Another possible candidate takes out papers for WCCUSD Area 5 board member

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A new potential candidate, Kristin Makai Sangren, has taken advantage of the extension of the filing deadline for West Contra Costa Unified School District Area 5 by taking out papers Aug. 10. Sangren, and anyone else who might join the race, will need to return nomination papers by Aug. 12 to qualify.

When the initial filing period closed Aug. 7, the race had only one candidate, Caitlin Garibaldi. Because the incumbent, Leslie Reckler, is not seeking reelection, the filing period was automatically extended by five days.

Area 5 includes El Cerrito, Kensington, and a portion of Richmond.

Two other races affecting El Cerrito and Kensington - Contra Costa Community College District Ward 1 and Stege Sanitary District - also have extended filing periods through Aug. 12. No new candidates took out papers in those races after the initial deadline of Aug. 7.

For Contra Costa Community College District Ward 1, Raquel Donoso and Cameron Sasai have filed papers, while incumbent John E. Marquez has not.

For the three seats on the Stege Sanitary District, incumbent Dwight Merrill and challengers Ted Lam, and Alex Borys are running. Not seeking reelection are Tessa Beach and Juliet Christian-Smith.

The other WCCUSD seat, Area 4, has already been decided. Incumbent Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy was the only candidate who filed by the Aug. 7 deadline so he automatically gains another four-year term. Under state law, the race will not even appear on the ballot because it is not contested.

Area 4 includes El Sobrante, parts of Richmond and San Pablo, and a sliver of Pinole.

Gonzalez-Hoy, a former teacher who came to the United States from Mexico at age 14, has served on the board for six years.

The Nov. 3 ballot will also include a WCCUSD measure to renew a 7.2 cents per building-square-foot parcel tax. Passage requires a two-thirds majority vote. The measure would expire in nine years. It includes an exemption for people 65 and older for a parcel they own and occupy.

It also exempts people who apply if they are: “(b) receiving Supplemental Security Income for a disability regardless of age; (c) receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, regardless of age, whose yearly income does not exceed 250 percent of the 2012 federal poverty guidelines issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.”