Gabrielle Blackman Wins DUSD June 4 Special Election By Wide Gap

DUBLIN, CA — With 100 percent of precincts reporting in Tuesday's special election to fill the Area 4 position on the five-seat Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees, voters overwhelming threw their support behind Gabrielle Blackman over the only other contender on the ballot, Niranjana "Nini" Natarajan. Blackman garnered 69.42 percent of registered-voter turnout, or 488 ballots, compared to Natarajan's 30.58 percent (215 votes), according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. Election results still need to be certified by the registrar, but the apparent wide victory leaves little doubt who will take the spot.

Even after the special election and the presumptive winner begins her post, there will still be an empty seat on the Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees. At-large trustee Dan Cunningham resigned from the board in March for personal reasons and his seat remains open; it will remain vacant until a special election in November.

The battle over the Area 4 seat began last October when Joe Giannini resigned from the post. The school board voted 3-1 last December to appoint Natajaran to fill the rest of Giannini's term, which expires in December 2020, but she was removed from the post in February after a group of residents successfully petitioned to nullify her appointment and call a special election instead.

In her ballot statement, Natajaran described herself as "a working mom with a passion for education" and promised to "provide the best educational experience for our children that prepares them academically and emotionally for the future." Natajaran said, "I will foster a culture of shared beliefs and values that promotes increased transparency and accountability at all levels of administration" and said she would champion "leadership and growth management to ensure student-centered curriculum and programs at all Dublin schools."

Blackman, who unsuccessfully ran for a spot on the school board in 2016, wrote in her ballot statement that, "As the mother of three school-age children, a leader in educational planning and design, I will bring solutions-driven leadership and extensive academic experience to our school
board. For 10 years I have advocated for our children at both the school board and City Council meetings to help remedy the impact Dublin's growth is having on our schools."

Blackman said that, if elected, she would "continue to serve our community, bringing the depth of my experience and breadth of my expertise to usher in a new era that embraces equality of education for students all across Dublin, with access to innovative curriculum and state-of-the art facilities, that will foster the kind of learning that is required in today's competitive world."