Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Dorothea Bamford

New faces crowd the field in Monte Sereno's council race

After four terms, Dorothea Bamford says goodbye

By Jeff Kearns

A total of seven candidates have entered the race for the three seats on the Monte Sereno City Council, including incumbents Jack Lucas and Mayor Suzanne Jackson. Dorothea Bamford, the third councilmember whose term expires this year, has announced that she will not be seeking another term. Bamford has served four terms since she was elected to the council in 1982.

"I just felt like enough's enough," said Bamford, who says that, among other things, she plans to start traveling more. "Things are going along OK, and if they weren't, I would stay and fight more." Bamford says that she's comfortable that the city staff is more than competent enough to get the job done.

Bamford isn't endorsing any one candidate, but she has high praise for Barbara Nesbet, whom she calls "an extremely bright lady." Bamford has known known Nesbet since the candidate was a baby. ("I never knew babies could scream so much," Bamford says.) Bamford was friends with Nesbet's mother, Helen, who also served on the City Council. Barbara Nesbet could not be reached for this article.

Before the Aug. 12 filing deadline, Desmond Johnson changed his mind about running and decided that he didn't have the time to make a full commitment to being a councilmember. Johnson said that he needs to spend more time with two condominium projects he owns in Louisiana.

In addition to Nesbet, Jim Rubnitz, Erin Garner, Tom Williams and Rosemary Scher will also be on the ballot.

Scher, at 36, seems to be the "new blood" some councilmembers have been calling for to serve on the council.

Scher says her decision to run stems from a council meeting where the topic was a redistricting proposal for area schools. "Nobody knew a thing about it, and that really worried me," she said.

Scher was also struck by how the council functioned. "I'd never seen anything like it, the way they went about their business," says Scher, who has lived in Monte Sereno for five years. "They weren't being as objective as I'd like to be.

"They didn't represent a lot of people out there," Scher adds.

Before she quit to become a full-time mom for her two children, ages 3 and 6, Scher worked as a computer applications specialist at Bechtel. She holds a degree in engineering from UC-Berkeley, and has worked as an engineering consultant to cities and counties. "I'm also the leader of Girl Scout Troop 441," she adds proudly.

On her statement of qualifications, Scher says that her goals are to put her engineering and building background to work by helping residents understand the complexities of construction permits and to "provide engineering knowledge to city infrastructure projects." Also, Scher says she wants to represent the interests of families who still have children in the public school system.

Rubnitz, Garner and Williams did not return phone calls for this article.

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