Aside from the presidential campaign, the people of Pleasanton have another, arguably more important decision to make: who to vote for for  Pleasanton mayor. 

Though there are still four other candidates in the running, Druthi Ghanta, a Foothill High School graduate, a scientist, a health engineer, and as well as a Stanford University alumnus, has decided to withdraw from her candidacy.

“I’ve come to the decision that I can offer more for these communities with my work on the national campaign this year than in the local one,” said Druthi Ghanta.

Despite having qualified for the ballot, a new opportunity to be a part of the national campaign had prompted her to drop out of running for the mayor of Pleasanton.

Before she pulled out from the race, changes that Ghanta wanted to bring to the table were a larger focus on local issues and creating an engaging community among Pleasanton.

“Unfortunately, working on both isn’t a viable option and that largely drove my decision to focus on where I would have the larger impact on the same issues that I would be concerned with locally — our ongoing response to the pandemic, conversations on race, gender, health care, policing,” said Druthi Ghanta.

However, Ghanta’s name will still remain on the ballot, as the time for any changes to happen to the list of candidates is past due. 

Even with her departure with the possibility of becoming the mayor of Pleasanton, Ghanta wishes ‘the local candidates here the best of luck and will be following their campaigns.”

This leaves only four candidates left actively running for the open spot, being Karla Brown and Jerry Pentin, both current City Council members. And Tom Turpel, a digital marketing manager, and Monith Ilavarasan, a tech product manager.

Check the AmadorValleyToday 2020 Election Page for more coverage on each of these candidates!

The election for a new mayor, as well as for the two new members of the city council, will be held on November 3, 2020 for the residents of Pleasanton to decide with their ballots.