Photograph by George Sakkestad




Mr. Diplomat

He fought 'politics as usual' but he was ever the gentleman

By Steve Enders

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"It was gratifying to consider the significant number of votes the Shaw-Bogosian ticket received, but I do think we need to understand what the votes were for and what the votes do not stand for. ... I reluctantly understand that the vote was not an outpouring of admiration for the charm and Superman-like qualities of Shaw or Bogosian. I do think that it stands for direction to this council to try hard to make our local government easier to access and to demonstrate greater awareness and responsiveness to its citizens."

--Newly elected Councilman Jim Shaw, already showing his trademark wit after taking his oath of office in December 1996

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Flags flew at half-mast at City Hall last week honoring Mayor Jim Shaw, who died at his Saratoga home on Monday after a yearlong bout with cancer. He was 72. After a morning ceremony on Aug. 6 at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Saratoga, Shaw was laid to rest in Madronia Cemetery.

The former Navy man rode a wave of slow-growth sentiment onto Saratoga's City Council by championing neighborhood preservation and low taxes. Shaw was elected to the council in 1996 with Stan Bogosian after successfully campaigning for passage of the controversial growth management law known as Measure G, which requires major zoning changes to go before the city's voters.

He was elected mayor in 1998, not long after being diagnosed with cancer.

"We were proud of him," daughter Debbie Shaw said, speaking for her family. "He really liked Saratoga and thought it was a good opportunity for us here. He came from humble beginnings and did everything on his own. He saw the good and bad in people, but he modeled himself after the good."

Though he led a neighborhood wave of discontent with conventional politics, in his personal style Shaw was anything but a firebrand. Friends and colleagues cited his calm, genial manner and sense of humor in recalling his personal ways.

"He was a quiet, considerate gentleman," fellow City Council member Evan Baker said. "He was always the diplomat and kept things cool and folksy.

"I categorize his style as mayor as folksy," he continued. "I think that's the right approach for our city, which I consider to still be a small town. He was my neighbor and a friend."

When elected mayor, Shaw contributed as much spunk and energy as anyone could and looked forward to his continued role in city government. In a 1998 interview with the Saratoga News, Shaw expressed nothing but optimism and a dedication to continue his work until he felt he couldn't give 100 percent. He did just that, leading council meetings until July 21.

Baker, who lives in the same neighborhood as the Shaw family, said that Shaw's death doesn't come as an overwhelming surprise to those who knew him because he had been ill for the past year. But having to deal with it now, Baker said, is not easy.

"Even when the issue came up, there were some points that indicated the chemotherapy would take him so low that he couldn't continue," Baker said. "But he's the kind of guy that wouldn't quit and would keep at it until he felt he couldn't do the job."

Vice Mayor Stan Bogosian will now serve as the city's mayor pro-tem, until either he or someone else is elected by the council to serve the remainder of Shaw's term. Tradition, however, holds that Bogosian would likely be elected for the seat, and John Mehaffey, the last election's top vote-getter, would be vice mayor.

According to City Manager Larry Perlin, the council will have two choices and must act within 30 days to either appoint someone from the community to fill the now-empty council seat or call a special election to fill the vacancy. The council was expected to discuss the matter at its Aug. 10 meeting.

The first election couldn't be held until March 2000. Whoever fills the seat would serve until November 2000 and would then need to run for re-election.

Bogosian said he first met Shaw during the campaign for Measure G, noting that one of his best memories was to see Shaw pull up on a motorcycle in front of his house one day when the two were supposed to go make copies of campaign flyers.

"I said to myself, 'This is the guy I'm running with?' " Bogosian laughed. "He never said a harsh word. It was like we had been through all these wars together and when we celebrated our victory, it quickly became a realization that we were now a two-member minority on the council."

Following the upset victory over the city's dominant political players, Shaw summed up the phenomenon in his characteristically self-effacing way. "It was gratifying to consider the significant number of votes the Shaw-Bogosian ticket received, but I do think we need to understand what the votes were for and what the votes do not stand for," Shaw said in December 1996.

