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August 21, 2002
Saratoga, California Since 1955 |
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Five in the race for city council
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Kate Carter
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With just one incumbent running for
Saratoga's three available city council
seats, the race is thrown wide open to five
newcomers also seeking election Nov. 5. And
the incumbent has aligned himself with two of
those newcomers on a single slate in the
hopes that they will fill the seats
themselves.
The filing period closed Aug. 14 at 5 p.m.,
with Mayor Nick Streit, Andrew Barnes,
Kathleen King, Norman Kline, Neil Malhotra
and Shelley Williams set to begin what is
shaping up to be an interesting election
season.
The original filing deadline, Aug. 9, was
extended because eligible incumbents Vice
Mayor Evan Baker and Councilman John Mehaffey
chose not to run again.
"I just can't commit to four more years,"
Baker said. "There are other things in life I
want to do and need to do." He cited
traveling and spending more time with his
family as reasons for his decision not to
file.
"I'd like to run again, but my current
situation just doesn't permit it," Mehaffey
said, mentioning his work at a high-tech
start-up company and his desire to spend more
time with his wife and daughter.
Baker and Mehaffey will continue to serve
until December, when they, and possibly
Streit, will be replaced by new faces on the
dais.
Barnes, 55, has lived in Saratoga for 14
years. He served in the U.S. Navy before
becoming an airline pilot and then an
entrepreneur, running two of his own airlines
before retiring in 1989. Before retiring
again recently, he worked in real estate,
where he met his wife, Sandy, a Realtor. The
two have four grown children from previous
marriages.
Barnes said he chose to run for city council
because he believes he can make a difference
in the community. He is interested in
improving the quality of life in the city and
maintaining property values for its
residents, as well as focusing on what makes
Saratoga an attractive place to live, such as
its schools, and helping city officials and
employees be more receptive to residents.
Malhotra, 21, has lived in Saratoga for 18
years. He attended Bellarmine College
Preparatory in San Jose and Yale University
in New Haven, Conn., and now works as a
corporate finance analyst for Goldman Sachs,
an investment banking firm. He lives with his
parents, Vino and Neema Malhotra. (Vino
Malhotra retrieved the papers to file for
candidacy on Neil's behalf, Neil said. City
Clerk Cathleen Boyer said that that is
permissible.)
Neil Malhotra said he is running in order to
make the city council more of a service to
its constituents, as well as improve the
city's permit process. Malhotra, who is
Indian, also said that he hopes to "bring a
needed diversity to the city council."
Williams has lived in Saratoga for 46 years.
Formerly a teacher, he has been a Realtor for
27 years and owns the realty firm SHW, Inc.
in the Westgate area. He served on Saratoga's
planning commission for three years. Williams
was out of town last week and could not be
reached for comment.
King, Kline and Streit are running on a
three-person slate because, they said, of
their similar philosophy on the appropriate
direction for Saratoga as well as the
cost-effectiveness of pooling resources for
the expense of a campaign.
King, 46, has lived in Saratoga for 15 years.
She worked for Applied Materials for 23 years
and is now the company's executive-on-loan.
She is also the chairwoman of the Silicon
Valley Children's Hospital Association. She
and her husband, Mark Stark, have five
children between the ages of 6 and 13.
King said she is running because she wants to
continue the work she sees the current
council accomplishing and help preserve what
makes Saratoga special. She said she became
interested in running through her friendship
with Mehaffey and that he and Councilwoman
Ann Waltonsmith suggested she, Kline and
Streit meet to possibly run together.
Kline, 45, has lived in Saratoga for
2 1/2 years. He owns a software
company in Saratoga and served on the city of
Santa Clara's planning commission. He and his
wife, Allison Abbott Kline, have two
children, ages 10 and 12.
Kline said he is running for city council
because he wants to become involved in the
city the way he was involved in Santa Clara,
where he previously lived. He said that he
wants to serve the community using his
experience on the planning commission, and
that land-use issues are some of the most
pressing concerns facing Saratoga.
Streit, 47, has lived in Saratoga for 11
years and is finishing up one four-year term
on the council. He is a managing partner of
an accounting firm, Delucchi, Hawn & Co.,
LLP, in San Jose. He and his wife, Lynne,
have two children, ages 6 and 9.
Streit said he is running for reelection
because he wants to continue the goals of his
original campaign - to help the city treat
everyone fairly and equally and to work for
what is good for Saratoga as a whole. He said
he also wants to finish projects the council
began in his first four years.
The candidates' campaign statements are
available at the city manager's office at
city hall.
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