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Longtime resident: JoAn Couche-Coons
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Planner: Ann Waltonsmith
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Two Candidates Get Nod To Face Council This Week For Vacant Seat
A planning commissioner ranks higher at this point
Announcement due Sept. 1
By Steve Enders
The Saratoga City Council is interviewing two candidates for the council seat left empty by the death of Mayor Jim Shaw. Five possible candidates, all women, had applied.
Ann Waltonsmith, who only four months ago took a seat on the city's Planning Commission, topped the short list, scoring the highest on the councilmembers' independent rankings based on answers given in the applicants' packets. Longtime Saratoga resident JoAn Couche-Coons followed. Both will get a chance to answer further questions from the council at a meeting on Aug. 30.
There, the council is expected to ask why the individuals want to serve on the council. They'll also ask about the city playfields and "hub" idea, gather opinion on fiscal responsibility and ask about taxation and service levels the city can provide to citizens. After these questions, each councilmember will get a chance to ask an additional question.
The meeting was expected to last more than two hours, with each candidate getting about 45 minutes to discuss these and other issues with the council. The council's decision will be announced at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Sept. 1 at City Hall.
"We should try to keep it informal," Councilman Nick Streit said of the interview process. "We can fire the questions off, and it's going to work itself out, and we'll all feel comfortable."
The councilmembers all said they were pleased both with the number of female applicants and the quality of those who applied for the seat. The council was especially impressed that each applicant has considerable background as a volunteer for a number of different activities.
They also speculated that the next City Council election could prove to be very interesting, given the diverse range of the applicants.
John Mehaffey jokingly said, "I think Saratoga's trying to tell us that we need a female on the council."
Rounding out the list of applicants were Library Commissioner Sally Towse, Stanford University consultant Teri Judelson and 1996 City Council candidate Beth Wyman.
Each called the decision a difficult one, and Councilman Evan Baker reminded his colleagues that even though they're looking for similar qualities, there could never be a perfect replacement for Jim Shaw.
"We should pick someone who espouses similar positions that Shaw did for the number of years he served the city. It's important to make an appointment to find someone who has the same interests in this city as this council has," he said.
To narrow the field, the council selected a number of issues relevant to the city to be asked on the application form. The candidates were asked to express their opinions on Measure G, the Mountain Winery and neighborhood integrity.
Then the council ranked on a scale of one to five--five being the highest--how they thought the individuals answered the questions.
Waltonsmith and Couche-Coons came out ahead in that scoring.
Originally, Streit wanted a chance to interview all five women to let them expand on their answers.
The other councilmembers mostly thought otherwise, however, explaining that they didn't have time to go through a lengthy process. Since it is an appointment rather than an election, Mayor Pro Tem Stan Bogosian said, the process can be expedited and shaped as the council pleases.
Waltonsmith's and Couche-Coons' detailed answers caught the council's attention, as did their support and understanding of Measure G and its impacts on the city.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
