Today has been National Voter Registration Day, and Bay Area officials and activists joined their peers across the nation in urging people to “register in September and make it count in November.”

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson were among those who rallied at mid-day outside the Alameda County Administration Building in Oakland to urge all eligible voters to register and cast ballots this fall.

The Oakland event was one of several held today across the nation by members of the Congressional Black Caucus as a part of the “For the People” Voter Protection Initiative. H. Res. 542 condemns “the passage of legislation that would unduly burden an American citizen’s ability to vote and opposing any State election law or proposed legislation that would have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities across the country.”

“We are engaged in a battle to protect the fundamental, Constitutional right to vote,” Lee said later Tuesday. “Voter suppression tactics do nothing at all to prevent voter fraud, while disproportionately excluding and disenfranchising people of color, elderly and young adults from their Constitutionally given right to vote. By preparing all Alameda County residents to vote this fall, we are standing in solidarity with communities fighting intense battles against voter suppression efforts throughout the country.”

Lee notes that at least 34 states have introduced laws that would require voters to show photo identification in order to vote, and at least 12 states have introduced laws that would require proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, to register to vote or to vote. The states that have already cut back on voting rights provide 171 electoral votes in 2012, 63 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidency, she said.

Meanwhile, groups at the University of California, Berkeley – including the Associated Students, Voto Latino and others – had tables on Sproul Plaza today in an attempt to register as many people as possible.

Election Day is six weeks away. Still not registered to vote? You’ve got until Monday, Oct. 22, and you need not even get up from where you’re sitting right now reading this post: You can register online. Or, if you prefer, printed voter registration forms are available at many government offices, DMV offices, post offices, public libraries and other locations.

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Hayward, was at this past Saturday’s Alameda County Democratic Central Committee meeting, seeking the committee’s endorsement of her campaign for the District 2 seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

Hayashi was arrested last October for shoplifting $2,450 worth of clothes from San Francisco’s Neiman Marcus; she pleaded no contest in January to misdemeanor grand theft and was sentenced to three years of probation and a $180 fine. In an exclusive July interview, she insisted that her walking out of the store with black leather pants, a black leather skirt and a white blouse in a Nieman Marcus shopping bag that she had brought with her was entirely inadvertent; she said she believes voters would forgive her and vote for her on her legislative track record.

On Saturday, she was asked, “How do you exemplify the values of integrity and honesty we want for our elected officials?” Here’s her answer:

The committee announced its endorsements Sunday night: It picked Richard Valle – the incumbent appointed to fill the District 2 seat after former Supervisor Nadia Lockyer resigned – over Hayashi for November’s election. Union City Mayor Mark Green, a former longtime Democrat now registered without party affiliation, also is in the race.

An anonymous caller directed me to the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee’s website, where candidates filling out an endorsement application are asked for a $50 contribution “to offset the cost of our endorsement process.”

“It just seems undemocratic,” said the caller (whom I assume meant that with a small “d”), acknowledging he’s running for a local office and so declining to provide his name lest he incur the party’s wrath. “I’ve been a Democrat all my life, and this is a little bit over the top; it’s not like I don’t already contribute to the president and other campaigns.”

Chairwoman Robin Torello said the county party started soliciting such contributions from candidates in 2010, although it just raised the suggested ante from $25 to $50 “because it was not covering our expenses, plus this is a bigger year with more races.”

Torello said her committee is looking at almost 200 Democrats running in more than 120 local races across the county this November. Vetting so many candidates for endorsement means spending on everything from printing, postage and phone costs to refreshments for the volunteer committee members who’ll be sitting through five full days of interviews, she said.

The process takes “dozens and dozens and dozens of hours, and we’re all volunteers except for one staff person, but one person can’t do all this,” she said, noting the $50 is just a suggested contribution. “We don’t not interview people if they don’t pay – it’s a donation to help defray the costs. And we’re just aligning ourselves with other county committees that have been doing this for years. We think it’s warranted.”

Contra Costa County Democratic Party officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on whether they charge such fees, too. (UPDATE @ 8:22 A.M. WEDNESDAY: They don’t, chairman Chuck Carpenter said in an e-mail last night.)

On the other side of the Bay, San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee Chairman David Burruto said his committee used to charge “a nominal fee just because we had to Xerox a lot of things,” but in this age of fast, cheap email has stopped doing so.

