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Two candidates to face off in CalPERS runoff election. Here’s who retirees will vote on

CalPERS will hold another round of voting to fill a seat on its Board of Administration after none of three candidates won a majority in this month’s special election.

The top two vote-getters — Yvonne Walker, former president of SEIU Local 1000, and Randall Cheek, legislative director of the Retired Public Employees’ Association — will advance to a November runoff.

Walker won 49.81% of the vote, just shy of a majority, while Cheek won 25.83% and Tim Behrens, of California State Retirees, won 24.36%.

About 112,000 retirees voted out of more than 650,000 who were eligible, according to CalPERS figures.

Walker, who was Local 1000’s president for 13 years, benefited from more than $100,000 in direct campaign donations from a range of sources, including branches and members of SEIU, according to a Secretary of State webpage. She also received heavy support from independent expenditure committees.

Cheek, who worked for a range of public and private agencies in his career, including SEIU Local 1000 — received about $10,000 in direct donations, according to Secretary of State campaign finance summary.

The runoff will fill the seat representing retirees on the 13-member CalPERS board. Other seats represent public employees, state agencies and other interests.

Former board member Henry Jones most recently held the seat. Jones resigned halfway through his fourth four-year term last year due to cancer. His replacement will serve out the final year of his term, starting in January, plus a full four-year term starting in 2024.

The retirement system will mail runoff ballots Nov. 4, and voting will run through Dec. 5. It’s open to CalPERS members who retired before Oct. 1.