Julie Testa

Background

Julie Testa has lived in Pleasanton for more than three decades. Her city biography says more than 34 years, and Pleasanton Weekly reported in 2026 that it has been nearly 40. She and her husband, Nick, own a small business. Before joining the council she served 11 years on the city's Human Services Commission. She has been a board member of Tri-Valley REACH, a nonprofit that provides affordable housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and of the Tri-Valley chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Her council assignments include the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority, the Tri-Valley Transportation Council and the Alameda County Fair liaison committee.

In office

Testa was elected to the City Council at large in November 2018 and re-elected in 2022 for District 3, in southwest Pleasanton, after the city moved to district elections. Pleasanton Weekly reports she has twice served as vice mayor and in 2022 spearheaded the city's Alternate Response Unit, which pairs mental health clinicians with non-uniformed police officers.

She supported Measure PP, the 2024 half-cent sales tax increase that voters rejected, and says she has tried to bring a similar measure back for council discussion but met resistance from the council majority. She opposed the $33,000 Eide Bailly financial study, saying it signaled distrust of city staff, and opposed using pension and other retirement funds to balance the budget before its June 2026 adoption. In July 2026 she and Councilmember Jeff Nibert voted against the Arroyo Lago development agreement, which she argued contributed too little. She has questioned state housing mandates and favors local control.

At the September 29, 2026 Pleasanton Weekly forum she said Measure HH, the hotel tax increase she supports, is "not going to make a dent, really, in our budget situation." She disputed Balch's statement that she had proposed a vacancy tax. Balch criticized the past council majority for leaving parts of East Pleasanton out of potential housing sites, and Testa said her vote with that majority followed staff's recommendation. From July 1 to September 19 her campaign raised $2,936, including $200 from former Mayor Karla Brown, and she was the only mayoral candidate to accept the city's voluntary spending limit.

On the ballot

Testa is a candidate for Mayor of Pleasanton on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Her ballot designation is Councilmember, City of Pleasanton, and her only opponent is Mayor Jack Balch, who is seeking a second term. She is termed out of her council seat, which Reena Gupta and Jamie Yee are seeking. When she pulled papers in late July she said, "An unchallenged mayoral race denies voters the public debate that shapes accountability." She says she will accept no endorsements or donations from special interests, and lists fiscal responsibility, public safety, infrastructure and clean drinking water among her priorities.