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Race begins to fill WG's District 6 seat on SJ City Council
Hopefuls declare candidacy, begin work of gathering endorsements
By Jessica Lyons
And then there were three. Fundraising season for Willow Glen's City Council seat opens Sept. 9, and at this point, it looks like a three-way race between Mike Borquez, Kris Cunningham and Ken Yeager--the only District 6 hopefuls who have filed to form fundraising committees.
Although the closing date to file for candidacy isn't till Dec. 10, and some last-minute candidates potentially could enter the race, political insiders and former District 6 hopefuls say it's going to boil down to these three.
"When all is said and done, it will probably be those three [Borquez, Cunningham and Yeager]," says John Gibbs, chief-of-staff for county supervisor Don Gage, who expressed early interest in sliding into Frank Fiscalini's soon-to-be-vacated council chair. But now, he's wavering.
It takes money to win an election, and candidates need to hit the ground running on Sept. 9, Gibbs says.
"I'm probably the last one other than those three that is a viable candidate who hasn't entered the field," he says. "I have not announced that I am running, and I have not announced that I am not going to run. But I'm leaning on the 'not' side."
Fiscalini's chief of staff, Michelle McGurk, another early noteworthy, has also officially taken her hat out of the race. "I have a very realistic picture of what it means to be a councilmember in District 6, and at this point I don't think that is the right thing for me to do," she says.
But she's not ruling out a future campaign, either. "I think there are more things I would like to do before I decide to run," she says.
Fiscalini has yet to endorse any of the three candidates for the March 2000 elections.
Meanwhile, back on the campaign front, potential candidates are already busy gathering endorsements and walking precincts.
"I've been walking precincts for the last week, and I'll continue to do that for the next seven months," says Yeager, whose official campaign kickoff will be held at his Shasta Hanchett home on Sept. 26. Topping the list of attendees is Mayor Ron Gonzales, who has already endorsed Yeager for council. Other notable Yeager supporters include former Mayor Susan Hammer; councilmembers Cindy Chavez, John Diquisto and Margie Matthews; and state senators John Vasconcellos, Liz Figueroa and Byron Sher. Assemblymembers Elaine Alquist and Lou Papan also make the list.
Cunningham kicked off her council campaign--and the campaign to preserve San Jose's neighborhoods--a little earlier, on Aug. 14. The former Willow Glen Neighborhood Association president teamed up with the Neighborhood Alliance to Save Old Hoover School to do some campaigning and some yard work on the other side of District 6, at the landscape cleanup for Old Hoover School.
"I hope other areas of District 6 will get to know me as Willow Glen has gotten to know me over the last 20 years," Cunningham says. "I'm looking forward to meeting as many people of this district as possible. This is a grassroots effort, and the majority of the people who will be helping me out are everyday citizens. Some of the people who are backing me are people that are not as politically connected, but are well-known in the community--people who have contributed their time and energy to the community."
Assemblyman Mike Honda and Democratic party fundraiser Chris Schumb have already endorsed Cunningham. Local community supporters include Linda Herschbach, former aid to Nancy Ioni; real estate agent Donna Minardi; Casa Casa owner Nancy Biagini, San Jose Unified School District superintendent Dr. Linda Murray; Tommy Fulcher, president and CEO of ESO (Economic and Social Opportunities, Inc.) and former Chamber of Commerce chairman of the board; and most of the members of the WGNA board, including its president, J. Michael Gonzales.
Arts commissioner Mike Borquez, the dark-horse candidate of the three, isn't saying much about his supporters. "I'm talking with a number of arts boards in regards to their support, I'm talking to a number of different people at city hall, and the endorsements are starting to trickle in," he says.
Veterans' organizations may soon follow.
"I was the first person to call for a veterans memorial in San Jose," Borquez says. "I spent seven and a half years on that endeavor, and I like to point to that as something I've done that demonstrates my values."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
