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The Sun's endorsements
Jack Walker, Tim Risch for City Council
This year's council election is a race between the colorful and the capable.
Each of the two contested races finds a passionate, intelligent and slightly wacky character running against a serious, businesslike and slightly less-interesting opponent.
We're going with the duller duo.
In other moments in the city's history (given every newspaper's understandable affection for a dynamic political culture) we might choose to see some lively personalities in the system; to mix it up just to keep things from getting stale. But Sunnyvale is at a crossroads, and the this election is too crucial.
More importantly, we're confident that the two candidates who've won our endorsement will make excellent public officials, and we can't pass them up--even for the prospect of a fun-filled weekly circus in city hall.
Frances Rowe's candidacy is almost entirely a personal battle. She has her reasons for wanting to get back in the Council chambers, but none of them should really matter much to average citizens.
Meanwhile, her opponent, Tim Risch, seems to be doing everything right. He has learned the ropes of local government in a variety of citizen's boards and commissions, and his focus--on redevelopment and land use--gives him experience that will be valuable to the city.
We urge a vote for Risch.
The other race that matters also has the earmarks of a personal vendetta.
Despite his often caustic language in the public arena, David Schumann is a gregarious, likeable guy with a keen sense of humor when dealing one-on-one. This combination gives him a stage presence no one among the council hopefuls can match.
As someone who doesn't mind disagreeing with the majority (and in fact one who seems to like it), Schumann would be a contrarian on a consenus-favoring council. That could prove valuable to folks who hope for a little entertainment value at council meetings, but lacking a useful political idea, Schumann offers little more than that.
As a candidate whose central philosophy is a manic opposition to "big government," Schumann could be counted on to react to the council's or city manager's spending impulses in a knee-jerk manner. That might be handy in the national arena, but in Sunnyvale, it's a little ridiculous.
Schumann's glee in broadcasting his low opinion of the current council does not suggest a temperament apt for the position. Moreover, his opponent, incumbent Jack Walker, is an experienced, capable, no-nonsense guy who is dedicated to the work. Walker is willing to to disagree with staff. Against a lesser incumbent, Schumann might be worth betting on. Against Walker, he is not.
We urge a vote for Walker.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
