The Willow Glen Resident District 6 voters turn out for Davis, Gonzales, Smith By Christine M. Lias Given that Willow Glen residents are known for their political activism, low voter turnout from San Jose City Council District 6 in last week's election came as a surprise. Compared to a San Jose average of 49.3 percent, only 44.6 percent of registered District 6 voters made their way to the polls. Joe Guerra, chief of staff for District 6 Councilman Frank Fiscalini, points out that these numbers reflect not just Willow Glen but all of District 6, which includes portions of San Jose that are less affluent and less known for political activity than Willow Glen proper. Although all of District 6 may not have voted, those who did showed overwhelming support for Mayor-elect Ron Gonzales, Governor-elect Gray Davis and Sheriff-elect Laurie Smith. Nearly two-thirds of District 6 voters--or 63.7 percent--cast ballots for Democrat Gray Davis, giving Republican candidate Dan Lungren just 28.4 percent of the vote. Roughly 8 percent of Fiscalini's constituents either voted for a third-party candidate or left the governor slot blank. These votes closely reflect those cast by residents of Santa Clara County at large, which put Davis at 64.2 percent and Lungren at 31.7 percent. Locally, however, Willow Glen's political stance wasn't as cut and dried. Only 7 percent more District 6 voters supported Ron Gonzales over Pat Dando, despite the mayor-elect's choice to headquarter his campaign right on Lincoln Avenue. Finally, like the rest of Silicon Valley's voters, District 6 heartily approved Laurie Smith as the first female sheriff in the state of California, voting 52.4 percent for Smith and 32 percent for Ruben Diaz. According to the Registrar's updated figures, Smith gathered a full 60 percent of county votes. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, November 11, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.