Willow Glen Resident

News

The race is on in San Jose to fill District 6 council seat

By Mary Gottschalk

The field of possible candidates for the District 6 seat on the San Jose City Council is a growing one.

Since July 17, the first day to take out official nomination papers and to begin circulating petitions, five men have picked up forms: Steve Tedesco, Pierluigi Oliverio, Clark Williams, Jim Spence and Bill Chew.

All Willow Glen residents, they are seeking the seat being vacated by current Councilman Ken Yeager, a Rose Garden resident, who was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in the June election.

Yeager's seat is particularly attractive as the winner will fill out his unexpired term of two years and could run for two additional terms under the term limits.

Williams, former interim executive director of the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center, and Spence, a retired San Jose police officer and candidate for the seat in 2000, had both previously declared their intention to run.

Williams said, "I believe it's important that the perspective of our neighborhoods is kept on the city council. Councilman Yeager has done a good job of being responsive to the needs of residents. I want to continue to protect and improve neighborhood services."

Chew's interest isn't a surprise, either, given he has been a perennial candidate for both mayor and the District 6 seat. He did move to District 3 to run unsuccessfully for that council seat in the June election, but he has re-established residency in District 6.

Tedesco said he hasn't made a final decision on his candidacy.

Now the executive director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley and former president and CEO of San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, Tedesco said, "I took out the papers to make sure if I decide I really want to do this, I can apply.

"I'm seriously thinking about running. I want to make sure that the issues that are important are met. It has always been in the back of my mind to run for the council or some other city office, but this may not be the time," he added.

Tedesco said he needs to consider what kind of impact serving on the council would have on his wife, Karen Storey, and their son, Sam.

"To be a good council member, you have to go to every meeting and every activity. You have to be in a lot of places," Tedesco said.

Tedesco, Williams, Spence and Chew all took out papers on July 17.

Pierluigi Oliverio, an executive who helps high-tech companies with environmental compliance issues and the campaign manager for the successful Library Measure E election in 1994, waited until July 19 to take out papers.

"If Michael Mulcahy and Ed Rast aren't going to run, it's important to have someone here for the community who is going to stay here and live here," he said.

Oliverio said he believes the position needs someone who wants to be on the city council, not someone who sees it as a career steppingstone.

"I was born here. I grew up off Willow Street, and I own a home on Cherry. I've attended all the neighborhood schools and St. Christopher's. I've never left. I'll live and die here. I'll never leave," he said. "This is a way of asking to serve. I've got the heart and the desire to get it done."

A sixth possible candidate is Kris Cunningham, who lost to Yeager in a run-off in the 2000 election.

"I've been seriously considering whether I should run for office or not. I certainly enjoyed meeting and working with the people of District 6 when I ran before, and many people have called and encouraged me to run," Cunningham said.

"I'm about 80 percent sure I'm not going to run. I have an excellent job as chief of staff for Supervisor Alvarado, and I enjoy it."

Among the names mentioned as potential candidates who have said they don't intend to run are Michael Mulcahy, Ed Rast and John Gibbs.

Mulcahy ran a high-profile race for mayor and was considered a strong possibility to run for council, but he told backers on July 19 that he decided not to run.

In a letter he sent to "family and friends," Mulcahy wrote: "After much deliberation, I believe I can be most productive in accomplishing my broad goals for San Jose by continuing to be an active citizen leader."

When neighborhood activist Ed Rast was asked if he plans to run, he said, "Absolutely not."

Gibbs said he'd very much like to run, but it's not financially feasible.

"In politics, timing is everything, and from a personal standpoint, it's probably not a good time for me. I love my current job as chief of staff for County Supervisor John Gage, and more importantly, I have a young family. The current city council salary structure makes it impossible to consider running. Being on the city council is a full-time job, but it doesn't pay a realistic salary," Gibbs said.

Current city council pay is $75,000 a year.

Council members set their own pay and have rejected recommendations to raise it to $84,000.

Gibbs said he understands why council members are reluctant to vote themselves pay raises, but said he believes the salary should be set by an independent group of citizens or tied into other officials' salaries, as in the case with county supervisors.

Nominations for the council seat close on Aug. 11 at noon, so there is still time for additional candidates to step forward. If no one candidate garners more than 50 percent of the votes in the Nov. 7 election, the top two vote-getters will be in a run-off on March 6.