Caitlin Garibaldi will join the West Contra Costa Unified Schoool District board, replacing Leslie Reckler who did not seek re-election
Caitlin Garibaldi will be the new West Contra Costa Unified School District board member representing Area 5. Kristin Sangren, who took out papers on Aug. 10 and turned them in Aug. 11, withdrew Aug. 12, the final day candidates could enter the race for the four-year seat. That leaves Garibaldi as the only candidate.
The area includes El Cerrito, Kensington, and a portion of Richmond. The Area 5 race was extended to Aug. 12 because incumbent Leslie Reckler did not seek reelection.
Garibaldi, who has lived in El Cerrito for seven years, is a Fairmont Elementary School parent, and works in pet care.
She joins incumbent Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy of Area 4, the only other WCCUSD board position up for grabs this election, in securing a seat without competition. Area 4 includes El Sobrante, parts of Richmond and San Pablo, and a sliver of Pinole.
Per the state Education Code, the two seats will not appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, a policy meant to save school districts the cost of an unnecessary election.
Voters will have on their ballots Measure V, which seeks to renew the school district’s 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.”
The letter V was assigned to the measure Aug. 10 following a process based on assigning the letters in alphabetical order and based on the type of jurisdiction - county, city, school district etc.
Two other races affecting El Cerrito and Kensington—Contra Costa Community College District Ward 1 and Stege Sanitary District— had filing periods extended through Aug. 12 because incumbents did not file in those races. No new candidates filed after the initial filing date of Aug. 7.
Raquel Donoso and Cameron Sasai will compete to represent Ward 1 on the Contra Costa Community College District.
Incumbent Dwight Merrill and newcomers Ted Lam and Alex Borys were the only people who filed for three seats on the Stege Sanitary District. According to the Contra Costa County website, state Elections Code 10515 says elections are also canceled in special districts when there is only one candidate for each open seat.