Local election results: Adam Schiff ’82 scores Senate seat

While the presidential race was almost immediately called for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in California after polls closed on Tuesday, many results further down the ballot for the state have taken longer to announce.

Democratic candidate and current U.S. House Rep. Adam Schiff ’82 won California’s open Senate seat and former San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo won the House seat for CA-16, which represents Stanford.

U.S. Senate

Democratic House Rep. Adam Schiff ’82 defeated Republican opponent Steve Garvey by nearly 15 points, the latest in California’s longstanding streak of electing only Democrats statewide since 2006. Schiff will serve alongside fellow Democrat Alex Padilla.

While in Congress, Schiff led the first impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump.

“I am committed to standing up for every Californian. I am committed to taking on the big fights to protect our freedoms and to protect our democracy,” Schiff said in his victory speech Tuesday night. “California will continue to be in the forefront of progress, the bulwark of democracy, the champion of innovation and the protector of our rights and freedoms.”

U.S. House of Representatives

In the race between two democrats for Congressional District 16, which includes Stanford, former San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo defeated state Assemblymember Evan Low by a 20-point margin. Low was notably backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom for the seat.

“I’ve had five contested elections in my career. I don’t think I’ve ever been endorsed by my party,” Liccardo said in an interview with The Daily a week prior to Election Day. “I’ve never lost an election, and I think that’s because we’re blessed to live in a community where we don’t want to be told how to vote by a party.”

Liccardo served as mayor of San Jose from 2015 to 2023 and emphasized extensively during his campaign his experience working within the city council, where he focused on getting votes from a majority of the 11 council members.

Liccardo said in the interview that he hopes to continue serving as a pragmatist in Congress and pledged to join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus if elected.

Ballot Measures

Californians voted on 10 ballot measures in the 2024 election cycle. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, six have been officially called.

Prop 36: YES on increased sentences for crimes

Californians overwhelmingly voted to pass Proposition 36, which would allow felony charges for certain drug and theft-related crimes, with 70.2% voting “Yes” on the ballot measure, according to the New York Times. 

In 2014, Proposition 47 lowered certain theft and drug-related crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and reduced the punishments for these crimes. Proposition 36 will re-increase these punishments and create a “treatment-focused court process for some drug possession crimes.” The proposition will also require courts to warn those selling or providing drugs to others that they can be charged with murder if their continued involvement leads to someone’s death. 

The Daily spoke with several students who advocated against Prop 36 before the election. Grace Matthews ’25 called the proposition a “band-aid” that diverted resources away from rehabilitation programs and crime prevention

Zoe Tweedie ’25, co-president of ACLU Stanford, said that “putting more people in prison and extending prison times, especially for low-level crimes [like] drug offenses, [doesn’t actually curtain crime or keep our communities safer.” 

Proponents of the proposition said its passage is vital to creating safer communities in the state, which has experienced a growth in homelessness and rising fentanyl overdoses.

Prop 3: YES on recognizing gay marriage

California voters also voted in favor of an amendment to the California Constitution that would update the language to recognize the fundamental right to marriage, regardless of race or sex. The amendment would remove language from the state constitution that defines marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, but does to impact who can or cannot marry.

Prop 33: NO on expanding local rent control

Californians have rejected Prop. 33, which would have expanded local governments’ authority to enact rent control if passed. The NO vote means that state law will continue to restrict the authority of cities to limit how much landlords can increase rent. Opponents to the proposition included landlords, realtors and some pro-housing groups, who argued that it would disincentivize construction of new housing in the state.

Prop 2: YES on bonds for public education

The proposition, which authorizes $10 billion in bonds to build or repair K-12 schools and community colleges, was passed with a 14-point margin as of 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Prop 4: YES on bonds for natural resource conservation

California voters passed Proposition 4 with 16-point margin as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, which would authorize a $10 billion bond issue to pay for wildfire prevention, safe drinking water and protection against the effects of climate change.

Prop 35: YES on funding state health insurance

By a wide 34% margin as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, voters passed Proposition 35 to permanently instate a state tax on health insurance plans to fund Medi-Cal services.

Palo Alto City Council

Greer Stone, George Lu ’14, Pat Burt and Doria Summa lead the race to represent Palo Alto as city council members, with 89% of the votes being reported as of 7 p.m. Keith Reckdahl is trailing with only 53 votes behind. Nine candidates vied for four seats in this election, which has yet to be decided. 

Seven of those candidates spoke to The Daily in the weeks leading up to the election, citing affordable housing, collaboration with Stanford and restoring police-and-fire employment numbers among their top priorities. 

Stone, who leads the race with 16% of the vote, told The Daily that he plans to help the city’s natural environment and help Palo Alto reach carbon neutrality by 2030. 

Palo Alto Unified School Board

Rowena Chiu, Alison Kamhi ’03 and Josh Salcman lead the race for Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education at time of publication, which represents over 10,000 students and 22 schools. 

Elections for the five board positions are staggered, so that two to three are open at every election. This year, six candidates are vying for three seats.

Too early to call

Prop. 6: A YES vote on this measure would bar slavery in any form and repeal a current provision that allows involuntary servitude as a punishment for crime. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, with 53% reporting, the proposition is leaning towards being rejected.

Prop 32: A YES vote on this measure would immediately raise the minimum wage rate to $17 an hour, and then to $18 an hour on Jan. 1, 2025, for workplaces with 26 or more employees. For employers with fewer than 26 employees, the rate would increase to $17 on Jan. 1, 2025 and then to $18 on Jan. 1, 2026. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, with 54% reporting, the proposition is leaning towards being rejected.

Prop 35: A YES vote on this measure would require that 98% of the revenues from a federal prescription drug discount program be used on direct patient care. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday with 52% reporting, the proposition slighting leans toward passing.

Prop 5: A YES vote on this measure would lower the approval requirement for issuing local infrastructure bonds, from a two-thirds supermajority vote to 55 percent. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday with 54% reporting, the proposition is leaning towards being rejected.

This article is breaking and will be updated.

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