“We don’t charge anything,” he said. “The only thing we ask of candidates sometimes is if they want to be on a slate mailer.”

In the South Bay, chairman Steve Preminger said “at no point in our endorsement process does the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee state or imply that a candidate seeking our endorsement should make a financial contribution or pay any fees to the SCCDP.”

If you have a hankering to run for public office, the time is now.

The candidate filing period opens July 16 and runs through Aug. 10 for hundreds of local city, school and special district offices. In districts where an incumbent fails to file for re-election, the deadline is extended to Aug. 15.

In Contra Costa County, nomination forms for school and special district offices are dispensed through the county election office at 555 Escobar St., in Martinez. City council forms are available at the respective city clerk’s offices.

In Alameda County, nomination forms for school and special district offices are dispensed through the county election office at 1225 Fallon Street, Room G-1, Oakland. City council forms are available at the respective city clerk’s offices.

Contra Costa seats up for election on Nov. 6 are:

• Antioch mayor, City Council (two seats)
• Brentwood mayor, City Council (two seats)
• Clayton City Council (three seats)
• Concord City Council (two seats)
• Danville Town Council (three seats)
• El Cerrito City Council (three seats)
• Hercules City Council (three seats)
• Lafayette City Council (three seats)
• Martinez City Council (two seats), city clerk, treasurer
• Moraga City Council (three seats)
• Oakley City Council (three seats)
• Orinda City Council (two seats)
• Pinole City Council (two seats), treasurer
• Pittsburg City Council (two seats)
• Pleasant Hill City Council (three seats), city clerk, treasurer
• Richmond City Council (three seats)
• San Pablo City Council (three seats)
• Walnut Creek City Council (three seats)
• Crockett Community Services District (three seats)
• Diablo Community Services District (three seats)
• Discovery Bay Community Services District (three seats)
• Dublin San Ramon Services District (three seats)
• Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District (two seats)
• Knightsen Town Community Services District (two seats)
• Moraga-Orinda Fire Protection District (three seats)
• Rode-Hercules Fire Protection District (three seats)
• Los Medanos Community Healthcare District (three seats)
• Mt. Diablo Healthcare District (four seats) **This elected board is set to be disbanded on Aug. 9 and its duties reassigned to the Concord City Council.
• West Contra Costa Healthcare District (two seats)
• Bethel Island Municipal Improvement District (three seats)
• East Bay Municipal Utility District (one seat)
• Ambrose Recreation and Park District (two seats)
• East Bay Regional Park District (two seats)
• Green Valley Recreation and Park District (three seats)
• Pleasant Hill Recreation and Park District (two seats)
• Rollingwood-Wilart Park Recreation and Park District (two seats)
• Byron Sanitary District (three seats)
• Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (three seats)
• Ironhouse Sanitary District (three seats)
• Mt. View Sanitary District (three seats)
• Rodeo Sanitary District (three seats)
• Stege Sanitary District (two seats)
• West County Wastewater District (two seats)
• Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (two seats)
• Bay Area Rapid Transit District (three seats, districts 1, 3 and 7)
• Castle Rock Water District (four seats)
• Diablo Water District (two seats)
• Byron Bethany Irrigation District (one seat)
• East Contra Costa Irrigation District (three seats)
• Acalanes Union High School District (two seats)
• Antioch Unified School District (three seats)
• Brentwood Union School District (two seats)
• Byron Union School District (two seats)
• Canyon Elementary School District (two seats)
• Contra Costa County Board of Education (two seats)
• Contra Costa Community College District (two seats, wards 2 and 5)
• Chabot-Las Positas Community College District (one seat, Ward 7)
• John Swett Unified School District (two seats)
• Knightsen School District (three seats)
• Lafayette School District (two seats)
• Liberty Union High School District (two seats)
• Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (two seats)
• Martinez Unified School District (three seats)
• Moraga School District (two seats)
• Mt. Diablo Unified School District (two seats)
• Oakley Union Elmentary School District (two seats)
• Orinda Union School District (two seats)
• Pittsburg Unified School District (three seats)
• San Ramon Valley Unified School district (two seats)
• Walnut Creek School District (two seats)
• West Contra Costa Unified School District (two seats)

Alameda County seats up for election on Nov. 6 are:

• Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 2 (one seat)
• Alameda City Council (two seats), auditor, treasurer
• Albany City Council (three seats)
• Albany Board of Education (two seats)
• Berkeley mayor, City Council (four seats, districts 2, 3, 5 and 6)
• Berkeley Rent Board (four seats)
• Berkeley Board of Education (two seats)
• Dublin mayor and City Council (two seats)
• Fremont mayor and City Council (two seats)
• Oakland City Council (five seats, at-large and districts 1, 3, 5 and 7), city attorney
• Pleasanton mayor and City Council (two seats)
• San Leandro City Council (three seats, district 2, 4 and 6)
• Union City mayor and City Council (one seat)
• Chabot-Los Positas Community College District (four seats, district 1, 3, 5 and 7)
• Peralta Community College District (four seats)
• San Joaquin Delta Community College District (one seat)
• Alameda Unified School District (three seats)
• Castro Valley Unified School District (three seats)
• Dublin Unified School District (three seats)
• Fremont Unified School District (three seats)
• Hayward Unified School District (three seats)
• Livermore Unified School District (two seats)
• Mount House Elementary (one seat)
• New Haven Unified School District (three seats)
• Newark Unified School District (three seats)
• Pleasanton Unified School District (three seats)
• San Leandro Unified School district (three seats)
• San Lorenzo Unified School District (four seats)
• Sunol Glen Unified School district (1 seat)
• AC Transit (three seats)
• Alameda County Water District (three seats)
• Bay Area Rapid Transit District (three seats, wards 3, 5 and 7)
• Castro Valley Sanitary District (three seats)
• City of Alameda Healthcare District (two seats)
• Dublin-San Ramon Services District (three seats)
• East Bay Municipal Utility District (two seats, wards 5 and 6)
• East Bay Regional Park District (three seats, wards, 1, 2 and 4)
• Eden Township Healthcare District (two seats)
• Fairview Fire Protection District (three seats)
• Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (three seats)
• Livermore Area Recreation and Park District (three seats)
• Oro Loma Sanitary District (two seats)
• Washington Township Healthcare District (two seats)

 

Gov. Jerry Brown today named Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern to the California Lottery Commission.

Ahern, 54, of Livermore, has been sheriff/coroner for Alameda County since 2007, and has served in the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office since 1980; he was as assistant sheriff from 2006 to 2007, commander from 2005 to 2006, captain from 2003 to 2005, lieutenant from 2000 to 2003, sergeant from 1986 to 2000 and deputy sheriff from 1980 to 1986.

The position requires state Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Ahern is registered to vote as a Republican.

The three-member commission oversees the state lottery to ensure its integrity, security and fairness, holding public meetings at least once a quarter. Members serve five-year terms, and at least one member must have five or more years of experience in law enforcement. The previous law-enforcement member was Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims.

The 5 p.m. filing deadline today has come and gone and election clerks in the East Bay have delivered their promised preliminary candidate and ballot lists.

Check out the list below for Contra Costa, Alameda and portions of Solano County. There are a few surprises, including a fair number of entirely uncontested races. (The women rule here, as you’ll see.)

My favorite development is the similarity between the name of incumbent Democratic state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier and his Republican challenger Mark Meuser. The Marks might want to hand out reading glasses to voters in the hopes the magnification effect will help them choose the right one.

Voters in a dozen cities, school and fire districts will also find requests for new taxes on their ballots. While no one wants to pay more, residents are far more likely to support local measures because they feel the money will stay closer to home.

The following individuals and ballot measures had qualified for the June 5 ballot as of information available late today. (i) denotes incumbent. (Keep in mind, election clerks may still be processing applications from those who filed at the last minute.)

(Ed. Note: I’ve updated this at 4:30 p.m. Saturday — Josh)

CONGRESS

District 3: John Garamendi, Dem. (i); Kim Vann, Rep.; Eugene Ray, Rep., Rick Tubbs, Rep.

District 5: Mike Thompson, Dem., (i); Randy Loftin, Rep.; John Cilley, Rep.

District 9: Jerry McNerney, Dem., (i); John McDonald, Rep.; Ricky Gill, Rep.

District 11: George Miller, Dem. (i); Cheryl Sudduth, Dem.; John Fitzgerald, Dem.; Virginia Fuller, Rep.

District 13: Barbara Lee, Dem. (i); Marilyn Singleton, nonpartisan; Justin Jelincic, Dem.

District 15: Fortney “Pete” Stark, Dem. (i); Eric Swalwell, Dem.; Christopher Pareja, nonpartisan.