"I reluctantly understand that the vote was not an outpouring of admiration for the charm and Superman-like qualities of Shaw or Bogosian. I do think that it stands for direction to this council to try hard to make our local government easier to access and to demonstrate greater awareness and responsiveness to its citizens."

Following the November 1998 election, Shaw went from being in the minority to leader of the dominant faction with the election of John Mehaffey and Nick Streit to the council.

Baker said he visited Shaw at Los Gatos Community Hospital on July 30 after hearing of his admittance, and saw the mayor was not well.

But the next day, Shaw was released to go home after treatment and surprisingly got up and walked, with some assistance, through his front door.

He died the following Monday at home, in the presence of his wife, Barbara. Shaw is also survived by his three grown daughters, Debbie, Patty and Ann, who all live in California and have five children between them. Dorothy Blalock, his sister, lives in Maryland and was unable to come to California to be with the family.


Saratoga News file photograph by Robert Scheer

Shaw was able to wrap up the long-running Saratoga Creek lawsuit by approving open dialogue between council and plaintiffs.




Working Man

Jim Shaw, born in Newburyport, Mass., in 1927, is described by his daughter Debbie as a dedicated man who always wanted to provide for his family.

He did that by working hard to get into Harvard, where he graduated with a degree in economics. From there, Shaw was recruited by the Westinghouse Electric Corp., which kept him on the East Coast and around Washington, D.C., for some time. He also served a brief stint in the Navy, Debbie Shaw said, as a pharmacist's mate during the Korean War.

"He bought his first house in 1961," she said, "and got his second car in 1962. It was an Anglia, an English, funky little two seater. It was tiny. He was a real leadfoot, and we used to drive the back roads on the way to his work, sliding around in the back seat. He'd take us in on Saturdays, give us an adding machine and a stapler. We thought we were the big deal. He just always made sure we had all the opportunities available."

And Shaw worked hard right until the end of his life, even though he recently appeared to show signs of slowing down again, likely due to relentless chemotherapy treatment. Councilmembers say they were worried about the mayor last fall, when it appeared his treatment was taking a hard toll.

Recently, on the dais, Mayor Shaw sometimes looked as though he had to struggle to stand and read proclamations, dedications and commendations aloud. Even though his voice sometimes quivered, Shaw would finish his readings with a firm handshake and applause, returning to his seat to finish the meeting, no matter how long it lasted.

And still, Shaw offered his dependable wit every week, often asking speakers addressing the council to "speak up so our three viewers watching on television can hear," referring to any hardy souls who might be following the meetings on KSAR-TV.

"All of us were sensitive to the fact that he was having a hard time," Baker said, "but we couldn't abrogate the necessary functions of the council. But you knew he was wearing down when the meetings are pushing 10:30, 11:00. The potential has been lurking for some time. It's not that we haven't thought about the what-if, we just chose not to think about it."

Baker first met Shaw back in the 1960s, when both were working for two different defense contractors on the Polaris missile program, the progenitor of the country's arsenal of submarine-launched nuclear missiles. Although the two didn't really know each other at the time, they looked back on it with some irony later in life, Baker said. Each Monday, the two men sat in on Navy debriefings and progress checks on the weapons' status.

"I didn't connect that when I first met Jim in the neighborhood," Baker said. "Then I remembered, hey, he was that quiet guy with Westinghouse who always sat in the front two rows."

Over the past few months Shaw also graciously declined invitations to make appearances at various public functions, including fundraisers and other civic events, further marking his gradual decline.

Stan Bogosian said Shaw sometimes asked him to fill in for him in various functions or to make appearances in his place.

Councilman Nick Streit said Shaw sometimes went through great pain to serve but that his commitment kept him going right up to his last council meeting.

