As Election Day Nears, Who and What Are You Voting For?

In a few days, San Bruno voters will be able to elect two trustees for the San Bruno Park School District board and decide whether to pass a $40 million construction measure for the school district, in addition to voting for whom should fill the three open seats on the San Mateo County Community College District and whether to pass a $564 million bond for the community colleges.

Here's a Patch guide for the Nov. 8 election to help you figure out where and when you're voting—and who you're voting for:

Where and how to vote

Check the county elections office website to find your polling place. Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. If you have questions about how the voting machines work, the county elections office has a video on its website that teaches you how they work. If you have any other voting questions, call the elections office at 650-312-5222 or the city clerk's office at 650-616-7058.

Who's running?

In San Bruno, four candidates are vying for two open seats on the San Bruno Park School District board: Incumbents Kevin Martinez and Jennifer Blanco and challengers Joseph Capote, a real estate agent, and Chuck Zelnik, a former school board member.

, 50, a systems engineer, has spent the last five years as a schools trustee and was board president for a year. He was first appointed to the board after Zelnik, who had been on the board for six years, resigned in 2006 to apply for a maintenance position within the district to help pay for his daughter's college education.

Martinez has been running on a platform of ensuring that all students have rich academic opportunities and that curriculum is preparing kids for 21st century skills. He also feels that he has an obligation to help get the school district through the current economy, where state and local resources have been fluctuating for schools.

He has been one of the school board's main proponents for Measure O.

, 40, the current school board president and the only woman on the board, is a single mother of five children and has kept a relatively low profile during the campaign season. She was the only person to miss the League of Women Voters' . 

According to her candidate's statement, she is running on experience, having coordinated the school district's Day of the Child literacy event, reestablishing the PTA President's Council and having report cards translated to improve parent involvement.

If re-elected, Blanco has promised that she will start a kindergarten readiness program and an employment readiness program for teens.

is a newcomer to politics, but he has been active with the community as a PTA member at El Crystal Elementary, a board member of the San Bruno Education Foundation and a board member of the San Bruno Chamber of Commerce.

He is looking to bring new blood and new ideas to the board by re-establishing the community's trust with the board and trying to foster relationships with the city and businesses to help support the school district's programs.

Zelnik has said that his main reason for running again for the school board is to help San Bruno kids reach the same educational opportunities his two children have obtained. Both his son and daughter recently graduated from college with engineering degrees.

When he was on the board, Zelnik had a reputation for being a polarizing figure. He has lived up to that reputation in this race, as he is the only candidate opposing Measure O, the $40 million school bond measure. But Zelnik has said many times during this race that he is just passionate about education and that he isn't trying to intentionally stir up any controversy.

Also on the ballot

 would be used to pay for capital projects throughout the district, including upgrading playgrounds and playfields, upgrading classroom technology and finishing the second phase of the Parkside Intermediate construction project.

The bond measure needs 55 percent of the vote to pass.

But there has been some concern that the school district isn't being completely up front about the bond measure.

Opponents say it's not clear how the district would spend the bond money. And they have been focusing on how the district has been handling the $30 million in proceeds from the sale of the Carl Sandburg surplus property, claiming that its 2010 request from the state to use $12 million of those funds to pay for non-capital improvement projects wasn't a smart—or legal—move. School officials say those claims are baseless.

For more information about the community college district board race and bond measure, check out Patch's 2011 Voter Guide.

An election was initially scheduled for the City Council, but after no challengers entered that race. The incumbents being re-elected are Mayor Jim Ruane, Vice Mayor Michael Salazar and Councilwoman Irene O'Connell.