District 17: Mike Honda, Dem. (i); Charles Richardson, Lib.; Evelyn Li, Dem.

STATE SENATE

District 3: Lois Wolk, Dem. (i)

District 7: Mark DeSaulnier, Dem. (i); Mark Meuser, Rep.

District 9: Loni Hancock, Dem. (i)

ASSEMBLY

District 11: (No incumbent) Jim Frazier, Dem.; Patricia Hernandez, Dem.; Gene Gantt, Dem.; Len Augustine, nonpartisan; Mike Hudson, Rep., Charles Kingeter, Dem.

District 14: Susan Bonilla, Dem. (i)

District 15: Nancy Skinner, Dem. (i)

District 16: Joan Buchanan, Dem. (i); Al Phillips, Rep.

District 18: (No incumbent) Rob Bonta, Dem.; Joel Young, Dem.; Abel Guillen, Dem., Rhonda Weber, Rep.

District 20: (No incumbent) Bill Quirk, Dem.; Jennifer Ong, Dem.; Sarabjit Cheema, Dem.; Luis Reynoso, Rep.; Mark Green, nonpartisan

District 25: Bob Wieckowski, Dem. (i)

ALAMEDA COUNTY (nonpartisan races)

Board of Supervisors, District 1: Scott Haggerty (i)

Board of Supervisors, District 4: Nate Miley (i); Tojo Thomas

Board of Supervisors, District 5: Keith Carson (i)

Hayward City Council (four seats): Barbara Halliday (i), Francisco Zermeno (i), Olden Henson, (i), Al Mendall, Greg Jones, Fahim Ajaz Khan, Ralph Farias Jr. and Peter Bufete. (Filing deadline extended to March 14 as one of the incumbents did not seek re-election.)

Board of Education, District 2: None

Board of Education, District 3: Ken Berrick (i)

Board of Education, District 4: None

Board of Education, District 5: Frederick Sims (i)

Board of Education, District 6: Eileen McDonald (i)

Zone 7 (three seats): Sandy Figuers (i); Dick Quigley (i)

Union Sanitary District, Ward 1: Manuel Fernandez (i)

Union Sanitary District, Ward 2: Patricia Kite (i)

Union Sanitary District, Ward 3: Anjali Lathi (i)

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY (nonpartisan)

Board of Supervisors, District 2: Sean White of Lafayette, Candace Andersen of Danville; and Tomi Van de Brooke of Orinda. (Filing deadline extended to March 14 as incumbent Gayle Uilkema did not seek re-election.)

Board of Supervisors, District 3: Mary Nejedly Piepho of Discovery Bay (i)

Board of Supervisors, District 5: Federal Glover of Pittsburg (i)

CONTRA COSTA BALLOT MEASURES

Antioch Unified School District: $59.5 million bond measure for school facility upgrades. Requires 55 percent voter approval.

Antioch: Two measures. One seeks to change city clerk and treasurer from elected to appointed position. The other would convert elected mayor to a rotating position from among members of the City Council. Both require majority approval.

Crockett Community Services District: Increase in the $50 recreation per parcel tax to $110 for maintenance of the area’s parks. Two-thirds vote required.

East Contra Costa Fire Protection District: Annual $197 per parcel tax to maintain fire service. Two-thirds vote required.

Hercules: Two measures. One seeks voter approval to sell the city’s electric company and requires a two-thirds vote. The second is an emergency funding proposal for a four-year, 1/2-cent sales tax to maintain city services in the wake of a deficit. Majority approval required.

Pittsburg: A 10-year sales tax (1/2 cent for first five years, 1/4 cent in the second five years) to raise money for city services. Majority approval required.

San Pablo: A 10-year sales tax (1/2 cent for first five years, 1/4 cent in the second five years) to raise money for city services. Majority approval required.

West Contra Costa Unified School District: Five-year renewal and increase in parcel tax. Requires two-thirds vote.

ALAMEDA COUNTY BALLOT MEASURES

Peralta Community College District: Eight-year annual $48 per parcel tax. The funds would be used to preserve 1,900 classes a year at the college serving students from Oakland, Alameda, Piedmont, Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville. Requires two-thirds vote.

Dublin Unified School District: $99 million school bond measure to build and improve classrooms, buildings and equipment. Requires 55 percent voter approval.

