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Sunnyvale residents vote for experience on Nov. 6
By Jana Seshadri
Last week Sunnyvale voters opted for experienced City Hall veterans over inexperienced newcomers. The incumbents were voted back into the Sunnyvale City Council along with a planning commissioner veteran. Incumbents Fred Fowler, Julia Miller and John Howe beat newcomers Thomas Dwyer III, Michael Flores, Judy Esteban and Ronald Ayers for the three open seats on the council. Unique to Sunnyvale, candidates for city council run for specific seats, but are elected by voters citywide. The results will be adopted during the city council meeting Nov. 20, when Fowler will be sworn in as mayor and Miller and Howe as council members.
Vice Mayor Fowler, running for Seat No. 1, bagged 58.3 percent with 5,937 votes. His opponent Dwyer was able to garner 41.7 percent with 4,244 votes. This was by no means a sweeping victory for incumbent Fowler.
"My opponent really tried to fight a hard and negative campaign," Fowler said, "but the voters have rejected the negativity."
Fowler referred to the Wyant and Smith crematorium issue, which was what prompted Dwyer to run for city council in the first place.
"It's a little bit of a disappointment," said Dwyer, referring to his loss. "But I'm pleased that it was a close race."
According to Dwyer, the council does not place too much weight on residents' opinions, but is concerned more about the business aspect of issues.
The council approved the addition of a crematorium to the Wyant and Smith Mortuary last December, and Dwyer has filed a lawsuit against the city claiming that the city improperly notified the residents before the approval was granted. All property owners, including him, within 300 feet of the mortuary should have received notification from the city and this did not happen, Dwyer alleges.
Meanwhile, Fowler is preparing for a crucial and important period in his career.
"Sunnyvale is a well-run city and we've laid a lot of groundwork in the past few years," said Fowler, who professes that the next four years will be most important for him as mayor and councilmember.
Fowler will have to deal with several issues on his plate, the downtown redevelopment project being a main one. The rapid growth in Sunnyvale has been a topic of controversy amid several candidates.
Miller, running for Seat #2, easily beat her opponents bagging 56 percent and 5,659 votes.
"I'm very grateful for the confidence the voters have shown in me by voting me back to the city council," Miller said.
"These are interesting and challenging times," Miller said after her victory. "I look forward to working with all of Sunnyvale for the next four years for the betterment of our city and the empowerment of its residents."
A supporter of the downtown project, Miller said she hopes to concentrate on the redevelopment that has started and to work for its completion. A staunch environmentalist, Miller will also work on the Bay Trail, and ensure its completion behind the Moffet runways.
Esteban got 26 percent with 2,629 votes, and Flores, 18 percent with 1,821 votes.
"It's difficult to oust the incumbent once the opponents have split the vote," Flores said.
Both Flores and Esteban campaigned strongly for campaign finance reform, claiming that most of Miller's contributions came from outside Sunnyvale. Her victory at last week's election will not mean the issue is put to rest, though. Flores said he plans to take the issue up again with the city council and hopes to run again in the future.
Esteban said she has not made any plans for her future yet and is resigned to the fact that the results clearly indicate what the voters wanted.
Howe, who has been chair, vice chair and member of the Sunnyvale Planning Commission, will be the new face on the council, beating opponent Ayers by an almost 2-1 vote. Howe received 65.9 percent with 6,612 votes, while Ayers got 34.1 percent with 3,422 votes.
"I'm very happy with the results and thankful to all the people who worked on my campaign," Howe said. "There were more than a hundred people."
As a member of the planning commission for more than five years, Howe has worked closely with neighborhoods and schools. Howe was instrumental in developing Transportation Demand Management Programs, which worked toward safe transportation systems and traffic reduction in Sunnyvale. In close conjunction with the school district, Howe supports high-quality education for all students and supported the drive to have the schools refurbished and renovated.
Howe believes in building and maintaining the city's neighborhoods and hopes to continue that during the next four years.
"I did that for the planning commission and will continue to do that as city council member," Howe said.
Several issues have plagued the city during this eventful year. With a diverse population of about 132,000 people, housing and employment are big issues. The slump in the economy has not done much good for the unemployment rate, which has shot up from 0.5 percent to 6.5 percent in just a few months. Millions of dollars have already been poured into the revamping of the downtown area, the success of which remains to be seen. Balancing the rapid growth in the city with conservation of the environment will be another challenge.
The new council has a tremendous responsibility to keep up the widespread image and reputation of Sunnyvale--the city in the heart of Silicon Valley.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
