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Incumbents rack up endorsements
But challengers decide not to seek endorsements at all

by Daniel DeBolt

As the three incumbents for City Council rake in endorsements from community leaders and groups like the Sierra Club and the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, their opponents have decided to forgo the practice altogether.

Google employees Dan Waylonis and Aaron Jabbari, as well as longtime resident Greg David, have all decided that endorsements won't be a part of their campaign strategy. Not one of the three council candidates has a list of endorsements online.

"I am not actively seeking endorsements. I won't be in anyone's pocket," said David in an e-mail.

Waylonis and Jabbari did not respond to request for comments for this story, but Waylonis had previously mentioned that he wasn't seeking any endorsements.

Meanwhile, incumbent Margaret Abe-Koga has the highest number of endorsements, including eight political organizations, over four-dozen elected officials and dozens of residents and community leaders. She is the only candidate to obtain an endorsement from either the Firefighters Association or Police Officers Association, which she did earlier this summer. She is also the only candidate who applied for them. Abe-Koga said she was still waiting on a few other endorsements to come in.

Mayor Ronit Bryant has a modest endorsement list in comparison, with five organizations, seven elected officials and dozens of community leaders and residents, including many school officials and downtown residents. Like Abe-Koga, Bryant has been endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club and the Santa Clara County Democratic Party.

Incumbent Jac Siegel's list of 22 elected officials, community leaders and residents includes former City Attorney Michael Martello, Wagon Wheel Neighborhood Association president Lisa Matichak and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. He appears to have passed on endorsements from organized groups altogether, except for the Chamber of Commerce, which endorsed all three incumbents. CEO Oscar Garcia said the three were the only ones to apply.