BERKELEY – Democrats swept back to power in the House of Representatives last night, while two races to determine control of the Senate remained too close to call. The midterm elections signaled a sea change in American politics as voters rebelled against a nearly 12-year Republican hold on Congress. Late projections last night showed Democrats heading to a 236-199 majority in the House, with tight Senate races in Montana and Virginia pivotal to control of that chamber.

BERKELEY – With the Democrats winning a majority in the House in Tuesday’s elections, San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi is all but certain to become the first woman to hold the powerful position of Speaker of the House.

BERKELEY - With races in Indiana, Arizona and Kentucky pushing their incumbents out, it became clear soon after the polls closed on the East Coast Tuesday night that the Democrats would take control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years.

BERKELEY - Nancy Pelosi, the next speaker of the U.S. House, declared it was a big day for Americans one day after Tuesday’s election. But, not for Ballot Box 207600, located in the Berkeley District 4 polling place.

BERKELEY - The tightest Berkeley City Council race in recent history remained too close two full days after the election. While District 7 incumbent Kriss Worthington narrowly led his opponent George Beier by 131 votes as of Thursday, officials at the Alameda County Registrar of Voters said it could take up to 28 days to finalize the totals.

SAN FRANCISCO - Chris Daly is on his way to serving a third term as San Francisco's District 6 Supervisor.

BERKELEY - California voters on Tuesday rejected Proposition 87, a measure that would have established an oil tax to fund alternative energy research. The campaign sparked by Proposition 87 was the most expensive in California history with a total of $155 million raised by both sides.

BERKELEY - On the night when Democrats wrangled back the House of Representatives from GOP control, Jerry McNerney, a wind engineer from Pleasanton and novice politician, pulled off a major upset by ousting longtime Republican Congressman Richard Pombo.

BERKELEY -- The next time proponents of a parental notification initiative decide to put the issue on the ballot, they might want to avoid the month of November.

BERKELEY - In the pivotal Virginia Senate race that will determine which political party controls the Senate, James Webb on Tuesday led Senator George Allen by a scant seven thousand votes.

BERKELEY - Overcoming multiple scandals and a wave of anti-Republican sentiment seen around the nation, Rep. John Doolittle (R-Granite Bay) continues to lead in his eighth election.

BERKELEY - Massachusetts made history on Tuesday by electing Democratic lawyer Deval Patrick to the governor’s office. He will be the state’s first African-American governor, and only the second in the United States.

BERKELEY - Democrats ousted incumbent Republican senators in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Missouri, threatening to end 12 years of Republican Senate control.

SAN FRANCISCO – Plagued by infighting in the past, the San Francisco Board of Education will see fresh faces join its ranks this January.

SAN FRANCISCO – Supporters of the San Francisco school bond went home early Tuesday evening, not because it was a school night, but because it was clear Proposition A had been approved by a landslide.

BERKELEY – A ballot measure intended to preserve the current process for protecting historic buildings in Berkeley appeared headed for defeat in early returns last night. At midnight, with 52 percent of the precincts reported, Measure J was losing 57.52 percent to 42.48 percent. The figures reflected a trend that remained unchanged for most of the night.

SAN FRANCISCO—Raucous California Democrats celebrated the election of Jerry Brown as attorney general Tuesday night at a victory party near the foot of the Bay Bridge.

SAN RAMON - With three- fourths of precincts in the 11th Congressional District reporting a slim lead for this little known Democratic challenger, Jerry McNerney, a wind energy engineer, is hoping to sail to Washington on the winds of change.

BEKELEY - California smokers and tobacco retailers might soon breathe a sigh of relief.

OAKLAND- Disparate parties and voters dissatisfied with mainstream candidates will have more options in all local elections when a new electoral process is enacted in 2008 - the result of Tuesday night’s passage of Measure O.

OAKLAND - At 6 o’clock this morning, one hour before the polls opened, Chen Zunni walked into the Lincoln Neighborhood Center in Oakland’s Chinatown. He helped his colleagues set up the desks and chairs, put out the polling materials, and make sure all the machines were working. Then he sat down and took out his breakfast - warm blueberry muffins he had made himself.

SAN FRANCISCO—Raucous California Democrats celebrated the extension of California's signature political dynasty Tuesday night at a victory party for attorney general-elect Jerry Brown.

BERKELEY- If Republican incumbent Mike DeWine loses his Ohio senate seat—as the polls are suggesting he will—he can largely blame his loss on guilt by association.

BERKELEY – After 16 years in Congress, Republican John Doolittle may be losing his once solid grip on California’s District 4 heading into the election today, based on his associations with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an overall disillusionment among voters with Republicans and the Iraq war.

