With the closure of filing for the November General Election, the candidates and measures that will be on the ballot are coming into focus. The races specific to Lamorinda include city and town councils, school boards, and the Moraga-Orinda Fire District, which not only has an election but also is seeking to fill a vacancy arising from the resignation of Director John Jex.

    In Lamorinda, there will be elections for four school districts, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette and the Acalanes Union High School District, which also has a fundraising measure on the ballot. 

    Lafayette will not be having an election for its City Council, since there were an equal number of nominees and vacancies (see story on Page A2). 

    Orinda will have four candidates running for three slots, including the three incumbents. Incumbents outgoing Mayor Brandyn Iverson, Vice Mayor Latika Malkani, and Council Member Janet Riley are running for reelection. Juana Rudate, who identifies herself has a physicist and mother, is also running. Candidate statements are now available on the city’s website at https://www.cityoforinda.gov/383/Election-Information.

    Moraga will have four candidates running for two slots, including two incumbents, Mayor Kerry Hillis and Council Member Steve Woehleke, who are being challenged by Moraga Planning Commission member Alexis Mapel and former Moraga Park Commissioner Bill Carman. Moraga’s candidate statements are not available on the town's website, but will appear in election materials sent out by Contra Costa County Elections.

    Orinda Union School District has four candidates running for three places on the governing board; incumbents Edda Collins Coleman and Board President Katie Shogan, and challengers John Chabalko and Chloe Aftel. Incumbent board member Eve Phillips is not running for reelection.

    The Moraga School Board appears to currently have two candidates running for three available seats: incumbent board president Larry Jacobs and incumbent board vice-president Martha White. Incumbent Kristin Kraetsch is not running for reelection, and no other candidates have filed. Information about current board members can be located at https://www.moraga.k12.ca.us/About-Us/Board/Governing-Board/index.html.

    Lafayette School District has two candidates running for three positions on the board. Incumbent board president Katy Foreman and incumbent board member Rob Strum are running for reelection. Incumbent Dave Smith is not running for reelection. Information about current board members can be found at https://www.lafsd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=3822516&tDpe=d&pREC_ID=2470872

    The election for trustees of the Acalanes Union High School District, which includes Miramonte High School in Orinda, Campolindo High School in Moraga and Acalanes High School in Lafayette, is a little more complicated this year, as on Oct. 15, 2025 the Governing Board adopted a trustee area plan with trustees being in the future elected by the established areas. The November election will include areas 1, 3 and 5.

    For area 1, incumbent Stacey Schweppe is being challenged by Nithin Iyengar. Incumbent Jennifer Chen, area 3, and Nancy Kendzierski, area 5, are running unopposed.

    AUHSD also has a parcel tax measure on the ballot, Measure W, which proposes to levy a parcel tax of $168 for eight years in order to address the districts instructional needs. In order to pass, the measure requires a two-thirds majority, or 66.67%, of voter approval.

    Information on Measure W can be found at https://www.acalanes.k12.ca.us/Dbout-auhsd/measure-w.

    AUHSD tried in 2024 to pass a parcel tax, putting it on the ballot for a special election as Measure T. Although the measure received strong community support with 63.63% “yes” votes, it did not reach the two-thirds (66.67%) threshold required for the passage of a parcel tax. 

    Three of the districts that make up the Moraga-Orinda Fire District are also on the November ballot. MOFD District 1 incumbent Greg Hasler is running unopposed. In MOFD District 3, incumbent Steve Danziger has stepped out of the race, throwing his support to John Donnelly, who is running against Steve Cohn. In district 4 incumbent Mike Roemer is being challenged by Linda Stevens.

    In addition, MOFD has announced that John Jex, district 2 director whose term expires on Dec. 1, 2028, has resigned. The board will fill the vacancy under the procedures of Government Code section 1780 by appointing an individual to the office. Applications were accepted until Sept. 5, with interviews scheduled for Oct. 14, 21, and 27. Applicants were required to be U.S. citizens and registered voters in District 2, and must not have been convicted of a felony involving accepting or giving, or offering to give, any bribe, the embezzlement of public money, extortion or theft of public money, perjury, or conspiracy to commit any of those crimes.