Los Gatos voters don’t have to wait until November to learn municipal election results.
At Council on Aug. 20, Council voted not to hold one—and appointed Councilmember Maria Ristow and Vice Mayor Matthew Hudes—because no one stepped up to challenge the two incumbents.
“In a way, it’s a relief,” Ristow told the Los Gatan during a break in proceedings from her place on the dias. “I don’t have to raise money for flyers that will end up in the recycling bin.”
And while the Town expects to save a little under $100,000 by not putting them on the ballot, many government observers took the lack of interest in running for office as a worrying sign.
Because, while Scotts Valley has seen an influx of hungry candidates trying to make their mark this election cycle, Los Gatos’ other neighbors, Saratoga and Monte Sereno, also failed to attract more prospective Council members than available slots.
In Saratoga, only Kookie Fitzsimmons and Tina Walia put their names forward for two seats. Staff there said forging an election would result in a savings of about $100,000. A decision on the election has been scheduled for this evening.
‘We had a Zoom Bomb the other night’
—Monte Sereno Vice Mayor Burton Craig
In Monte Sereno, incumbent Bryan Mekechuk was joined by newcomer Lisa Shannon in the running. But Councilmember Rowena Turner had termed out, so that still left two candidates for two openings.
Last night, Monte Sereno City Council decided it wasn’t necessary to go through the election motions.
Afterwards, Vice Mayor Burton Craig headed over to Los Gatos and learned Town Council had come to the same conclusion.
“We were just kind of wondering out loud why this is happening,” he said.
Craig has his suspicions.
He remembers Council meetings in Los Gatos in recent years that got out of hand. Just the other day, Monte Sereno City Council faced a barrage of negative remarks over teleconference, he added.
“We had a ‘Zoom bomb’ the other night,” he said. “This was pure hate speech.”
This is a far cry from the old days, when the leaders would sit around and discuss what color of paint to use on a structure, he opined.
“The pace was slower,” he said, adding now local elected officials have to concern themselves with the granular details of housing development targets, pensions and taxes—which all means the job is more involved and takes up more time. “Who wants to sit on the dias?”
Peter Hertan, who served on the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District, revealed another reason why Los Gatans weren’t stepping up to the political plate.
“I participated in telling people not to run,” he said. “You have two incumbents that are very popular.”
Plus, he says, with Ristow supporting more liberal policies and Hudes reflecting the interests of more conservative folks, he believes there wasn’t a strong desire to force one or the other out.
“Everybody’s views are already being represented,” he said.
Hudes said his was a “short but active” campaign.
“I’m honored,” he said of the 4-0 vote not to hold an election, which he abstained from (Ristow did vote). “The campaign process makes you engage with the residents, and I’m looking for other ways to do that.”
Councilmember Rob Moore voted remotely from Chicago, where he’d had the chance to sit pretty much front row at the Democratic National Convention, helping nominate Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidential ticket.
Ristow said she was disappointed that no one else filed papers in Los Gatos.
‘I’m jazzed’
—Monte Sereno Councilmember Bryan Mekechuk, on his way to Argentina after being appointed to another term
Hours later, Mekechuk was on the first of four flights to Argentina.
“I am proud to represent the citizens of Monte Sereno again,” he said. “In my second term, I look forward to addressing regional issues on the other boards that I’m on, including Silicon Valley Clean Energy and West Valley Clean Water.”
Mekechuk says he’d prefer there to be more candidates.
“It says something about the time commitment and the effort that people have to put in,” he said. “If it was just Monte Sereno it would say something about Monte Sereno.”
He says he recently teamed up with Hudes, and three Valley Transportation Authority officials, trying to envision a long-term solution for the crush of beach traffic that clogs the community’s streets in the summer.
“I’m jazzed,” he said, as he boarded the second flight—to Miami—on his work trip. “And I guess I’m looking forward to (being in) the Christmas parade for the next few years.”