BERKELEY- Three months after losing his party’s primary to a virtual unknown, Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) was re-elected for a fourth term on Tuesday.

ALBANY — Two opposing forces in Albany’s City Council elections spoke out heatedly tonight as early returns showed candidates Marge Atkinson and Caryl O’Keefe leading by a narrow margin.

OAKLAND - Just after 7 o’clock this morning, Elvia Leal, 69, walked into the nearly deserted Spanish Speaking Citizens Council building on Oakland’s Fruitvale Avenue. Carrying a voter’s guide in Spanish that she had received in the mail, the Mexican immigrant made her way to the voting booth and cast her vote for the first time since she became an American citizen a decade ago.

SAN FRANCISCO – On an anxious evening when supporters and opponents of Proposition 85 hovered over computers and refreshed screens every few minutes to get the latest data, it seemed that Californians voted just as polling experts predicted they would. It also appeared possible that Proposition 85 might succumb to a narrow defeat, just as its predecessor, Proposition 73 did in last November’s special election.

BERKELEY – Mayor Tom Bates appeared headed to victory last night in early returns from a contentious race in which campus development and growth issues were front and center. With 37 percent of the vote counted, the incumbent led his opponent, Zelda Bronstein, 62 percent to 31 percent.

RICHMOND — Voters in this city’s Iron Triangle who turned out today to decide on the mayor’s race and Measure T, the tax code revision that would bring millions to the troubled city, expressed ambivalence about the measure and mixed support for the incumbent mayor.

TRACY – In what has become one of the most divisive Congressional races this election season, many voters in the key 11th congressional district were reluctant to disclose whether they supported Congressman Richard Pombo (R-Tracy) or his Democratic challenger Jerry McNerney, at the ballot today.

BERKELEY - Voters will decide Tuesday whether the city’s public schools will continue to receive about $19 million a year in extra money that funds 20 percent of the budget – including the salaries of more than 100 district teachers.

ALAMEDA – After a heated election season, Alameda voters on Tuesday chose to stick with an incumbent mayor and city council member rather than replace them with a slate of slow-growth challengers.

OAKLAND - Patricia Kernighan was leading challenger Aimee Allison late tonight in the hard-fought District 2 race for the Oakland City Council’s only open seat.

BERKELEY - Many Bay Area voters seem to be supporting Proposition 87, but with an hour until polls close across the state, the initiative’s fate remains uncertain.

ALBANY- Big fish usually eat small fish, according to the natural order of things, as long as nature doesn't change the rules. From the perspective of proponents of Proposition 90, which would curtail government actions affecting private property, the controversial proposal would give small fish certain weapons to fight back.

BERKELEY -- If it were up to Berkeley voters to decide Proposition 85, also known as the “Parent’s Right to Know and Child Protection Initiative,” the answer would be a resounding “no.”

BERKELEY -- It was 2 p.m. on Election Day, and students were flooding Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus, going in and out of classes. Just a few feet away stood a polling place, but most of the students just walked by it, not even glancing in its direction.

OAKLAND- As a community college student with a son in first grade, Lionel Ford, 25, supports Proposition 1D. Both his school, Laney College, and his son’s, Emerson Elementary, would benefit from the proposed $10.4 billion bond measure to spruce up public-school facilities.

BERKELEY - Most of the Congressional races to be decided in California today are regarded as a done deal. Because of gerrymandered districts or non-threatened incumbents, California—with 53 Congressional districts, more than any other state—has only three really competitive Congressional matchups this fall.

OAKLAND— One of the measures on Oakland’s ballot this November is a proposal to raise $148 million for the city’s aging library system. Voters will approve or reject the city’s plan to raise the money using one of the few methods available to public entities looking for big funding—selling bonds.

BERKELEY- Proposition 84 is a $5.4 billion water-related bond that offers a little something for everyone, everywhere. Written into the measure’s 11 chapters are provisions for statewide water quality, coastal access, wetland restoration, flood protection, levee repair, open-space acquisition, and all the environmental stuff your discriminating California voter would expect.

BERKELEY—A line of yellow taxis sat idling along the corner of Center Street while the drivers leaned out their windows to smoke.

“I usually smoke between shifts – what else is there to do?” one of the drivers said. “In our job – driving a taxi – you’re sitting around, and you just can’t help but start smoking.”

SAN FRANCISCO – They are as diverse as the school system they are trying to represent. They are black, white, Hispanic and Asian. They are retirees, parents, educators and community activists. Their ages range from a spry 29 to a sage 65 years old.

