Residents also voted for experienced planning commissioners, Dean Chu, Otto Lee and Ron Swegles over newcomers Pete Richards, James Fussell and Michael Flores for the three other open seats on the council.

In the Sunnyvale School Board election, incumbent Nancy Newkirk and Phyllis Fowler, who had served a brief term this past year as an appointed board member, beat out newcomer Nancy McCaa for the two four-year terms on the board.

Fowler won 42.6 percent with 4,635 votes and Newkirk gained 40 percent with 4,349 votes. Mc Caa received 16.9 percent with 1,845 votes. Jeff Arnett ran unopposed for the two-year term.

Measure D, the bond to upgrade El Camino Hospital to conform with the new state seismic standards passed by 70.2 percent of the vote.

The results of the council election will be adopted during the council meeting on Nov. 18, when the winners will be sworn in as council members.

Since Risch was not reelected, the next councilman with the most seniority is likely to be voted in as mayor at the Nov. 18 meeting. Councilman John Howe will serve as mayor and councilman-elect Chu will serve as vice mayor, pending the vote of the future council.

Chu, running for Seat 4, easily beat his opponent bagging 74.3 percent and 9,344 votes.

Reflecting on his own campaign, Chu said, "I tried to stay on the issues throughout the campaign. Pete was a worthy opponent and I continued to campaign as if he was a strong opponent by focusing on the issues. I think that's what helped me in the end."

Richards got 25.4 percent with 3,192 votes. Richards said the fact that he joined the race late in the game might have contributed to his loss. "Still, this has been a wonderful experience. I'm real glad I joined the race and I support Dean all the way," Richards said.

In a closer call, Planning Commissioner Lee, running for seat 5, garnered 52.8 percent with 6,628 votes. His opponent, Fussell, got 47 percent with 5,907 votes, giving Lee a run for his money.

"The support from my volunteers has all been extremely crucial to the success of this campaign. With a margin that small, every little bit helped," said Lee.

Swegles, also a planning commissioner, beat opponent Flores by an almost 2-1 margin in the race for Seat 6. Swegles received 67.5 percent with 8,269 votes, while Flores garnered 32.4 percent with 3,973 votes.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge we're going to have with four new members. It'll be an interesting mix," Swegles said.

Newcomer Hamilton, running for seat 7, bagged 56.4 percent with 7,148 votes. Incumbent Risch was able to garner 43.5 percent with 5,518 votes.

This is the third time in Sunnyvale history that an incumbent has been ousted from the dais. The first occurred in 1975 when Larry Stone was elected to the council and the second occurred eight years ago when councilwoman Pat Vorreiter beat Frances Rowe.

Stone had been a member of ORCHARDS, a community organization that had opposed the development of the Town Center Mall. Similarly, Hamilton was instrumental in organizing the Friends of Sunnyvale group that in turn has affected the current downtown plan. That experience, which included walking precincts, helped her understand the community's needs, Hamilton said.

"Some people I worked with had nothing to do with the political scene. One of my volunteers was the mother of my junior prom date. There's a lot of history there," said Hamilton, a native of Sunnyvale.

Risch could not be reached for comment.