Even though the mayor showed signs of slowing, his mind and vital spark never diminished. He ran meetings efficiently and always possessed the ability to sum up the proper feeling of any moment with an appropriate comment or some sort of noteworthy advice, even during contentious debates.

Evan Baker said, "I like to look at Jim as my mentor in city politics. He was always a quiet adviser and was a very private person, he and his wife. He separated his private life and public life very well."

Baker said that when Shaw wasn't feeling well, he'd offer rides to the mayor for city meetings, but Shaw always declined and insisted on driving himself. Besides having a strong will and desire for independence, Baker said, he didn't want to create any suspicion that back-room politics were taking place between the two.

Shaw takes the oath of office after the 1996 election.




Saratoga News file photograph by Robert Scheer







"A Great Man"

Nick Streit said he's going to have a hard time looking down the row of councilmembers at Shaw's empty seat.

At the Aug. 4 City Council meeting, a wreath of yellow roses lay before a framed photo of Shaw placed at his regular seat. Flickering candles flanked the display.

The council somehow did its regularly scheduled business that night after a brief statement read by Bogosian. A moment of silence followed in honor of Shaw, who is the second sitting mayor of Saratoga to die in office. Kenneth Hartman, the city's third mayor, died in 1968.

Streit said he had suggested to other members that Shaw's chair be left empty for the meeting as a show of respect, like the "missing man" formation used by military pilots.

Streit also said he'd like to have a memorial tree planted at the Civic Center near the senior center, both for Shaw's service to the city and for the work he did with the Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Center.

"If I looked at him as a person, it's that he was a great man and he had a lot of respect for everyone," Streit said. "He was a great father, husband and gentleman, and I don't think you'll hear otherwise. I don't ever want to forget Jim Shaw."

Even though he worked tirelessly with other community groups, including the Hakone Foundation, SASCC and KSAR, Shaw was known in Saratoga for his work with Measure G and the Saratoga Parkwoods Homeowners Association, which brought him into civic prominence.

Although others helped in the Measure G effort, longtime council watcher, friend and political ally Jeff Schwartz says that Jim Shaw will be remembered in part politically for the ballot issue.

"He was very proud of the campaign," Schwartz said, adding that Shaw didn't write the measure or even think of it originally, but dedicated himself to seeing it through.

Schwartz said that Shaw will also be remembered for bringing dignity back to the council chambers, and for giving proper respect to Saratoga's citizens--something that Schwartz feels had been lacking since 1980.

"I've never seen a mayor who brought the kind of respect and sincerity and low-key humor that Jim did in that office," he said. "He took his civic duty very seriously. In private, Jim was as he is in public with his respect to people. He ratcheted the bar up another notch."

Schwartz continued, "He was a very private person, very family-oriented. Jim didn't have a big ego, and he never really wanted to run [for office]. People wanted him to and asked him to do it."

Larry Perlin called the day Shaw died a "sad day" for Saratoga, and said everyone at City Hall is affected.

"He was able to get the council to think about the kind of community Saratoga ought to be," Perlin said. "His views as to what type of a community we ought to be was a view that was shared by a majority of the people in town."

Perlin also said he had a talk with Shaw after he was diagnosed about what he'd be physically facing as mayor. It was partly because of their discussion that Shaw decided to stay on and go for the mayoral seat.

"I learned some things from him that I'll carry throughout my career," Perlin said. "I like to think that he would feel as I do, that in the end, things worked out pretty well."

Debbie Shaw said that her father would like to be remembered as someone who cared about the community.

"He always stayed busy," she said. "You don't retire from life. He was a fair person, and I think he was someone people liked to be with. I wish I could have worked with him, because I didn't get to see that wit. He was a good leader because he was able to lead by example."

Shaw was laid to rest at Madronia Cemetery following a ceremony at St. Andrews Church in Saratoga on Aug. 6.

His family is requesting that donations be made to the Friends of the Saratoga Community Library in lieu of flowers, to help fund the library's future expansion plans.

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