Los Gatos Weekly-Times Joel Gambord Jack Lucas Barbara Nesbet Gloves come off in Monte Sereno as council talk turns personal Gambord asks council to reconsider mayoral vote Lucas says he'll stay put By Jeff Kearns Serene it isn't. The Monte Sereno City Council wrapped up the last meeting of the year with a bitter exchange Dec. 15, as councilmembers and residents snapped at one another in another round of ego-bashing. It was a bare bones turnout for the meeting, with just three city staffers, three councilmembers--Gordon Knight and Suzanne Jackson were both on vacation--and a scant audience of only five residents. But that didn't keep tensions from rising. Jim Rubnitz, a member of Citizens for Monte Sereno who dropped out of the '98 council race after his name went on the ballot, addressed the council during oral communications to call for another vote on the mayoral and vice-mayoral appointments made Dec. 1. At that meeting, the council elected Councilmember Jack Lucas mayor and moved Mayor Suzanne Jackson into the vice-mayor spot. The only rule on the books for appointing a mayor is that no mayor may serve two consecutive terms. Joel Gambord and Gordon Knight, each beginning his third year on the council, were passed up by the appointments, which generally rotates the mayoralty among councilmembers. "I'd really urge you, Mayor Lucas, and Vice Mayor Jackson if she was here, to really think through last week's motions regarding mayor and vice mayor," Rubnitz said. "Everyone can agree that there were things said and steps taken during the campaign; the idea I got from each one of you during the campaign was that you were going to do the right thing, the thing that made sense, and that's to be respectful to these two gentlemen with respect to the service they've provided over the last couple years." Another resident, Sally Goodfriend, went to the podium to counter Rubnitz's comments. She said that the election results, in which all three of the candidates backed by Gambord and Knight were defeated, showed what the residents of the city wanted. "Perhaps some people expected to be mayor and vice mayor, respectively, but the voters sent a message loud and clear that that's not what they wanted," she said. "My husband and I were very upset at the way that this campaign was run. We thought it was lowball and dirty, and I think the two councilmen that did not have to run helped in that. I think the voters spoke, and I think the [mayoral] vote should stand. Gambord said that wasn't necessarily the case. "The voters did make a statement, there's no question about it. But 47 percent of voters voted in the other direction." Gambord argued that the issue wasn't whether or not he was mayor, but rather what kind of legacy the council was leaving behind by breaking with tradition. "I ask you to reconsider and do the right thing, not for me, but for the city of Monte Sereno and for this council and what goes on in the future. I'm here two more years at most, that's it. I'm through, I'm out of here. But what you do with this decision will go on in the future and it makes you people small and petty," Gambord fumed. "And that's sad." Gambord also went after Lucas for passing around a flier in the weeks before the election that he called a hit piece brimming with falsehoods: "Top Ten Legislative Proposals Introduced by Councilmember Joel Gambord: 1997­1998." In the flier, Lucas takes aim at Gambord for his push to change the city's ZIP code, replace the city manager, and bend the rules on development applications. Lucas also reproduced Gambord-related editorials and cartoons from the Los Gatos Weekly-Times on the back of the flier. "This is what you would characterize as a hit piece, against me personally, and I wasn't even running for anything. This was passed out several days before our letter was mailed. This was not a one-sided situation," Gambord said. "I don't know what the grudge is. "You have not even given Gordon and I the courtesy of saying what is the reason for this. What have we done wrong to deserve this kind of slap in the face?" he said. Gambord also criticized new councilmember Barbara Nesbet for voting for Lucas and Jackson. Nesbet said she wasn't going to change her vote. "It's our absolute duty as public servants to leave our egos outside that door," she said. "We have to address that in our goal-setting session in January," Before closing oral communications, Lucas said he wasn't giving up the gavel. "I have no intention of resigning my position as mayor," he said. "I voted for myself because I feel I am the most knowledgeable, the most qualified, the most experienced and the strongest [choice] to lead our city." Lucas also said he only passed the flier out to about 30 residents. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, December 23, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.