The Loma Prietan
May/June 2002
March 5th Local Election Wrap-Up
by Rafael Reyes
The March 2002 election brought some terrific results in our regional races. The big win was Sally Lieber’s primary victory for the 22nd Assembly district (Mt. View, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino). Lieber had an uphill battle fighting the name recognition and institutional support afforded to Rod Diridon Jr. We lent our support with mailers, phone banking and precinct walking. In conjunction with the League of Conservation Voters and numerous other organizations we helped her come out on top.
Lieber now faces Republican and Libertarian challengers in November but the likelihood of victory is very high given the
composition of the district. Lieber’s low-key, "can-do" manner and excellent relationships with key local activists will make her a
terrific addition to Sacramento.
Another tough race was the 19th District (San Mateo, Half Moon Bay, Pescadero). Gene Mullin’s primary victory over better-financed Gina Papan, daughter of incumbent Lou Papan, showed again that name recognition was no guarantee of victory (David Pine, executive from Handspring was the other major Democratic candidate). Mullin will face a Republican challenger as well as Green Party candidate Jo Chamberlain. We made no endorsement, however there is potential for collaboration and we will be looking at this race again.
One source of controversy did surface in this race with two mailers stating we had
endorsed Mullin. This was incorrect. One mailer clearly did not originate from the Mullin campaign and we do not hold them responsible. The origin of the second mailer is unclear and we are researching the issue.
In the 21st District (Palo Alto, Woodside, Los Gatos), Joe Simitian was unopposed in the primary and his reelection in November is virtually assured. Simitian is a friend to the Sierra Club and his continued presence in Sacramento is welcome.
In the local races we made one endorsement in the San Jose City Council races with Terry Gregory in District 7. Gregory was the top vote-getter in this race but was short of outright victory receiving 33% of the vote. We will continue working to support Gregory for the runoff in November. His grass-roots, hands-on experience will be a great addition to the council.
Finally, in the District 1 race for San Jose City Council we were pleased to see Linda LeZotte re-elected. Her re-election was not seriously challenged and so we focused on the council’s open seats—the only reason we did not review this race. LeZotte’s green building efforts have been excellent.
Turnout remains disappointing, with little over 30% of eligible voters participating. This is a sad footnote to otherwise excellent results in this round.
Talk to your friends and neighbors! Voting is our most basic privilege and responsibility.
A hearty thank you to all of you who helped make this election a success for the environment.