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Publication Date: Friday, July 19, 2002

@pullquote:"People want to see candidates get away from some of the politics and nastiness and get back to making our community strong"

Carol Olson, Chamber of Commerce Mountain View president

Let the games begin

Council election season officially launched Monday

By Bill D'Agostino

What some fear could be a contentious and divisive city council election season kicked off on Monday, when potential candidates began filing for candidacy.

"Unfortunately, I think this campaign has the potential to be one of the worst in Mountain View's recent history depending on who the candidates are," said Vice Mayor Michael Kasperzak after announcing his intention to run for reelection.

And that's saying something. Previous council races have been bitter and full of negative campaigning. But some in the city are particularly worried about this November's race because this year has been discordant within council: an in-fight arose about appointments to boards and commissions, a recall campaign was run against one council member, and another was kicked off by a jury for misconduct.

Many have criticized the harsh tenor of some council meetings. "People want to see candidates get away from some of the politics and nastiness and get back to making our community strong," Chamber of Commerce President Carol Olson said.

Despite the fears, all potential candidates who spoke to the Voice this week said they hoped to raise the level of discourse, focusing discussions on policy, not personality.

"All the responsible candidates need to do whatever they can to keep to the issues about what's best for Mountain View as a whole," Kasperzak said.

Three four-year seats and one two-year seat are open to potential candidates. The finish line: election day, November 5, 2002.

The two-year seat is the remainder of former Mayor Mario Ambra's term; Ambra was removed from the council in April after a jury convicted him of misconduct.

He was found guilty of violating the city charter by bullying city staffers. In court, Ambra's attorney alleged that the charges were concocted by City Manager Kevin Duggan and City Attorney Michael Martello to throw Ambra out of office.

Council member Ralph Faravelli worries that a candidate might use the attorney's line of unproven reasoning as a campaign issue. "I think there's a group of people in Mountain View who want to change our form of government," he said.

"The worst-case scenario would be people running against our city management," Kasperzak said. "If we go that way, it will sidetrack people from what the real issues are."

Some "real issues" identified by candidates and others around the community: declining city revenues and the expected effect of the state economic budget crises, the continuing development of downtown, the lack of affordable housing and, of course, traffic.

There is some speculation that Ambra, or his wife Liz, might run. Neither had yet filled out paperwork announcing their intention by press time.

Despite the fact that he was removed from office before his full four years were finished, Martello believes Ambra cannot run because of term limits. "Otherwise, a person could resign before the end of the term and keep on serving," he said.

The Ambras did not respond to requests for an interview.

To be placed on the ballot, candidates must fill out a candidate nomination packet, gathering 20 signatures from registered voters in the city.

The packets are due to the city clerk on Aug. 14. "You can't win if you don't play," Kasperzak said.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming election? We want to hear from you. E-mail Bill D'Agostino at bdagostino@mv-voice.com.