Absentee ballots were mailed out this week, and many Los Gatans will vote this weekend. More people are becoming permanent absentee voters, a move that the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters encourages.
In the Los Gatos Town Council race, voters must make a difficult decision. To elect Dennis Byron, a promising outsider, they must oust an experienced hand with a successful track record.
Let's make this a little easier by taking Mike Wasserman out of the equation. We Like Mike, say the lawn signs. We all like Mike. His endorsements include past mayors Sandy Decker, Randy Attaway, Joanne Benjamin and John Lochner; our county supervisor, Don Gage; our state senator, Abel Maldonado; the current and recent mayors of Monte Sereno and Saratoga; the county assessor; and prominent Los Gatans like Teri Hope, Patti Hughes, and Mary Bartlett.
One of the most important qualifications for serving on the town council is a willingness to contribute hours to a position that provides only a token salary. Business openings, music events, meetings all around the valley and larger bay area, and 200 council meetings take time, energy, and study. Mike Wasserman estimates that he has given over 5,000 hours to the job in four years. His term as mayor last year helped earn the town's recent award from the League of California Cities.
Mayor Diane McNutt is the first town councilmember to share a blog--an online journal--with the public. Reading her "My Year As Mayor" entries will convince anyone that a) Diane loves Los Gatos and serving as its representative, and b) she is putting in hours of time, both "standing up" at presentations and events and "sitting down" at policy and other meetings, as she puts it. Diane is president of McNutt & Co., a local public relations firm.
Joe Pirzynski has been our councilmember for eight years, but his resume includes years of service before that on the General Plan Committee, as a Planning Commissioner, and as a founder of the Disaster Aid Response Team (DART). He was the chair of the Valley Transportation Authority board in 2005, and was instrumental in establishing the free Community Bus line. As Mayor, Joe established the town's 4th of July celebration and earned a reputation for vision and leadership. If we elect him for a third term, and if tradition holds, he will likely be chosen as Mayor again for 2006-07.
Dennis Byron deserves serious consideration. For one thing, he raises questions about the remodeling permit process that would be difficult for an "insider" to address. As a successful realtor--past chairman of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, Los Gatos/Saratoga District--and a lifelong Los Gatan, Dennis offers land use experience and a feeling that the current conditional use permit process for downtown businesses is "random." He recently toured the country on his motorcycle, and he noticed that other communities our size have amenities like a municipal pool or gym. He echoes Councilmember Glickman's call for a skateboard park. "We should do more for kids," Dennis says.
Byron's endorsements, according to SmartVoter, include former Mayor John Lochner, Bob Swanson of Swanson Ford, and the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors. He is concerned by the recent loss of sales tax revenue caused by the closure of Swanson Ford--the car dealerships on Los Gatos Boulevard contribute a significant portion of the town's income. "We need a sensible plan, and we need it now," he says.
To elect Dennis, however, we would have to lose the services of either Joe or Diane. Some folks will have a negative feeling about one of the three, and for them the choice will be easier.
Carlos Novillo, by the way, is also on the ballot. He doesn't think the town is well-served by the current council. "I love my city, but I'm afraid of the city government," he wrote on a sign he displayed at the League of Women Voter's forum ten days ago. But Mr. Novillo only paid the nominal fee to place his name on the ballot. He has no lawn signs, no ballot statement, no web site...and apparently no expectation of winning a seat on the Los Gatos Town Council.
Remember to vote on or before November 7--24 days and counting. Responses--even gushing endorsements of one candidate or another--are welcome, as always.
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