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Ann Waltonsmith
Waltonsmith Unanimously Wins Vacant Council Seat
Sympathy for Measure G proved a deciding factor
Planning seat now vacant
By Steve Enders
Saratoga's City Council unanimously voted on Aug. 30 to appoint Ann Waltonsmith, a recent Planning Commission appointee, to finish the term left vacant by the death of Mayor Jim Shaw.
She filled her new role immediately, beginning with the council's regular Sept. 1 meeting at City Hall, and will serve on the council until November 2000. If Waltonsmith wishes to keep her seat, she will have to run for re-election next year.
Waltonsmith wowed the council during a morning interview. Councilmembers called her a good fit for the council, one who appears to follow policies made popular by Shaw.
The councilmembers left no question that they were looking for someone who was outgoing, believes in Measure G and loves Saratoga. They think they've found that in Waltonsmith.
"I have the greatest respect for Ann Waltonsmith," said Mayor Pro Tem Stan Bogosian before the motion to appoint her was passed unanimously. "She's done a tremendous job on the Planning Commission during the past few months. She demonstrates that she knows what Jim Shaw stood for and knows his policies."
Waltonsmith was chosen over JoAn Couche-Coons, who gave a solid interview with the council during the special meeting but appeared to lose her footing when councilmembers asked about conflicting statements made about her views on zoning regulations and Measure G.
Additionally, the only protest during the interview process was directed at Couche-Coons, as two residents from the Marshall Lane Elementary School neighborhood--both were vocal during playfield development discussions with the city--spoke out against statements Couche-Coons had made on the playfields issue. The neighbors said Couche-Coons would be a bad choice because, in her application, she expressed little empathy for neighbors living around the proposed playfield sites.
Commenting in writing on her interest in serving on the council, Couche-Coons said, "A small, but vocal and powerful group of residents opposed the long overdue improvements, and the rest of the community has been unfairly disadvantaged because our children are unable to use the playing fields safely. The schools and playing fields in question were there before most of the homes. These residents know that schools and the associated playing fields are for children, yet they seem surprised when children expect to use them."
She gave similar comments about Mountain Winery neighbors, again suggesting that their complaints about noise and traffic should be considered against the fact that some of their homes have been there for only a few years.
Waltonsmith, on the other hand, impressed the council with her answers regarding careful Mountain Winery development, her support and thorough understanding of Measure G and preserving open space throughout the city.
She said she would support taxing citizens only if absolutely necessary to purchase more open space, and would prefer to approach landowners to see if they'd be willing to join the city in partnerships to leave the land open or accessible for residents.
Waltonsmith also said she was concerned about development at the Mountain Winery. "The Mountain Winery is a for-profit business, and it's having a major impact on local citizens and the city. I'm concerned about it," she told the council. "Development has to be controlled, and noise and traffic has to be controlled. Whether that means incorporating it, or bringing it under our control ... it's an interesting issue."
Waltonsmith is the first female member to join the present council. All five applicants for the empty seat were female.
She grew up in Saratoga and broke into city politics with her work and organization of the group that attempted to save Nelson Gardens in 1996. Her group, the Friends of Nelson Gardens Foundation, sued the city over a plan to sell a 5-acre parcel to a home developer. The bid to save the land lost in court.
Waltonsmith said her interest in serving the council comes primarily from threatening development issues facing Saratoga.
"I'm worried about the peripheries of our city," she said. "As you go into San Jose and Cupertino, it becomes very urban. You can't go from one street to the next and not feel these pressures."
Waltonsmith works as a psychologist in her own private practice as well as with a local branch of a national HMO. She gained her Ph.D. as a psychologist from the University of Maryland.
In accepting her new post on the council, Waltonsmith abandons the one she recently gained on the Planning Commission last March. The seat is now open, and the city is accepting applications to fill it. Applications are available at City Hall, located at 13777 Fruitvale Ave. in Saratoga. The deadline to apply is Sept. 17 at 5 p.m.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
