]

Knowing the final results for the City Council race will take some time…
Candidates in tight races anxiously await final results
By Matthias Gafni
With as little as a 13-vote separation in some races Thursday, candidates anxiously awaited final election results as Contra Costa election workers tabulated a record number of uncounted ballots.
The first results update is expected [...]

Election stories…
- EBMUD… “A controversial water rationing plan adopted this summer by the East Bay’s largest water district brought three challengers who were trying to oust long-time members of the East Bay Municipal Utility District board of directors but none was successful. [...] Lesa McIntosh, 52, a Richmond lawyer, was challenged by Charles Smith, 64, [...]

Provisional, absentee and (potentially) overseas ballots remain to be counted, followed by a likely recount, but the tentative results are in…
Hercules incumbents win; newcomer ekes out third spot
By Tom Lochner
Incumbents Ed Balico and Mayor Joanne Ward won new Hercules City Council terms Tuesday, while first-time candidate John Delgado appeared to gain a seat by beating [...]

Other than the City Council race…

Measure A — John Swett Bond — passes with 74.4% (needed 55%);
Measure D — WCCUSD Parcel Tax — passes with 79.2% (needed 2/3);
Measure WW — East Bay Regional Parks Bond — passes with 71.2% (needed 2/3);
EBMUD Director — Lesa McIntosh with 52.9%;
WCCUSD Board — Antonio Medrano with 30.7% and Tony [...]

Tentative results are in…
Hercules City Council: Ward, Balico win; Delgado leading
By Tom Lochner
Incumbents Ed Balico and Mayor Joanne Ward won new Hercules City Council terms Tuesday, while first-time candidate John Delgado gained a spot on the council beating second-time candidate Don Kuehne by 13 votes.
Balico received 4,753 votes or 29.7 percent, Ward got 4,567 votes [...]

So much for a “change” election (track results here); status quo leading in Hercules…
Hercules council: Ward, Balico, Kuehne leading
By Tom Lochner
Hercules’ City Council race was more about who would lose than who would win, with four candidates vying for three seats: incumbents Ed Balico and Mayor Joanne Ward; second-time candidate Don Kuehne; and first-time candidate [...]

Incumbent Ed Balico has raised “just shy of $14,500” this year…
Balico leads all fundraisers in Hercules council race
By Tom Lochner
Hercules City Council incumbent Ed Balico raised $3,500-plus in the first half of October, including $2,500 from a Los Angeles law firm, as he continued to outdraw and outspend three other candidates.
The $2,500 contribution came from [...]

Believe it or not, this is in response to a question regarding the candidate’s priorities. Don Kuehne discussed the “masterpiece” he helped craft in 2000 and seeing the picture “be completed.” Kuehne did not mention a single priority, but did list (almost all) future development projects…

City Council candidate John Delgado outlined his priorities last Thursday evening — public safety, attracting businesses, and improving schools…

All four candidates for City Council stated Thursday evening that any new proposals brought forth by Walmart would need to go through the “process…”

Don Kuehne was basically offered a do-over with this question. Earlier in the evening he had stated that Walmart was a “quiet issue.“

All four City Council candidates voiced their non-support for any form of parcel taxes for residents. Mayor Joanne Ward cited current parcel taxes levied by the school districts, John Delgado mentioned the possibility for a special projects fund but ultimately stated he was against a parcel tax, Don Kuehne flatly declared that a parcel tax [...]

In the race for City Council, two of the four candidates are two-term incumbents (Ed Balico and Joanne Ward), and one is a well-known resident who unsuccessfully ran in 2004 (Don Kuehne). Only John Delgado could be considered “unknown” at this point. This was Delgado’s introductory statement from last Thursday evening’s Candidate’s Night…

At Thursday night’s “debate,” the candidates were asked about accountability for delivering development promises, by way of initiative or otherwise, and Councilmember Ed Balico avoided the topic, solely mentioning the City’s openness to resident input…

In all fairness, Mayor Joanne Ward immediately followed and avoided the question entirely as well, taking Balico’s lead and focusing her [...]