Mayor Jack Balch opened up a wide lead over Councilmember Julie Testa in the first returns from Tuesday's election, and the hotel tax measure on Pleasanton's ballot was on track to pass.
The figures below come from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters' preliminary election-night count as compiled by KQED, whose tally was updated at 12:59 a.m. Wednesday, and match the numbers the Pleasanton Weekly reported from the registrar. All results are unofficial.
Countywide turnout stood near 31% early Wednesday with 306,475 ballots tallied, and the Weekly reported that the figure is expected to climb substantially as remaining vote-by-mail and in-person ballots are processed over the coming days. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day still count if they arrive by Nov. 10.
Mayor
- Jack Balch: 11,044 (69.62%)
- Julie Testa: 4,820 (30.38%)
Balch, a certified public accountant, won the mayor's seat in 2024 after four years on the council. Testa, a two-term councilmember who could not seek a third term, had argued during the campaign that the city's structural deficit had not improved under Balch.
City Council
District 1: Former Councilmember Kathy Narum, who served at large from 2013 to 2022 and now sits on the Zone 7 Water Agency board, had 1,723 votes (61.14%) to 1,095 (38.86%) for business executive Vin Kruttiventi. The seat is open because Councilmember Jeff Nibert did not run again.
District 3: Jamie Yee, a former Pleasanton school board trustee, had 2,550 votes (62.78%) to 1,512 (37.22%) for first-time candidate Reena Gupta. The winner takes the seat Testa is leaving.
Measure HH
The hotel tax measure had 10,057 yes votes (60.88%) and 6,463 no votes (39.12%). It needs a simple majority. The measure would lift the city's transient occupancy tax, paid by hotel guests, from 8% to 10% next July and to 12% by 2028.
