Walnut Creek Sets Shadelands FallFest as Measure T and East Bay Lead

Community festival preparations and midterm election tallies across Contra Costa and Alameda counties headlined Walnut Creek updates this week as Shadelands Walnut Creek announced its November 15 FallFest, local voters backed Measure T and school board incumbents, and regional leaders won re-election across the East Bay.

Shadelands SportsMall to Host Free Community FallFest on November 15

According to News24-680, Shadelands Walnut Creek will host the free, all-community Shadelands FallFest on Sunday, November 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the grounds of the Shadelands SportsMall at 2640 Shadelands Drive in Walnut Creek. The Shadelands SportsMall will remain open and free throughout the three-hour festival, offering eight free athletic activities: golf, dance, soccer, gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, taekwondo, and batting cages.

The festival lineup includes non-stop DJ music, food trucks, ice cream, Shadelands tenant exhibitors, giveaways, and microbrews and spritzers from local taproom Calicraft Brewing Co. Special community appearances will feature Project Pink Wheels' pink fire engine, Walnut Creek Police Department vehicles and drones, and Joybound People & Pets' shelter animals and mobile adoption van.

Measure T Passes and School Board Incumbents Lead in Walnut Creek Returns

In preliminary 10:44 p.m. election returns reported by Patch Walnut Creek, Walnut Creek voters backed Measure T by 60% to 40% (12,516 yes votes to 8,240 no votes) to transition the city treasurer position from elected to appointed, while unopposed incumbent treasurer Ronald Cassano received 100% of the tally (17,002 votes) and Brendan Moran and Cherise Khaund filled two uncontested four-year City Council seats.

In the Walnut Creek School District board race for three seats, incumbents Heidi Hernandez Gatty (24%), Eryn Holl King (22%), and Geetha Ganti (17%) led incumbent Wenlei Johnson (15%), Aileen Ong (15%), and Rod Ehsani (7%). In Acalanes Union High School District Trustee Area 1, appointed member Stacey Schweppe led Nithin Iyengar 58% to 42% (2,560 votes to 1,833 votes). In the Mount Diablo Unified School District, Jane Baulch-Enloe led Dorothy Weisenberger 55% to 45% (6,799 votes to 5,596 votes) in Trustee Area 2, and Brian Thomas Lawrence led Al Anderson 68% to 32% (8,587 votes to 4,045 votes) in Trustee Area 4. Countywide, Contra Costa County had more than 90% voter registration (51.6% Democrats and 19% Republicans, compared with 23,164,977 registered voters or 85% statewide with 45% Democrats and 25% Republicans, and Political Data analyst Paul Mitchell projecting 60% statewide turnout as Democrats accounted for 51% of early ballots vs. 28% for Republicans) and backed Democrat Xavier Becerra over Republican Steve Hilton 72% to 28% (171,635 votes to 66,994 votes).

Barbara Lee, Aisha Wahab, and Regional Transit Measure Win Across the East Bay

Across the broader East Bay, East Bay Insiders reported that Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee won a full four-year term alongside nearly 74% approval for the Measure EE strong-mayor charter amendment and unopposed Councilmembers Kevin Jenkins, Charlene Wang, and Janani Ramachandran, while Oakland school board challenger Arielle Fleischer led District 2 incumbent Jennifer Brouhard ($96,792 in OEA PAC support), Alexandra Williams led District 6 incumbent Valarie Bachelor ($82,773 in OEA PAC support) by 167 votes, and District 5 incumbent Mike Hutchinson led Kathryn Camp by one percentage point.

In Congress, Rep. Aisha Wahab held a 14-point lead in her fourth contest with Melissa Hernandez alongside victories by Reps. Ro Khanna, Lateefah Simon, and Mark DeSaulnier, while Democrat Scott Sakakihara won the 10th State Senate District to succeed Wahab, Assemblymembers Mia Bonta, Buffy Wicks, Liz Ortega, Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, and Alex Lee won re-election, and the five-county Bay Area Regional Transit Measure passed with 61.5% support. In Alameda, former Councilmember Malia Vella led the mayoral race with 43% over Tracy Jensen (29%) and Tony Daysog (27%) to extend the city's 24-year streak of women mayors, Thushan Amarasiriwardena (26.59%) and Tyler Savage (17.47%) led Amos White (15.98%) and Marcie Johnson (15.64%) for council, and the $300 million Measure L bond reached 70.69%. Elsewhere, Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas won by 50 points as Measure CC passed with 65%, San Leandro Mayor Juan González III led by 40 points, Dublin Mayor Sherry Hu defeated Michael McCorriston by 24 points, and Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch defeated Julie Testa by 40 points.