What are you voting on in Placer County? Here are key races, measures on the ballot
Key dates are fast approaching for Placer County’s general election next month, with ballots and voter information guides already mailed to registered voters ahead of Election Day on Nov. 8.
Residents not already registered can do so through next Monday to receive voting materials in the mail. Voters not registered after Monday can still vote, but must do so through conditional voter registration. The last day to request a mail-in ballot is Nov. 1.
Registration, ballot and polling place information can be found on the Placer County elections website, www.placercountyelections.gov/current-elections.
Placer County leans Republican: 40% are registered voters are registered as Republicans compared to 32% as Democrats, according to the county registrar.
Here’s a breakdown of key races and measures on the Placer County ballot in this year’s midterm election.
U.S. House of Representatives
Kermit Jones, D-Roseville, and Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, are on the ballot for California’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes all of Placer County.
Jones is a doctor. Kiley, elected to the State Assembly in 2016, ran to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election.
California State Senate
Tim Robertson and Marie Alvarado-Gil, both Democrats, are running for District 4 of California’s State Senate. The winner will replace Jim Nielsen, R-Red Bluff, in the newly drawn district that includes eastern portions of Placer County.
Democrat Paula Villescaz and Republican Roger Niello are competing for State Senate District 6, which includes Roseville and Lincoln.
California State Assembly
Small business owner Belle Starr Sandwith, D-Loyalton, will face incumbent Megan Dahle, R-Bieber, for District 1 of California’s State Assembly. The district covers eastern Placer County, including Foresthill, Truckee and Tahoe City.
Business consultant David Leon Zink, D-Magalia, is challenging District 3 incumbent James Gallagher, R-Yuba City. The district covers a small portion of Placer County north of Lincoln, including Sheridan.
Attorney Rebecca Chenoweth, D-Roseville, is running against former Rocklin City Councilman Joe Patterson, a Republican, for District 5. The district includes Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Loomis and Auburn.
Placer County Board of Supervisors
Voters will fill Placer County’s open District 2 Board of Supervisors seat, vacated by the retirement of Supervisor Robert Weygandt, who served 27 years in the position.
Shanti Landon, former district director for Weygandt, is facing off with Roseville City Councilman Scott Alvord.
Rocklin, Roseville city council
Restaurateur Matthew Oliver is competing with David Bass to complete the final two years of Patterson’s term on Rocklin’s City Council. The position was temporarily filled by appointee Paul Ruhkala, who is not running to complete the term through 2024.
Roseville City Council incumbent Pauline Roccucci is running against challengers Eric Eisenhammer and Richard Wukmir for the city’s newly drawn District 2. Mayor Krista Bernasconi is running unopposed for Roseville’s District 4 seat.
Alvord, if elected to the Board of Supervisors, would vacate his Roseville City Council term expiring in 2024.
K-12 school boards
Emerging recently as a hotbed of local political activity in the wake of COVID-19 closures, voters will select school board members and trustees for 16 K-12 districts in Placer County.
Rocklin Unified School District will see seven candidates vying for three available seats.
The other 15 districts are: Center Joint Unified, Rocklin Unified, Tahoe-Truckee Unified, East Nicolaus Joint Union, Placer Union High, Roseville Joint Union, Ackerman Charter, Auburn Union, Colfax Elementary, Dry Creek Joint Elementary, Elverta Joint, Eureka Union, Loomis Union, Newcastle Elementary, Placer Hills Union and Roseville City School District.
Also on the ballot is one Placer County Board of Education seat, for Trustee Area 1, which covers Roseville City School District and parts of Roseville Joint Union. Incumbent Sergey Terebkov faces off with Maverick Woodward for that position.
Measures B, C and F: Hotel tax increases
Colfax, Rocklin and Roseville have each introduced a measure that, if passed, would increase the transient occupancy tax paid by short-term motel and hotel guests.
Measure C, for Roseville, would increase the tax from 6% to 10%.
Measure B, for Colfax, and Measure F, for Rocklin, would each increase the tax from 8% to 10%. Rocklin’s Measure F would also expand the definition of hotel lodging to include campgrounds.
All three tax increases would go toward essential services including police, fire departments and roadway repairs.
Measure B would pull in an estimated $29,000 per year in additional hotel tax revenue for Colfax; Measure C would add $3 million annually for Roseville; and Measure F would add $300,000 annually for Rocklin.
Measures E, G, J, K and P: Property tax for school bonds
Measures E, G, J, K and P deal with authorizing school bonds for K-12 districts in Placer County, financed through property tax increases.
Measure E is for Auburn Union School District; Measure G is for Western Placer Unified; Measures J and K are each for Twin Rivers Unified; and Measure P is for Elverta Joint Elementary.
All five measures would authorize bonds used for campus renovations, upgrades and safety improvements.
The largest of the five, Measure G, would authorize $185 million in bonds for Western Placer Unified that would go toward numerous campus renovations, including completion of Twelve Bridges High School.
At Twin Rivers Unified, passage of Measure J would authorize $120 million in bonds at a levy of 2.3 cents per $100, while Measure K would authorize $150 million in bonds at 3.7 cents per $100.
To pass, each school bond measure must receive at least a 55% “yes” vote.
Not on the ballot: Sheriff of Placer County
The sheriff’s race in Placer County was decided in the June primary. Wayne Woo, then-undersheriff of Placer County, defeated Brandon Bean.
Woo’s term begins in January, but he was already appointed acting sheriff by the Board of Supervisors over the summer, and will finish the rest of Sheriff Devon Bell’s term. Bell retired in July.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
