As election takes shape, candidates seek backers As election takes shape, candidates seek backers (August 23, 2002)

From union leaders to environmentalists, endorsements can swing a local race From union leaders to environmentalists, endorsements can swing a local race (August 23, 2002)

By Bill D'Agostino

In a race as packed as the Mountain View City Council contest -- where 11 candidates are battling for three four-year seats -- endorsements can mean the difference between a candidate getting lost in the crowd and one standing tall.

Various groups and individuals with a diverse set of causes and interests will endorse candidates in the upcoming race. This year a few organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, will back candidates for the first time.

"Our board felt like since we are the voice of business in the community, we wanted to have a role in ensuring strong leaders in our city," said Carol Olson, the Chamber president and CEO.

Council candidate and Mountain View High School Vice Principal Matt Neely is a member of the Chamber's board of directors, but Olson said he has not been a part of the endorsement discussions, and that he would abstain from voting on endorsements when the time comes. "We will be treating all of the candidates exactly the same," she said.

Endorsements are often accompanied by campaign funds. Candidate Liz Boewer-Ambra said she would consider endorsements only as they relate "to the citizens, not my pocket book."

One set of endorsements she will be seeking is from the city's unions. Her husband -- ousted Council member Mario Ambra -- received strong support from the firefighters' union in his successful 2000 council bid.

That union and the Police Officers Association jointly interview candidates interested in their endorsements. Candidates who get the police union's support are those who will prioritize public safety issues, according to Sergeant Max Bosel, the association's vice president.

"Everyone has opinions. The objective here is to bring public safety issues to the forefront," Bosel said, noting one such issue is the ability to find ways to keep officers in the area despite the high cost of housing. "We're interested in candidates who are able to listen and objectively make decisions, not just from the management perspective but also the labor perspective."

A political action committee (PAC) of the Tri-County Apartment Association, a landlord advocacy group, also endorses candidates.

"We're concerned with the smart and reasonable development of housing and the safe and effective operations of our members' businesses," said Jeffrey Dennison, Tri-County's public relations manager.

Dennison said the endorsements from labor -- which can afford to give healthy amounts of funds to a candidate -- and local politicians such as federal and state representatives are probably more influential than the Tri-County PAC. "We realize that our endorsement doesn't matter for much, but we at least want to get to know people and establish a relationship where we get to know them," he said.

But candidate (and new high school math teacher) Greg Perry said that since Tri-County often gives $99 to candidates it favors -- just below the $100 level that a candidate has to report on financial disclosure forms -- it can have a powerful impact on decisions made by the future council member if they win.

Perry said he was more interested in endorsements by environmentally conscious groups, like the Sierra Club.

One of the other influential groups is the League of Conservation Voters. Former County Supervisor Rod Diridon Sr. is chair of the local board.

Diridon said the league will endorse candidates who strongly support mass transportation, in-fill housing, clean air policies and solar energy incentives.

Bruce Karney is one of two candidates for the two-year council seat, and chairman of the Old Mountain View Neighborhood Association. He said he is putting more focus on obtaining the endorsements of citizens, prominent and otherwise, rather than groups.

"It's like when you move to town and you ask people who their doctor is. The first time you hear a doctor's name twice, you say 'oh he must the best doctor in town' and you stop looking at that point. That kind of personal endorsement recommendation means a lot," Karney said. "Mountain View is just about the right size that there's a one or two degree of separation between anybody and anybody else. I think that's why endorsements are such a powerful thing."
E-mail Bill D'Agostino at bdagostino@mv-voice.com