Added Ballots Push Measure K Over 2/3's without Pinole, Hercules

The addition of nearly 5,000 previously uncounted votes to the Measure K totals now show the proposed parcel tax for West Contra Costa schools would have passed without Pinole and Hercules, where support was lowest.

The new votes represent the bulk of the ballots that had not been included in the first . Some ballots remain uncounted, so final results are still pending. 

The measure failed to win the required two-thirds approval, receiving 64.59 percent of 30,559 votes that had been counted Wednesday, and school board President Charles Ramsey at the time by saying it's time to consider whether Hercules and Pinole, where support for the measure was lukewarm, should separate from the district.

The initial results Wednesday had shown the measure would have come closer to approval without Pinole and Hercules – with 66.61 percent – but not enough to pass. But the addition of 4,936 new votes late Friday by the Contra Costa County Elections Division showed that the measure would have received 67.92 percent without Hercules and Pinole, according to a Patch tabulation of precinct-by-precinct results.

Ramsey had noted that support by city council members was notably lacking in Hercules and Pinole (except for Pete Murray of Pinole) in contrast to endorsements in other cities. He noted also that the ballot argument against Measure K was signed by Sue Pricco, who led an unsuccessful attempt in 2005 for Hercules to secede from the district.

Asked if he had further comment following the new results Friday, Ramsey said by email, "I hope that the election spurs conversation and debate about local funding for schools. I value and appreciate the hard work put out by each community. It is just disappointing when you come so close, but fall short due to Prop. 13 requirements." 

"Although we lost," he added, "it was a great effort and I am proud of the work done by everyone on the campaign."

The new votes – which include Hercules and Pinole – pushed the total votes counted up to 35,495 and the approval rate up slightly to 65.22 percent, still short of the two-thirds needed to pass.

In the latest results, Kensington has the highest approval rate – with 82.04 percent – of the district's seven largest communities. El Cerrito is second with 72.34 percent. Richmond, which did not reach two-thirds in the results released Wednesday, is now one vote over the required two-thirds, with 66.67 percent. 

The lowest rate is found in Pinole with 54.19 percent, followed by Hercules with 54.9 percent. El Sobrante has 56.25 percent and San Pablo registers 65.20 percent.

Vote totals for Measure K updated late Friday, tabulated by Patch from precinct results released by the Contra Costa Elections Division:

Note: the totals for all voters are greater than for the seven communities combined because they include unincorporated areas that are not part of these seven jurisdictions.