Parks tax and school bond earn victories on local ballot

Measure A, a quarter-cent sales tax that provides about $14 million annually to parks and open spaces, including funding several projects on the Tiburon Peninsula, sailed to a resounding victory in the June 7 primary election, which also saw the approval of a bond measure to benefit schools in the Mill Valley School District, including Strawberry Point Elementary School.

The election offered few surprises as Gov. Gavin Newsom cruised to a first-place finish and appears to be on solid ground to retain his seat in the fall. Voters also resoundingly backed incumbent state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg; U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael; and Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta, a criminal-justice-reform advocate who faced three law-and-order challengers. They will also head to a run-off with the respective next-highest vote-getters in November.

California uses a top-two primary system. For partisan offices, the top two primary finishers, regardless of party, advance to a head-to-head runoff in the general election. For nonpartisan offices — state superintendent of public instruction and all the county and judicial offices — a candidate winning a majority of the vote will win outright; otherwise, the top two vote-getters advance to November’s head-to-head.

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