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As the primary election draws to a close, early results on Tuesday night show Mountain View City Council member Margaret Abe-Koga taking the lead to represent District 5 on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
Election results released on Wednesday, March 6 put Abe-Koga at the top with 20,557 (41.16%) votes, followed by Sally Lieber with 12,192 (24.41%) votes and Peter Fung with 10,406 (20.84%). Barry Chang trailed with 3,568 (7.14%) votes, along with Sandy Sans at 3,218 (6.44%) votes.
So far, no single candidate has secured a majority of the votes, which means that the top two contenders will compete in a runoff in the November general election. The winner will replace incumbent Supervisor Joe Simitian who has termed out of office.
Abe-Koga, who was attending an election watch party in Cupertino on Tuesday, said she felt great about the outcome and that it was a great evening. “I’m grateful to the voters who supported me,” she said, adding that her campaign for a “stronger, safer and healthier county” resonated with voters.
Lieber, who just returned from the grocery store when the first results were released, said she was pleased with the outcome and cautiously optimistic that she would place in the top two in the race.
“I spent one-tenth of the money than Margaret,” Lieber said, adding that her campaign expenditures totaled $55,211 while Abe-Koga’s campaign expenditures, combined with independent expenditures spent by an outside committee, came to a total of $458,784. “I’m feeling good about where we are,” Lieber said.
Fung was at home with dinner and friends and said he was disappointed with the early results. “The ugly third place. I thought my message would resonate with voters,” he said, adding that his campaign stood for change and was meant to appeal to people not happy with the present situation. “I hope the numbers will change,” he said.
The big issues for the race converged on hot-button topics like access to affordable housing, healthcare and childcare, as well as strategies to coordinate the region’s massive public transit system. The county’s structural budget deficit, which is projected to increase to $250 million next year, also featured as an important campaign issue.
The two frontrunners, Abe-Koga and Lieber, announced their campaigns to run for the seat last spring. But while both candidates are seasoned policy makers with strong ties to Mountain View they had very different campaign strategies.
Abe-Koga hit the precincts early on, canvassing the district to get her message out to voters and acquiring the support of numerous elected officials, trade unions and political action committees. Notably, Abe-Koga received the backing of the California Apartment Association, which spent $150,000 in an independent expenditure to support her campaign in the weeks leading up to the election.
Lieber, a former state Assembly member and former Mountain View City Council member who currently serves on the California State Board of Equalization, announced that she was committed to a corporate-free campaign and would not take contributions from big landlords or developers. Lieber also counted on her longtime presence in elected office to help with voter recognition in the district.
District 5 covers a broad swath of Santa Clara County that includes Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Saratoga and a portion of San Jose as well as unincorporated Stanford and unincorporated communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
