Saratoga News Petrossi, Yamaoka win, but Perry, Kao are in dead heat By Michelle Alaimo Incumbent Stephanie Petrossi had no problem holding onto her Saratoga Union School District board seat. She took a lead of more than 30 percent early on and kept the advantage. With all the votes counted, Petrossi came in first with 3,416 votes, or 34.4 percent. Newcomer Bonnie Yamaoka was also strong in the polls with 2,292 votes, or 23.1 percent. But the big race was between Stan Perry and Aileen Kao. At 10 p.m., the two were separated by only 3 votes. Perry and Kao are now tied at 2,384 or 21.3 percent each. Absentee votes, which will be counted Friday and again next Tuesday, are expected to break the tie. Petrossi, who was one of four board members who recently voted to cut down several trees on the Saratoga School campus, said she was thankful to the community for their support and vote of confidence. "I look forward to working with the new school board members and providing a quality education for our children in Saratoga," Petrossi said. Yamaoka, a PTA member and past PTA president, said the next four years will be exciting for her. "I am committed to providing an academically and socially balanced education that will prepare SUSD students for the future," Yamaoka said. Regardless of whether Kao or Perry ends up with the most votes, it's possible that both could end up on the board. With board member Jill Hunter's resignation last month over the Saratoga School tree decision, the board has until next month to appoint a new member to serve the remaining two years of Hunter's term. Superintendent Mary Gardner said one option could be to appoint the candidate who came in fourth in the race. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] Web exclusive to the Saratoga News, November 4, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.