Saratoga News

Chief issue in election was growth, Shaw says

'Saratoga is not kind to incumbents'

By Sarah Lombardo

Most political science instructors will tell you incumbents always have the edge in an election.

But in Saratoga, recent history bucks that trend: In 1994, two incumbent councilmembers were defeated in their bid for reelection. And last week, Saratoga voters went to the polls and voted Ann Marie Burger out of the office in which she served for four years.

"This town is not too kind to incumbents," City Manager Harry Peacock said. "Maybe that is the nature of politics."

The reasons for previous elections' upsets vary, depending who you ask.

This year is no different.

"I think the main issues in this race can be summarized as growth, growth and growth," Stan Bogosian, councilman-elect, said. "[Residents] don't want to see the density, the traffic, the development. ...That's far and away the major issue."

Bogosian, a strong supporter of Measure G, a growth-control initiative, said that during the course of his campaign, the most prominent concern expressed to him was the issue of development in Saratoga. Residents, he said, are worried about keeping Saratoga small.

Measure G was passed overwhelmingly by Saratoga voters in March, but was opposed by members of the City Council. Incumbent Burger, a Measure G opponent, said she thinks the initiative's popularity played a key role in the race for City Council seats.

"I'm not sure [what swayed the voters]. I think Measure G still had something to do with it," Burger said. "It's always hard to tell what things make an election."

Councilman-elect Jim Shaw said he thinks the election results were not necessarily related to Measure G, as they were to a general concern about growth in Saratoga.

"I think I can honestly say it was just a sense that most people felt that Measure G was the right way to go," Shaw said. "And they saw this as a further message that we do want to stay with controlled growth."

Shaw and Bogosian said they also thought a general dissatisfaction with the City Council helped cause the upset.

"To somewhat of a lesser extent, I think, is the issue of the council not listening to people, not being available," said Bogosian.

"The definitive perception has been that the City Council has been closed, and not really secretive -- I don't think it's like that -- but just not fully open. ...Some individuals have been turned off by the treatment they have received."

But Shaw said he thought it might just be like that with any election.

"Maybe the voters said, 'Aw, we oughta get rid of those guys,' and then in four years, maybe they'll say again, 'We'll get rid of those guys.' You don't know."

Peacock said that personally he had no idea what swayed the voters this time around. "I didn't get a lot of feedback," he said. "Who knows what's in the mind of the voter?"