Hayward Unified School District: Annual $58 per parcel tax for school operations. Two-thirds vote required.

New Haven Unified School District (Hayward): Four-year annual $180 per parcel tax to fund school operations. It is similar to a measure that failed last May. Two-thirds vote required.

City of Alameda: A 30-year half-cent sales tax increase to fund library improvements, replace aging police and fire vehicles and construct a new emergency center. Two-thirds vote required.

SOLANO COUNTY

Countywide: Would extend existing one-eighth of 1 percent library tax for 16 years to fund ongoing operations. Majority approval required.

Board of Supervisors, District 1 (no incumbent): Susan Anthony, Erin Hannigan, Tony Intintoli Jr., Lee Simmons.

Board of Supervisors, District 2: Steve Messina, Linda Seifert (i)

Board of Supervisors, District 5: Mike Reagan (i); Skip Thomson

 

Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan – a former Assembly Health Committee chair who championed health insurance for kids – on Monday will host the first in a series of hearings on local implementation of national health care reforms.

The hearing, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ chambers on the fifth floor of 1221 Oak St. in Oakland, will bring together local health care leaders for an overview of the Affordable Care Act and its impact on the county. Speakers will include Richard Thomason, program officer at the Blue Shield of California Foundation; Alex Briscoe, director of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency; and Peter Harbage, the state’s former Assistant Secretary for Health under Gov. Gray Davis.

Chan’s office says that by 2018, more than 150,000 people in Alameda County will be newly covered by Medi-Cal or private insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Health care providers are getting ready for major delivery system changes, including more availability of medical homes and integrated care delivery through accountable care organizations.

Future hearings will address a different issue area each month, trying to fit specific local issues into the big picture through community feedback and policy recommendations.

Incumbent California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, who it seems has barely lifted a finger to fend off Republican challenger state Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel, dropped another $110,000 on his wife’s campaign for Alameda County Supervisor this week.

That brings Lockyer for Treasurer 2010’s total contributions to Nadia Lockyer‘s supervisorial campaign to almost $1.32 million. Nadia Lockyer, who directs the Alameda County District Attorney’s Family Justice Center, is competing with former state Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Sunol, for the District 2 supervisor’s seat, which represents Hayward, Newark, Union City, a chunk of Fremont and unincorporated Sunol.

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters reports that the 2nd Supervisorial District has 128,168 registered voters; thus, Bill Lockyer has given Nadia Lockyer about $10.29 for every person who could possibly vote in this election. Of course, the turnout will be far less; watch for a cost-per-vote analysis once all the returns and campaign finance reports are in.

Bill Lockyer’s campaign committee still had $5,064,132.91 cash on hand as of Oct. 16, the end of the last reporting period.

The Alameda County Democratic Party has hired Michael Colbruno as its new executive director.

Read on for the full news release.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cities, school and special districts in the East Bay have placed 32 measures on the Nov. 2 ballot, and most of them ask voters for money.

Whether voters will be in the mood to pay more taxes, even for schools, roads and police officers, remains to be seen. But in general, voters prefer hyper-local taxes because they can see where the money goes.

Here’s a round-up of the local ballot measures in Alameda and Contra Costa counties:

ALAMEDA COUNTY BALLOT MEASURES (letters to be assigned Aug. 12)

Alameda County: Establishes $10 local vehicle registration fee to help repair and maintain local streets and roads and other transportation projects. Majority vote required.

Ohlone Community College District: Authorizes $349 million bond measure for classroom and laboratory renovations, technology, earthquake and fire safety upgrades and improved access for the disabled. Fifty-five percent approval required.

Berkeley Unified School District: Extends existing tax of 6.31 cents per square foot on residential buildings, 9.46 cents per square foot on commercial property and $20 on unimproved parcels. Money pays for school facility maintenance. Two-thirds vote required.

Berkeley Unified School District: Authorizes $210 million bond for the construction of new schools, seismic upgrades, science labs, computer and technology upgrades and other projects. Fifty-five percent vote required.

Emery Unified School District: Authorizes $95 million bond for seismic upgrades, classroom and laboratory improvements and energy efficiency projects. Fifty-five percent vote required.

Fremont Unified School District: Establishes $53 annual parcel tax for five years. Senior citizens exempt from tax. Money would be used to maintain math programs, keep libraries open, upgrade technology and teacher retention. Two-thirds vote required.

