Reuben Holober is set for another term on the Millbrae City Council, and early indications are he will be joined by fellow incumbent Anne Oliva who is narrowly ahead of challenger You You Xue, according to early election results.
Holober, who gathered 41 percent voter support, and Oliva, who collected 32 percent of the vote, will likely be charged in their next term with finding a new way to finance reconstructing the Millbrae Recreation Center. Oliva was about 252 votes ahead of Xue, who gathered 26 percent of the vote, according to initial results from the Elections Office.
Millbrae voters apparently shot down Measure II, as the bond designed to generate $12 million for rebuilding the center demolished by arson fire collected 57.51 percent support — just under 10 percent short of the supermajority required to pass.
For his part, Holober expressed his appreciation for voters supporting his campaign, while noting many more ballots need to be counted before results are final. Preliminary results from Election Day will be updated by county officials again Thursday, Nov. 8, as well as Tuesday, Nov. 13, and again Friday, Nov. 16.
“There are still a lot of ballots out there, but the early results are promising,” he said. “I’m feeling very positive about it.”
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He balanced that optimism though against the discouraging early indications for the bond, intended to provide a source of funding for reconstructing the facility lost in a 2016 arson.
“It’s short of the two-thirds required so far and it is disappointing to see it behind. But we went through a long process with the community in terms of the input and presented a plan that most people seemed to want. The two-thirds is a tough threshold to make. So there are a lot of ballots out there, but it certainly could be better,” he said.
Advocates were hopeful to raise a portion of the money needed to rebuild the facility through a combination of bond revenue, insurance payments and revenue generated by sale of city property. In all, those hopeful to rebuild the center eyed raising an estimated $30 million projected to be needed for a new facility.
Should the results hold, Holober said Millbrae officials will begin collaborating on a new financing strategy for rebuilding the facility considered essential by so many.
“We have got to start to regroup. Fortunately, it looks like we will likely be retaining the current council. So we’ll continue to move forward with our staff and finance team for other funding mechanisms for the center,” he said. “Because not replacing the center is not an option. We need a new Recreation Center, so we need a plan that will work for the community.”
Good for Millbrae voters to not pass the bond they can not afford. Reuben is supported by unions whose pensions will never be fully funded by Millbrae. Bankruptcy awaits Millbrae during the next economic recession.
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(1) comment
Good for Millbrae voters to not pass the bond they can not afford.
Reuben is supported by unions whose pensions will never be fully funded by Millbrae.
Bankruptcy awaits Millbrae during the next economic recession.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.