Albany election: Close races, strong support for measures
Update: The standings did not change in Friday's election results.
Update, 8:30 p.m. Robin López looks to have secured his City Council seat, with Jon Destin maintaining his lead for the second spot.
(The language above was clarified after publication.)
The standings have not changed for school board or Albany's six ballot measures, which all remain on track to pass.
Friday's update added about 2,500 Albany ballots to the count.
At least 6,900 Albany ballots have been counted so far, with 6,700 in the council race. In 2022, 7,100 voters cast ballots for Albany City Council.
Editor's desk
Original story: Albany's City Council and school board races remain unsettled as vote counting continues, while all six local ballot measures are leading with enough support to pass.
Initial results show incumbent Robin López leading the Albany City Council race with 1,566 first-choice votes, followed by Jon Destin with 1,532 votes and Aaron Tiedemann with 1,235 (both after transfers), according to ranked-choice results released early Wednesday.
Two seats are available.
Ranked-choice results will be calculated again as more ballots are counted, meaning vote transfers and standings may change.
In the Board of Education race, incumbent Becky Hopwood led with 1,269 first-choice votes, followed by Melissa Boyd with 1,016 first-choice votes. After ranked-choice transfers, Josh Mahoney received 851 votes, David McKinney had 786 and Margaret Allen had 634.
Four seats are up for election, with the fourth-place finisher serving a two-year term.
Emilie Raguso
The Alameda County registrar of voters confirmed to Albany Scanner that more results will be released Friday and Monday at 5 p.m., followed by updates Nov. 13 and Nov. 16.
No one knows exactly how many Albany votes remain, but in 2022, about 7,100 residents cast ballots for City Council and 6,400 voted in the school board race, compared with 4,332 and 3,857 ballots so far this week.
The county will certify the final results after the counting process is complete.
Hopeful, but awaiting more results
Albany Scanner contacted candidates Tuesday as results came in.
López said he spent the evening on Solano Avenue with family and constituents, "closely watching the national election landscape." He said he was "very happy to see the initial outcomes for Congress."
"As for my race, still awaiting more updates, but the initial results look promising," he said Tuesday evening. "I'm happy to see Albany voters hitting the polls and making good on their voting privileges. As someone whose elders couldn't even vote several decades ago in California, this is beyond meaningful to see how a city decides if I'm one of their preferred choices to lead the community."
In a follow-up Thursday, López said he remained focused on his City Council work while awaiting more election results. He also welcomed the strong early support for all six Albany ballot measures and Measure RTM.
Destin said he was "waiting for the next few rounds" before weighing in.
Katherine Enos said concerns about development, housing speculation and residents' rights motivated her campaign. She said she would continue making her voice heard on those issues.
"I see that three seats will open up on the Albany City Council in 2028," she said. "I encourage other Albany residents to run and to speak out to make Albany a place where the rights of residents are more important than those of developers."
McKinney, from the school board race, said "it was exciting to see those first vote counts come through."
"As a first-time candidate, it was surreal to vote for myself and then see my name on the election results page," he said. "It was great to get out into the community and connect with so many people during the campaign."
Candidates also said they understood the standings could still change.
"However it turns out, I'm grateful to live in such an engaged community and grateful for everyone who voted," McKinney said.
Some Albany teenagers had the chance to vote for the first time in the school board race, following Measure V's win in 2024.
Ninety-six Albany residents ages 16 and 17 had preregistered to vote by Election Day, Hopwood said. Some Albany high school students marched to the polls Monday to cast their votes.
Countywide, 220 youth ballots have been tallied, according to data from the ROV.
Albany voters support tax, rezoning measures
All six local ballot measures were leading in early returns and had exceeded the approval threshold required for passage.
Measure O, which would give the City Council greater authority to change single-family zoning rules, had 63% support.
Measures P and Q, which address city tax revenue and funding for public services, had 77% and 78% support, respectively.
Measure R, which would change the business license tax, had 74% support, and Measure S, which would establish a tiered real property transfer tax, had 63% support.
Measure T, a new parcel tax for street trees and street lighting, had 70% support and requires a two-thirds majority to pass. After Election Day, it had the narrowest margin above the required approval threshold.
Measures P and Q also require two-thirds approval.
The Albany City Council unanimously voted to place all six measures on the November ballot.
Voters in five Bay Area counties, including Alameda County, also approved Measure RTM, a sales tax measure that would benefit public transit agencies.
Without RTM funding, AC Transit had planned to cut bus service by as much as 16%, removing up to 100 buses from daily operations.
AC Transit Board President Diane Shaw celebrated the victory Wednesday following promising early returns.
"Thanks to this measure, AC Transit is expected to receive approximately $55 million annually over the next 14 years," Shaw said in a statement. "Every voter-approved dollar will be managed with strict financial oversight and accountability to ensure funds are invested where they will provide the greatest public benefit."
As of Friday, Alameda County had issued 981,523 ballots, with 52% returned. Albany had 12,281 issued ballots, with 64% returned.
In an update Thursday, the ROV said it had 265,849 ballots still to process, in addition to the 314,951 ballots processed countywide on election night.
An estimated 4,500 Albany ballots have been counted. The county does not provide city-level figures.
Find more Alameda County election results online.
Read complete election coverage on Albany Scanner, including council candidate Q&As and our reporting on local ballot measures.
