By KATHERINE PETERSEN
The filing period for the March 1996 primary election, which includes races for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, the state Assembly and Senate and the U.S. Congress ends Dec. 29.
At press time, many potential candidates had showed an interest in running by taking out papers with the Santa Clara County Registrar's office. This list is not final, but provides an overview of the names most likely to appear on Sunnyvale ballots.
Four candidates may bid for the seat held by Ron Gonzales in Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 3, including former San Jose City Council member Patricia Sausedo and Milpitas Mayor Pete McHugh. San Jose residents James Canova and Dale Detwiler may also throw their hats into the ring. Gonzales is leaving office due to term limits.
In the county's District 5, the seat now held by Supervisor Dianne McKenna, voters can expect at least three candidates, Sunnyvale Planning Commissioner Mark O'Connor, former Cupertino City Council member Barbara Koppel and Palo Alto Mayor Joe Simitian. McKenna is stepping down due to term limits.
Three state Legislature seats are up for grabs in 1996--two in the Assembly and one in the Senate.
The District 22 seat now held by John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara), who plans to run for state Senate, has a half-dozen possible contestants so far. In the Democratic camp, San Jose Vice Mayor Trixie Johnson, San Jose resident Marvin Olson and Elaine White Alquist, wife of state Sen. Al Alquist and a former member of the Cupertino Union School District Board plan to run. The Republicans include Cindy Pocius of Sunnyvale, Andrew Diaz of Santa Clara and Karin Dowdy of Saratoga, a member of the West Valley/Mission College Board of Trustees.
In state Assembly District 24, incumbent Jim Cunneen (R-San Jose) will likely face three challengers: Democrat Ed Foglia of San Jose, who lost his bid against Cunneen in 1994 and Libertarian John Petersen of San Jose.
In addition to Vasconcellos, several candidates will bid for the state Senate seat in District 13, currently held by retiring Sen. Al Alquist. They include Democrat Thomas Hayes of San Jose, Libertarian John Webster, and Republicans Ray Morton and John Haggerty. Former Democrat Dominic Cortese, state Assemblyman in District 23 will run on the Reform Party ticket.
Nationally, U.S. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) will face several challengers in District 14. Republicans Muller Trafton of Sunnyvale, Allan Brunner and the party's 1994 nominee, Benjamin Brink of Palo Alto, plan to run. Libertarian Joseph Dehn III of Palo Alto, Robert Wells of the Natural Law Party, and Timothy Thompson of the Peace and Freedom Party also intend to run.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun Wednesday, December 27, 1995.
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