ALBANY- The city of Albany is preparing for the final push in the City Council elections: two seats, four candidates, one big fight. The future of the Albany waterfront hangs on this vote., as Albany citizens will decide both what ��development’ means, and how much money it is worth.

BERKELEY- In 1911, as my home country of Mongolia was about to adopt a socialist system, the small city of Berkeley in America voted for its first openly socialist mayor, Jackson Stitt Wilson. Since then Berkeley has been recognized as a leading left-wing city in America. Even the media comfortably label Berkeley instead of just stating the city’s name in their stories. Time Magazine and the Oakland Tribune have used the term “The People's Republic of Berkeley,” which reminds me of my country’s former name during its socialist years: “The People’s Republic of Mongolia”.

BERKELEY – After 16 years in Congress, Republican John Doolittle may be losing his once solid grip on California’s District 4 heading into the election today, based on his associations with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and an overall disillusionment among voters with Republicans and the Iraq war.

BERKELEY – U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), who couldn’t win his own party’s primary, will likely cruise to an easy victory as an independent in his re-election bid today, according to the most recent polls.

RICHMOND— If voters here pass Measure T on Nov. 7, it will cost Chevron roughly $8 million in additional taxes. But even before the vote, Measure T is costing local candidates valuable endorsements and campaign contributions.

BACON ISLAND, Ca- A narrow strip of road runs through the rural west edge of San Joaquin County, separating a sea of yellowing corn fields from the placid, reed-lined waters of the Middle River as it rolls toward the San Francisco Bay. Fishermen and fishing birds stalk the rock-lined banks just below the pavement, chasing stripers and catfish in the swirling olive-colored eddies. Chirping black birds dip and dodge above the corn.

BERKELEY- A few months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, rumors suggested that Iraqis would soon vote “democratically and freely” for the first time in decades. We were confused. The only experience we had in voting was in two referendums to decide whether Saddam Hussein should stay the “only leader and the hero of the Arab nation” in Iraq. That, of course, was more of a joke – and a day-off – than a true political experiment.

SAN FRANCISCO - If voters approve the biggest school improvement bond in San Francisco’s history on November 7, they will back $450 million for upgrades at 64 city schools, child development centers and administration buildings.

BERKELEY -- Voters appear to be rejecting the idea of levying an extra tax on oil production, according to early voting results. With 29.3 percent of precincts reporting, the No on Proposition votes are leading 57.4 percent to 46.2 percent, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.

SAN FRANCISCO--While voters are expected to pass a resolution this November that will effectively prohibit sex offenders from living in San Francisco, convicted child molester and Tenderloin resident Jake Goldenflame is not rushing to pack his bags.

RICHMOND – Five candidates vying for three Richmond City Council seats are campaigning to move the city forward from recent troubles with budget deficits and crime.

BERKELEY - When Shari Ser found out the house next door to her South Berkeley home was going to be replaced with a three-story apartment building she knew she had to do something. The apartment would tower over her one-story cottage, blocking out her sunshine. The garden-view she now enjoyed would be paved over, and the new building would dominate a central spot in the neighborhood, the corner of Russell and Otis streets.

BERKELEY – Construction cranes towering over the UC Berkeley campus these days signal the new growth stemming from a long-range university development plan that eventually will see major construction in the city’s downtown business district.

BERKELEY- When California voters read Proposition 85 on this year’s ballot, no one can blame them if they experience a feeling of déj� vu. They decided a nearly-identical initiative just last November, when a slight majority of voters defeated Proposition 73.

BERKELEY-The opponents of Proposition 85, the ballot measure that would require one parent to be notified when a minor requests an abortion in California, have spent more than twice as much as supporters of the measure. The most significant funding on the ��No’ side has come from chapters of Planned Parenthood in California, including the local Golden Gate affiliate of San Francisco. The American Civil Liberties Union has also joined forces with Planned Parenthood to organize fundraisers and mobilize volunteers to speak to voters.

BERKELEY- On November 7th I will vote in the United States for the first time. That doesn't mean that I haven’t voted before. I have, but never on American ground.

RICHMOND-- On Nov. 7, Richmond voters will choose from among three mayoral candidates, each offering a solution to the violent crime that plagues the city and a vision for putting Richmond back on the map as a good place to live and do business.

BERKELEY- Penn, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Oxford, Yale. These are the alma maters of today's young African American politicians, the likes of U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. from Tennessee, U.S. Senator Barack Obama from Illinois and Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, N.J.

BERKELEY- As Democrats across the nation are riding high in the polls and talking of taking over Congress, the Democrat’s top-of-the-ticket candidate in California, Phil Angelides, is running behind Arnold Schwarzenegger.

