| The Voter
Election Edition
The official newsletter of the
League of Women Voters of Piedmont, CA.
Vol. 38, Issue 3 | October 8, 2026
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In this issue:
- A Message From Our President
- Voter Information
- Vote with the League - Local and State
- Ballot Advocacy with the League
- October Luncheon
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Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.
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A Message From Our President
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Dear LWV of Piedmont Members and Friends,
As we draw closer to this year's election on Tuesday, November 3rd, League of Women Voters across the country are gearing up with the work we do. Part of this work is providing voters with accurate, non-partisan and balanced information, so we've decided to create special Election Editions of The Voter.
This issue reflects up-to-date voter information - including links to candidate forum recordings, local and state LWV voting recommendations, and an advocacy opportunity.
Be sure to get your ticket for our upcoming event about elections - our Friday, 10/30 luncheon with Dr. Seth Masket.
Thank you for being a voter!
In League, and on behalf of the Board,
Lisa Gardner
President, League of Women Voters of Piedmont
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Piedmonters can register to vote on the website of the California Secretary of State HERE or with Alameda County HERE .
To find out what is going to be on your ballot, and check your registration, you can go to www.vote411.org .
As the general election primary election day--November 3, 2026--nears, these sources will have updated information about voting by mail and/or polling places near you.
| | |  | | A message from our Director of Voter Services
Kathleen Quenneville and Winifred Walters continue to populate the League's VOTE411.org website, a free resource with information about local candidates and issues. Please watch that website as information is regularly added. Included on VOTE411.org are the Pros and Cons document addressing Piedmont Ballot Measure GG, which would increase the real estate transfer tax from 1.3% to 1.75%.
Voter Services also organized a local candidate forum on Tuesday, September 29th for the five candidates running for three Piedmont City Council seats. Jennifer Giessler, a member of the League of Women Voters of Piedmont, moderated the forum. You can view the recording of that forum on our website, YouTube channel, and on KCOM.
We are grateful to the City of Piedmont for making the City Council chambers available for this forum, and thank Echa Schneider and Jeff Shaw, at the city for their support.
Thank you,
Kathleen Quenneville
Director of Voter Services | |
Candidate Forums
On September 29th at Piedmont City Hall’s Council Chambers we hosted our first in-person candidate forum since 2018! The event featured five candidates for the Piedmont City Council race. Please check out the forum on our YouTube channel HERE.
On Saturday, October 3rd the League of Women Voters of Oakland (LWVO) hosted a candidate forum for Peralta Community College District Trustee, Area 5. Two candidates are running for this race. Please check out this forum on the LWVO's YouTube channel HERE. Thank you, LWVO for hosting this forum! | | | |
VOTE WITH THE LEAGUE
Local and State
|  | Our League’s Board of Directors has voted to endorse Piedmont’s Ballot Measure GG (See its wording and fact sheet below, and look for the LWVP's Pros and Cons, on this measure, to be published soon on VOTE411.org). You can also go to this website to learn more: www.YESonGG.com
The League of Women Voters doesn't endorse parties or candidates, but we do take positions on ballot measures based on current program positions and/or on League principles. Measure GG is aligned with the League of Women Voters of California's Position on State and Local Finances. A modest increase in the transfer tax rate from 1.3% to 1.75% would generate approximately $1.5M in needed additional revenue for Piedmont’s general fund each year, and would be more in line with neighboring cities. The transfer tax is only incurred when real property is conveyed from one owner to another; the responsibility for the transfer tax is negotiated, and often split between the buyer and seller. All revenues from the transfer tax stays in Piedmont. We urge voters to join us in supporting Measure GG in the November 3 election.
"Shall the measure, providing funding for City of Piedmont’s essential city services, such as police, fire, and emergency medical response; and maintenance of aging City buildings, parks, stormwater drains, roads and sidewalks, by increasing the real estate transfer tax from 1.3% to 1.75% to be more in line with neighboring cities and to generate approximately $1,500,000 annually in general tax revenue until ended by voters, be adopted?" | |
Measure GG Fact Sheet
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Piedmont’s local real estate conveyance tax (“transfer tax”) was first approved by voters in 1968, nearly 60 years ago. It was increased by voters in 1993 to its current rate of 1.3%, or $13 per $1,000 of the purchase price).
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Berkeley and Oakland have tiered transfer tax rates:
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For the sale of a $2.5M home in Oakland, the transfer tax would be 1.75%
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For a $2.5M home sold in Berkeley, the transfer tax would be 2.5%
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The City of Albany is also asking voters to adopt a tiered transfer tax this November. If approved, a $2.5M home sold in Albany (under the new measure) would incur a transfer tax of 3.0%.
City Attorney Impartial Analysis (posted 08/03/2026 to 08/13/2026)
Direct Argument in Favor of Measure (posted 08/03/2026 to 08/13/2026)
Direct Argument Opposed to Measure GG - None filed
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Are you looking for guidance on state Ballot Measures? Check out the League of Women Voters of California's resources for analysis and recommendations here and see the graphic below for a quick reference.
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BALLOT ADVOCACY
with the League
| | Phone Bank with the League for
No on Prop 39
Join the League and phone bank for the No on Prop 39 campaign on Friday, October 9th, from 4-7pm. Sign up HERE.
As ballots are being received by voters, we need all hands on deck to connect with voters about the dangers of Prop 39. It is critical that voters hear the League's voice on this anti-democratic measure. You'll get clear training, a script, and be able to do it from the comfort of your living room sofa on your own computer or phone. And using the campaign's special system means your personal phone number will not be revealed.
Read more at the No on Prop 39 website HERE. There will be more chances to engage but since voters are going to start to fill out there ballots this weekend, the Thursday and Friday phone banks are very important.
| | | The League of Women Voters of Piedmont Presents:
Winning and Losing:
How Do Our American Political Parties
Remember and Forget?
with Dr. Seth Masket
When: Friday, October 30, 2026, from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: 801 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA
Registration is required. Members $40, Non-Members $45. Space is limited. Purchase your tickets HERE.
The League invites guests to socialize with friends old and new, enjoy a catered lunch, learn more about the League, and explore insights and contradictions about how our country's two main political parties operate. |  | Near the eve of the November 3, 2026 election, University of Denver Professor Seth Masket will shine a light on some of the surprising differences between how our political parties deal with losses–and fight for survival. Appealing to voters of all parties, this talk by a leading scholar will raise important questions—and point out intriguing dynamics–about party identity, and how parties and their voters deal with wins and losses and hopes for the future. Piedmont Mayor Betsy Smegal Andersen will introduce the speaker.
Visiting here from Colorado, Masket is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Piedmont. His deep real-time research via interviews with party leaders, insiders, and voters reveals insights and contradictions into how our country’s two main parties operate…from grassroots to top leadership. His just-published book (June 2026), The Elephants in the Room: How Trump Voters Seized the Party from Republican Leaders and prior volume (2020), Learning from Loss: The Democrats 2016-2020, are based on real-time investigations and conversations, and provide unique–and remarkable–insights. With his dry sense of humor, he’ll help answer the very timely question, How did we get here? | | | Dr. Seth Masket is a professor of political science at the University of Denver. He researches and teaches about political parties, state legislatures, and campaigns and elections. Masket regularly contributes to Politico, the NYT, and to The Smotus Report Substack newsletter. His recently-published books are based on real-time investigations and conversations and provide unique–and surprising–insights. Masket holds a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a doctorate from UCLA. He was the Senior Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Vanderbilt University in 2024-25.
For more information on Seth Masket visit: https://www.sethmasket.com/
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