Taxes And More: What You Need To Know About Tri-Valley Elections

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PLEASANTON ⁘ Tri-Valley mayors could be unseated, taxes could be levied and cleaner air is up for debate in this November⁘s election. In Pleasanton, Mayor Karla Brown takes on Councilman Jack Balch for the city⁘s top seat, with each of them earning the endorsement of an Alameda County Supervisor.

Brown, a former realtor who seeks to enter her second term as mayor with and additional 12 years on council behind her, has vowed to refuse money from commercial developers. She said she has championed bringing millions of dollars in funding from state and federal resources through her tenure in public office.

Brown said her main focus will finding additional clean drinking water, after the city revealed residents for decades were exposed to contaminated ground, and handling the incoming budget shortfalls of estimated at $13 million annually over the next eight years. She has also championed Measure PP, the proposed half-cent sales tax on the Nov. 5 ballot. If approved, the city⁘s first-ever sales tax measure would raise $10 million annually over the next decade.

Brown, who has served on the Alameda County Transportation Commission and Livermore Amador Valley Transportation Authority Board, said she has ⁘brought millions back to the city⁘ for a ⁘job that is paid a stipend.⁘

⁘I believe I am a leader with integrity. I work long hard hours, this is my primary job and it is the best job in the city,⁘ she said in an interview.

Balch, an accountant by trade, hopes to leave his current at-large council job and unseat Brown. He⁘s already ahead in fundraising, having raised $66,000 to Brown⁘s $30,700, according to campaign finance records. Balch was the only councilmember to vote against placing the half-cent sales tax on the ballot, saying the city should find other ways to tighten its belt, though he will support what voters decide.

⁘For me, Pleasanton⁘s current leadership has drifted from our city of planned progress. I think we need to be getting back on that and looking at regaining our reputation as a well-managed city, working through to address the challenges we have,⁘ Balch said in an interview.