When Los Gatos voters go to the polls Nov. 5, they'll elect two Town Council members. The choices are between incumbent Linda Lubeck, newcomer Frank Jones (who's coasting on the coattails of his opposition to Measure C), former mayor and outspoken council critic Egon Jensen, and uncandidate Jan Hutchins.
Although Hutchins has run a decidedly unconventional campaign, candidly admitting he's not well-versed on the issues, we think he's the candidate with the most potential to become a community leader. He's bright and articulate and will have no problem getting up to speed. Those who've observed him in his role as a member of the county Ethics Commission say he does his homework and contributes.
While everyone has been talking about the need for improved communications between the town and the community, Hutchins has actually done something about it--and done it in a way that illustrates that a fresh approach can bring new ideas to the table and people into the process.
While other candidates were mailing brochures stating their positions, Hutchins blanketed the community with questionnaires asking residents what they thought about a number of issues. Citizens fired back more than 300 responses, and Hutchins communicates daily via email with 15 or 20 different Los Gatans about issues. He's using these new channels to educate himself, but he's still reluctant to rattle off his positions. "This stuff is complicated," he told the Los Gatos Weekly-Times during a candidate interview. "Simplistic answers don't work."
Lubeck has been a competent councilmember, but she carries some baggage, including her identification with Measure C. She took the position she believed was necessary to prevent cuts in services, but many say she and others on the council should have anticipated the fiscal realities and acted earlier to avoid the need for more taxes.
Jensen loves a good battle, and delights in taking councilmembers and town staff to task. Some consider him a gadfly, but he's been more than an annoying nuisance. He clearly had his finger on the pulse of the community when he led the fight against the utility-users tax. Some of his budget-fix ideas look dreamily backwards to a Los Gatos of yesteryear. Eliminating the Finance Department and moving financial responsibility back to the town clerk's office, for instance, is a 1960s solution to a 1990s problem.
But he'll dare to suggest the unthinkable: a line-item budget, an impartial analysis of how the town does business or a closer look at police management expenditures. All are proposals worth a second look.
Though some of Hutchins' or Jensen's ideas may stray from the mainstream, challenging conventional wisdom as one member of a five-member body is preferable to groupthink.
Jones, however, strays too far and doesn't do enough homework before launching into attacks. We recommend voting against Jones in this election.
Accordingly, the Los Gatos Weekly-Times enthusiastically endorses Jan Hutchins and endorses--with some qualification--either Jensen or Lubeck.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, October 30, 1996.
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