Mayor Walker exits state assembly race

By Jana Seshadri

On Oct. 25, Sunnyvale Mayor Jack Walker announced his decision to drop out of the race for the 22nd Assembly District.

"This wasn't the right time for me to mount a successful campaign," Walker said. "Public, private and professional commitments have made it difficult for me to run."

Walker has announced his support for Democrat Rod Diridon Jr. He said he is pleased to lend his support to Diridon, a candidate who he thinks is most qualified and most likely to win at this time.

"I want to make sure we have a voice in the state level--I think every city should have someone in the state level-- and Rod is the candidate right now to achieve it," Walker said. "He is most accessible and easy to deal with."

Walker said he is concerned about legislation being passed at the state level, which ultimately affects funding for the cities. According to Walker, approximately $10 million to $15 million has been taken away from the city of Sunnyvale over the past 10 years through different avenues. Tax breaks, which are most coveted by citizens, really affect the city's funds, Walker said. When the state offers its citizens a tax break, the money that is returned to the citizen is money that the city will not receive. According to Walker, this will cause the city services to deteriorate.

Walker said he would like to focus on his mayoral duties to Sunnyvale and finish out his term without the distraction of an Assembly race. When asked whether he will consider running for State Assembly in the future, Walker replied that it is a possibility.

Walker joins an already lengthy list of Diridon supporters, including former Congressman Norman Mineta, State Senator John Vasconcellos, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith and more than 50 locally elected officials. Several Sunnyvale political leaders have also thrown their support behind Diridon, including Vice Mayor Fred Fowler and city council members Julia Miller, Jim Roberts, Manuel Valerio and Pat Vorreiter.

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