Oakland Unified School District: Establishes $195 annual parcel tax for 10 years. Senior citizens and low income residents exempt. Money would be used for teacher retention and reading programs. Two-thirds vote required.

San Leandro Unified School District: Seeks voter approval of $50.1 million bond to pay for school athletic facilities improvements, energy efficiency projects and other upgrades. Fifty-five percent vote required.

Albany, Measure 1: Eliminates the elected city attorney position and establishes the job as a City Council appointee. Majority vote required.

Albany, Measure 2: Alters the city’s utility users tax to reduce the communications portion from 7 percent to 6.5 percent, include video in the tax and require voter approval of all tax increases. Majority vote required.

Albany, Measure 3: Allows the city to adjust the paramedic and fire service tax with the Consumer Price Index. Two-thirds vote required.

Albany, Measure 4: Establishes a marijuana business license tax. Majority vote required.

Berkeley, Measure 1: Imposes tax on medical marijuana not to exceed $25 per $1,000 of gross receipts over two years. Also creates fees for nonprofit and non-medical marijuana producers. Majority vote required.

Berkeley, Measure 2: Allows residential medical marijuana collectives of up to 200 square feet of cultivation, permits up to six cannabis locations in the manufacturing district and requires dispensaries to be at least 600 feet from schools. Majority vote required.

Oakland, Measure 1: Establishes a telephone access line tax of $1.99 per month per line and $13 per month per trunk line. Money will be used for city services. Majority vote required.

Oakland, Measure 2: Amends city law to lift restriction that the city staff the police department at 2003-2004 levels. Majority vote required.

Oakland, Measure 3: Imposes $360 per single family home parcel tax for 4.5 years to fund public safety programs. Two-thirds vote required.

San Leandro: Enacts one-quarter-cent sales tax for seven years for public safety and other city services. Majority vote required.

Union City: Enacts a half-cent sales tax for four years to prevent further cuts to police, fire, library and other city services. Majority vote required.

CONTRA COSTA BALLOT MEASURES (letters to be assigned Aug. 12)

Antioch: Imposes half-cent sales tax for eight years for public safety, fixing potholes, sidewalk maintenance, and cleaning up abandoned and foreclosed properties. Majority vote required.

Concord: Imposes half-cent sales tax for five years for public safety and a host of other city services. Majority vote required.

El Cerrito: Imposes a half-cent sales tax for seven years to pay for public services. Majority vote required.

Pinole: Extends utility user tax for eight years and expands scope to include water service to pay for city services. Majority vote required.

Pleasant Hill: Imposes 1.5 percent utility user tax to landline and cell phone service, cable, electricity, gas, water and sewer bills. Money would be used for city services. Majority vote required.

Richmond, Measure 1: Nonbinding advisory question on whether an Indian casino should be permitted as part of the Point Molate development. Majority vote required.

Richmond, Measure 2: Imposes a 5 percent tax on gross sales receipts of marijuana, regardless of whether it’s medicinal or recreational use. Majority vote required.

San Ramon: Expands the city’s urban growth boundary, adopts new general plan and hillside protection ordinance. Majority vote required.

John Swett Unified School District: Imposes $96 annual parcel tax on residential, vacant and agricultural properties, and commercial property tax of 1.5 cents per square foot. Senior citizens are exempt. Money would pay for academic programs, teacher training, technology. Two-thirds vote required.
Knightsen Elementary School District: Authorizes $5 million bond sale for electrical system updates, technology improvements and the preservation of school programs. Fifty-five percent approval required.

Martinez Unified School District: Authorizes $45 million bond sale for energy efficiency and other facility upgrades. Fifty-five percent approval required.
Pittsburg Unified School District: Authorizes $100 million bond for the construction of a third middle school and renovate several elementary schools. Fifty-five percent vote required.

West Contra Costa Unified School District: Imposes annual parcel tax of 7.2 cents per square foot of building area, or $7.20 per vacant parcel, for five years. Money would be used to keep class sizes small in some elementary grades, retain teachers and help keep alive programs hurt by state cuts. Two-thirds vote required.

Bethel Island Municipal Improvement District: Imposes annual parcel tax of $252.29 for 10 years for purposes of maintaining and improving levees and drainage. Two-thirds vote required.

Contra Costa Transportation Authority: Authorizes $10 vehicle registration surcharge for road maintenance and other transportation projects. Majority vote required.