Concord Passes Measure O and Kuslits Leads District 3 by 12 Votes

CONCORD & CLAYTON, Calif. — Contra Costa County’s final election-night report showed a 12-vote margin in Concord City Council District 3 and a decisive victory for Concord’s Measure O business license tax on Wednesday, November 4, while neighboring Clayton voters balked at two local tax measures and Democratic candidates swept California’s statewide offices.

Robyn Kuslits Leads Concord District 3 by 12 Votes as Measure O Passes and Clayton Taxes Trail

According to Claycord, Robyn Kuslits led Dena Acosta Beere by just 12 votes in Concord City Council District 3—with 562 votes for Kuslits, 550 for Beere, and 500 for Don Seta—while Concord City Council incumbents Laura Hoffmeister (District 1) and Laura Nakamura (District 5) held substantial leads. Concord voters also backed Measure O, which increases business license taxes, with 73.03% support.

In neighboring Clayton, Charles Schmidt led the City Council contest with 1,861 votes, while both local tax measures fell short of passage thresholds: Measure M, a proposed 1% sales tax increase, trailed with 58.54% voting No, and Measure N, which extends and increases the landscape maintenance parcel tax, received 52.66% Yes (short of the required two-thirds threshold).

Democrats Sweep California Statewide Offices as SEED Act, CVS Breakup, and Documentary News Emerge

In statewide returns reported by San Jose Inside as of 10:33 p.m. on November 3, Democrat Xavier Becerra led Republican Steve Hilton 65% (4,292,646 votes) to 35% (2,308,080 votes) for California Governor. Other statewide and Silicon Valley congressional leaders included:

• Statewide Constitutional Offices: Lieutenant Governor Fiona Ma (65% over Gloria Romero), Secretary of State Shirley Weber (66% to Don Wagner’s 34%), Attorney General Rob Bonta (65% to Michael Gates’ 35%), Controller Malia Cohen (65% to Herb Morgan’s 35%), Treasurer Eleni Kounalakis (65% to Jennifer Hawk’s 35%), Insurance Commissioner Jane Kim (51.5% to Ben Allen’s 48.5%), and Superintendent of Public Instruction Richard Barrera (58% to Sonja Shaw’s 42%).
• U.S. House Races: Representatives Sam Liccardo (76% in the 16th District), Ro Khanna (71% in the 17th District), and Zoe Lofgren (72% in the 18th District).

In education and national business developments, San José Spotlight reported that the federal Supporting Early-Childhood Educators’ Deductions (SEED) Act, authored by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, was signed into law to extend up to $350 in federal tax deductions for classroom supplies to transitional kindergarten (TK) and preschool educators, who spend an average of $895 per year out of pocket. Separately, The Press (Brentwood) reported that CVS plans to split off its retail drugstore business—reversing its $78 billion acquisition of Aetna in 2018—and NBC Bay Area reported that Billy Evans, partner of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes (who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2022 on 4 counts of wire fraud), hosted a November 3 Q&A on X discussing the documentary You Can See Everything and their 2 children.