ALAMEDA- The race for the next chief executive of the island of Alameda is being consumed by the issue of development. First-term councilmember Doug deHaan is challenging Mayor Beverly Johnson on a platform to limit development, open government meetings and rein in spending on development projects.

BERKELEY- The closest borders to Ohio’s First District are the back hills of Kentucky where there’s still a greater chance of finding homemade peach pie than street-cart tamales. That hasn’t stopped Republican Rep. Steve Chabot from making illegal immigration a focus in this highly contested House race.

SACRAMENTO- The race for attorney general is all but over, with Democrat Jerry Brown, the mayor of Oakland and a Californian political fixture holding a double-digit lead over his Republican opponent. What remains to be seen, however, is how Brown will fill the shoes of current Attorney General Bill Lockyer, the popular Democrat who is being term-limited out.

BERKELEY— While proponents of Proposition 83 support stricter sentencing and monitoring as necessary to protect vulnerable children, many social workers worry that the measure lacks treatment provisions and will do little to stop the state’s sex related crimes.

BERKELEY- An unpopular Republican governor, moderate Democratic candidates and a history of tight races could make Indiana voters put three blue-party candidates in the U.S. House of Representatives.

OAKLAND- As a community college student with a son in first grade, Lionel Ford, 25, supports Proposition 1D. Both his school, Laney College, and his son’s, Emerson Elementary, would benefit from the proposed $10.4 billion bond measure to spruce up public-school facilities.

TRACY- Janice Blumenkrantz is a tireless campaign worker in her own Berkeley precinct. But these days, she’s doing a lot of canvassing 55 miles away in Tracy.

BERKELEY- Although the majority of Californians support spending money to improve health care, a measure expected to raise billions for hospitals and programs such as children's health insurance is likely to go down in defeat.

BERKELEY- For 14 years congressman Richard Pombo has represented California’s 11th district, a suburban swath 55 miles east of the Bay Area. This election cycle, bad publicity, negative advertising from environmental groups, and Jerry McNerney, a scrappy Democratic challenger, threaten to unseat the Republican from Tracy.

BERKELEY- Massachusetts, the home of Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank, and Michael Dukakis, is a bit of a paradox. Despite its liberal inclinations - most notably its stance on gay marriage and its reputation as “Taxachusetts” - the state has elected three Republican governors since 1990.

BERKELEY- The revival of Telegraph Avenue and the question of student representation dominate the campaign for the city council seat in District 7 – a student-rich district south of the Cal campus.

BERKELEY- At the end of last year, Virginia Senator George Allen must have been feeling cocky. With no Democratic challenger in sight, Allen expected to easily win his seat, no matter who stepped forward. Charismatic, commanding, and confident, Allen is a man who sometimes wears cowboy boots and rides his favorite stallion to campaign events. Back in 2005, things looked so good, he barely had to leave Washington to check on the status of his state.

BERKELEY- As fundraising rockets past $130 million and polling data shows a narrowing gap in voter preference, Proposition 87 may be the biggest show in the state this election season.

OAKLAND- In a back room at the Lakeview Library, surrounded by old VHS tapes and the odd book, veteran campaign manager Lynne Serpe has assembled a small group of campaigners, varying in age, political experience and motivation. As the activists busy themselves loading up signs that read “Easy as 1, 2, 3, Yes on Measure O,” Serpe trains a novice in the art of precinct walking.

FREMONT- In the Fremont BART station, early morning commuters rushed through turnstiles, some running to catch the train ready to leave the station.

Grace Briles already has a plan in case Proposition 86 – a measure that would increase taxes on cigarettes by $2.60 a pack – passes on the November 7 ballot.

SAN FRANCISCO- Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides appeared elated as he listened to the cheers and drum beating of supporters on a recent sunny afternoon in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

BERKELEY -- A Democratic majority in Congress may result in the passage of only a few pieces of legislation over the last two years of the Bush Administration, according to congressional experts at Bay Area universities and political institutes.

BERKELEY- Jung-Hee Cho, 56, who owns a laundry and dry cleaning business in downtown Berkeley, seems a fairly typical Korean-American immigrant. Ever since she established her U.S citizenship in 1981, she has not neglected her duty as a registered voter.

OAKLAND- In what some observers are calling the most important local election this year, incumbent Pat Kernighan and newcomer Aimee Allison have lit a spark among many Oaklanders long used to predictable city council races.

SAN FRANCISCO- Californians will once again face a daunting list of choices when they enter the voting booth Nov. 7. Candidates running for office represent only a fraction of those choices.