June 20, 2008

Adams withdrew but leads Singh by 12 votes

Jacquelyn Adams

By Bill Bellou
Publisher

The question remains whether Ram Singh or Jacquelyn Adams will appear on the November ballot as a challenger to top finisher Ash Kalra. Adams, who spent no money on the campaign, appears to have made the runoff in November even though she dropped out of the race prior to the June 3rd election.

State law prevented Adams from removing her name from the ballot once she withdrew after the March filing deadline. "If she were to win in November, she could always resign the office," said City Attorney Rick Doyle.

Ash Kalra

Adams earned a surprising support among voters. With 100 percent of the precincts reporting – Adams is 12 votes ahead of Singh . Santa Clara County Deputy Public Defender Ash Kalra is short of the necessary votes to win the election outright.

The outcome hinges on the provisional ballots - those cast at polling places but requiring validation before they can be officially counted. There are more than 4,000 provisional ballots from around Santa Clara County yet to be counted, but county election officials said they will not be tallied until late this week.  However, officials said that very few provisional ballots were cast in District 2 so is uncertain if Ram will pull ahead.  

The Times office received a press release from Adams last Friday reiterating her decision to withdraw from the San Jose City Council race due to "serious and unexpected personal reasons." She also offered her support to front runner Kalra.

Kalra said he was pleased with the first place finish and looks forward to the November election.