Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Steinbeck homeowner, cohort beat incumbent for Monte Sereno Council

By Clarence Cromwell

Monte Sereno voters tossed out their incumbent mayor and elected two members of the city's "reform party" Nov. 5.

Joel Gambord and Gordon Knight won the most votes to secure the two contested City Council seats. With all six of six precincts reporting at press time, Gambord received 716 votes and Knight earned 560 votes. Mayor Nancy Hobbs and Lilian Harman fell behind with 494 votes and 451 votes, respectively.

According to the county Registrar of Voters, write-in votes for last-minute candidate Dodie Tabari won't be counted for several days. But given Hobbs' poor showing, it's unlikely voters threw their support behind Tabari, who was backed by the existing City Council.

The election promises to shift the council's outlook by adding two councilmembers who called for smaller government and less regulation of residents. Both represent the group Citizens FOR Monte Sereno.

Gambord said before Election Day that any seats gained by Citizens FOR Monte Sereno equal a no-confidence vote for the current council.

Incumbent Nancy Hobbs disagreed. "I guess that shows you what money can do," Hobbs said.

Hobbs ran a low-budget campaign of less than $100, while Gambord spent more than $6,000 of his own money, according to financial statements filed with the Monte Sereno City Clerk. All other candidates, including Knight, reported to the clerk that they would spend less than $1,000 in the race.

Gambord, owner of the John Steinbeck House, got into trouble with the city for some household repairs in September 1995. Officials served him a stop-work order for tearing off parts of the historical building during a renovation. Later, he helped form Citizens FOR Monte Sereno.

Gordon Knight, also a member a Citizens FOR Monte Sereno, pledged to return the city to the way it used to be, by cutting back the size of government.

Write-in candidate Dodie Tabari, a member of the Heritage Preservation Committee, didn't join the race until Oct. 22. City Council members recruited her to keep the other challengers from off the council.