New Districts, New Rules and New Candidates on June Ballot

On June 5, Californians for the first time will vote in an open primary.

The top two vote getters in a race will move on to the November general election, whether they are from the same party or not.

In addition, this will be the first election with the new congressional, state Senate and state Assembly districts approved last fall by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. They officially take effect in January. You can look at the new districts at this website.

The Alameda County elections department website is here. Below are the local races and measures people in Alameda will see on their June ballot.

CONGRESS

13th District

The new district includes Alameda, Oakland and San Leandro as well as Berkeley, Albany, Piedmont and Emeryville.

There are three candidates in this race.

Democrat Barbara Lee was first elected to Congress in 1998. On her website, Lee describes herself as "a forceful and progressive voice in Congress, dedicated to social and economic justice, international peace, and civil and human rights."

Democrat Justin Jelincic is a finance manager and U.C. Berkeley graduate. On his website, Jelincic describes himself as a conservative Democrat and “Bible believing Christian."

Marilyn Singleton, who lists herself as non-partisan, is a San Diego native who attended Stanford and UCSF, worked at Alta Bates, then got a law degree in 1995 from UC Berkeley. She now teaches constitutional law.

STATE SENATE

9th District

The new district includes Alameda, San Leandro, Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole and Hercules.

There's only one candidate in this election.

Democrat Loni Hancock was elected to the state Senate in 2008. Prior to that she served as assemblywoman and mayor of Berkeley.

ASSEMBLY

18th District

This new district includes Alameda, Oakland and San Leandro.

There are four candidates for this race.

Rob Bonta is vice mayor of Alamed and an advocate for schools. Prior to that, he was on Alameda Health Care board. He works as an assistant city attorney in San Francisco. He also played professional minor league soccer.

Abel Guillen is a Peralta Community College District trustee as well as a vice president of a school finance firm.

Republican Rhonda Weber, a small business owner, is on the ballot. A website for Weber's campaign could not be found.

Democrat Joel Young is an A.C. Transit board director. He's also an attorney with a law degree from U. C. Berkeley.

MEASURE C

City of Alameda Public Safety and 911 Emergency Response Measure. Would increase the sales tax by a half-cent.

You can read the ballot measure, analysis and arguments here.