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Local election results have big implications

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Sports Editor

NOVEMBER 07, 2012

While the focus Tuesday was on the national election and some statewide measures, voters also made decisions with local implications.

Alameda County Measure A1
Measure A1, which would have established a 25-year tax to raise money for the Oakland Zoo, did not receive the two-thirds supermajority it needed to pass. The measure would have established an annual $12 tax on residential properties and $72 on nonresidential properties.Not all the mail-in and absentee ballots have been counted, but the votes in favor of the bill currently stand at 62.75 percent.

The East Bay Zoological Society, which manages the zoo, previously warned that the zoo would be in trouble without the needed tax revenue.

The Friends of Knowland Park said the group was happy the measure did not pass because it would have allowed the zoo to expand its grounds.

“This is a victory for those who care about protecting our public spaces,” said Ruth Malone, the co-chair of Friends of Knowland Park.

Alameda County Measure B1
The race for Measure B1 is still too close to call. The measure would double Alameda County’s sales tax from a half-cent to a cent on the dollar to help pay for various transportation projects.

The polls currently have support for the measure at 65.63 percent, just below the required two-thirds supermajority. Mail-in and absentee ballots are still being counted.

Arthur Dao, the executive director of the Alameda County Transportation Commission, said he believes the measure will pass.

“As the remaining votes are tallied, we’re hopeful we’ll get some good news,” Dao said. “If it does pass, we’re going to bring transportation into the 21st century.”

Opponents of the measure say that it would hurt the poor by adding new taxes and punishing automobile drivers.

AC Transit Director At Large
Chris Peeples, a 14-year incumbent, defeated retired bus driver Dollene Jones for one of two at-large seats on the AC Transit Board. Peeples won more than 60 percent of the vote and said he wants to continue working on fuel-cell buses.

Peeples was in France on personal business when he found out about his victory.

“It felt very strange to be winning an election while I was 8,000 miles away,” Peeples said.

BART Board of Directors, District 3 and District 7
In District 3, UC Berkeley alumna Rebecca Saltzman beat two other candidates for a seat on the Board of Directors. In District 7, another alumnus, Zakhary Mallett, defeated incumbent Lynette Sweet and two other candidates.

Saltzman said she was “extremely excited” when she found out she won.

“I’ve been working all year for that,” Saltzman said.

Saltzman said she wants to focus on the backlog of badly needed BART maintenance, among other issues.

Likewise, Mallett said he was “pleasantly surprised” with the results.

“I want to be more aggressive about upgrading the access and passage infrastructure for passengers,” Mallett said.

Contact Shannon Carroll at [email protected].
LAST UPDATED

NOVEMBER 08, 2012


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