Mayor Mark Armstrong Leads San Ramon as SEC Moves to Close $40M Fund

Municipal election tallies in the San Ramon Valley, a federal court motion to wind down the 2018 Tesla securities settlement fund, and Silicon Valley opposition to California's Proposition 40 wealth tax anchored regional governance and financial coverage this week.

Mayor Mark Armstrong, Richard Adler, Marisol Rubio, and Rachel Hurd Lead in San Ramon

With 100% of precincts reporting as of 12:12 a.m. Wednesday, Patch San Ramon reported that San Ramon Mayor Mark Armstrong held a commanding lead with 76.03% (13,576 votes) over swim coach Paschalis Ntatsos with 14.15% (2,527 votes) and student Emma Chigbu with 9.82% (1,753 votes). Armstrong—a retired Army colonel and former Federal Emergency Management Agency official appointed to the City Council after the 2020 election, elected to the council in 2022, and elected mayor in 2024—campaigned on city finances and Bishop Ranch development.

In City Council District 2, appointed incumbent Richard Adler led tech entrepreneur and nonprofit director Chirag Kathrani by approximately 70% to 30%. In District 4, Vice Mayor Marisol Rubio—elected in 2022 after serving on the Dublin San Ramon Services District board—led UC Berkeley graduate and technology strategist Jeffrey Joh by 101 votes, with 51.25% (2,166 votes) to Joh's 48.75% (2,060 votes). Meanwhile, in San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education Area 5, incumbent Rachel Hurd (serving since 2006) led substitute teacher Joel Woods 64.77% (5,081 votes) to 35.23% (2,764 votes) in a race watched alongside U.S. House District 10, State Assembly District 16, Measure RTM, and Dublin San Ramon Services District Division 2.

SEC Asks Manhattan Federal Judge to Close $40 Million Musk-Tesla Settlement Fund

In federal regulatory filings reported by Hoodline citing Reuters via Investing.com, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a Manhattan federal judge to terminate the Fair Fund established after Elon Musk and Tesla settled their August 7, 2018 "funding secured" securities-fraud case—which had caused Tesla shares to close more than 6% higher before retreating—through $40 million in civil fines ($20 million each from Musk and Tesla).

Following a September 1, 2023 disbursement order, the claims administrator distributed $41.53 million ($41,532,229.44, including interest and after fees) to 3,350 eligible claimants, covering 51.7% of approved claim losses while rejecting 3,046 claims. The SEC requested authorization to remit the remaining balance of roughly $449,000 to the U.S. Treasury and discharge the distribution agent, separate from a July court approval of a $1.5 million trust settlement resolving claims that Musk waited 11 days too long in March and April 2022 to disclose early Twitter stock purchases before folding X into SpaceX.

Silicon Valley Billionaires Campaign Against Proposition 40 Wealth Tax

On the Peninsula, Palo Alto Weekly city hall reporter Riley Cook told host Ben Trefny on KALW 91.7 that roughly 50 billionaires residing in and around Palo Alto—part of the estimated 200 Californians with a net worth exceeding $1 billion at the start of the year who would face a one-time 5% tax under Proposition 40—spent heavily to defeat the measure. Cook noted that Meta negotiated an agreement to pay Mark Zuckerberg's tax bill to keep him in California, that departing residents would still owe the levy under the measure's structure, and that Prop 40 would face immediate court challenges if approved.