In the Cupertino Union School District Board election, George Tyson and incumbent Josephine "Jo" Lucey defeated the other five candidates.

In the council election, Lowenthal received the most votes (3,947). Wang was a close second (3,346). Both winners garnered more than 30 percent of the votes. Their victory was not surprising: although there were four candidates, only Lowenthal and Wang were running an aggressive campaign. They will be sworn in Dec. 1 at a ceremonial meeting in the council chamber at city hall.

The real battle in this year's election was in the race for school board. There were seven qualified candidates vying for two seats on the board. Dissatisfaction among some parents and teachers in the district with the current school board and William Bragg, the district superintendent, is one of the major reasons there were so many candidates this year. But candidates who openly opposed Bragg such as Melissa Hilton and Elizabeth Tadman failed to win the voters' support.

Incumbent Lucey won the most votes, 6,643. Tyson followed close behind with 6,255 votes. Both candidates won over 25 percent of the votes.

On the Nov. 4 election night, Lowenthal threw a party at BJ's Brewhouse. He followed the election results closely and updated the information on an enlarged screen connected to a laptop computer. His supporters—including Planning Commissioner Gilbert Wong, Lunar New Year Unity Parade Co-chair Michelle Hu, Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval and former Mayor Barbara Rogers—were all there to celebrate his overwhelming victory.

"Maybe this is an easy win but I didn't take voters for granted," Lowenthal said. "I work as hard for this campaign as I did four years ago. The campaign was still worthwhile because I got to talk to voters."

Lowenthal said his priorities will be stimulating the economy, attracting retail businesses and building more parks. "The residents told us clearly that Cupertino doesn't need more buildings. They want more parks," he said.

Lowenthal said he looks forward to working with Wang. During the campaign, Lowenthal and Wang developed a strong rapport. Most of the time, only he and Wang were present at candidate forums.

"We acted as colleagues from the very beginning of the campaign," Lowenthal said. "Normally candidates have residual competitive spirits after the election but it won't happen this time."

Wang threw a celebration party at home. She said she was grateful for the volunteers' help and voters' support.

"This campaign is not a race but a bridge for people to know me and me to know people," Wang said. "For the next couple of weeks, I will study major issues, meet more people and understand their needs."

School board member Lucey also celebrated her victory at home. Although there were seven candidates, Lucey doesn't think the election was particularly difficult.

"Regardless of the number of the candidates, you still run the same campaign. You still run the campaign based on the issues you care about," she said. The victory was "a reflection of the good work I have done. They believe I will made decisions on the best interest of everybody."

Her top priorities for the next four-year term will be retaining teachers, enhancing communication within the district, planning the budget and increasing programs.

Lucey said she is excited to work with the new board member, Tyson. "The voters sent us a message that they wanted the board to have a positive direction," Lucey said. "I think we are going to have a strong board."

Tyson, after failing his first bid for the board two years ago, was thrilled to win this time.

"It was a challenging campaign with so many candidates so I went door-to-door, encouraged my supporters to write endorsement letters to the newspapers and went to every candidate forum," Tyson said. "Many important issues were raised and I will take them into heart."

Tyson said he will focus on improving the district's communication and working relationship with teachers as well as keeping a close eye on the district's financial health.