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Spence gives Yeager the nod in City Council race
Cunningham is undiscouraged, says her strength is grass-roots voters
By Chantal Lamers
Still seven months away from the November election, the campaign crunch for a seat on the San Jose City Council continues in District 6. On April 11, San Jose police sergeant and former council candidate Jim Spence officially announced his support for run-off candidate Ken Yeager. Along with the promising pat on the back, Yeager also received a hearty endorsement from the San Jose Police Officer's Association.
Willow Glenite Spence grabbed 17 percent of the votes in the March 7 election against front runners Kris Cunningham and Yeager. San Jose State University professor Yeager took the lead in the election with about 5 percent more votes than his opposing neighborhood activist, Cunningham.
Spence admitted that making his choice wasn't easy, especially since Cunningham is a fellow Glenite and Yeager is just across the way in the Rose Garden neighborhood.
Spence contends that his choice was based on Yeager's experience working on the San Jose Airport curfew-monitoring committee and his two years as a trustee on the San Jose/Evergreen Community College board. "Ken was the candidate I could support for the seat," Spence said.
The police sergeant is looking forward to retiring soon, but has no plans to give up his dream of obtaining that District 6 seat some day. "I certainly don't intend to leave the area anytime soon," Spence said. "I plan on continuing to be a part of the city fabric." But until Spence has the chance to run for the District 6 seat again, he plans on helping Yeager with his campaign.
Yeager said Spence's and the POA's endorsement have helped his campaign team rebuild its momentum. "We're very excited and very honored," said the council candidate. In fact, Yeager was so excited he couldn't help but tell his students on the afternoon he got the word. "My students said I was beaming," he said.
Although Willow Glen's popular neighborhood activist and run-off candidate Cunningham didn't receive the support of her neighbor, Spence, she isn't discouraged. "I had hoped for his [Spence's] endorsement," she said, adding that she holds no grudges against the sergeant. "My strength, being a grass-roots person, is going to be with the voters."
Because of her independence from political connection, Cunningham believes voters will view her as an advocate for residents, just as they viewed Spence. "I've talked to some of Spence's supporters and it seems like I was their second choice," Cunningham said. "It's a whole new race."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
