Palo Alto voters gave the city's political establishment an enthusiastic vote of confidence on Election Tuesday when they re-elected Pat Burt and Greg Schmid to the City Council and restored former Mayor Liz Kniss to her familiar position behind the dais.
Joining the three political veterans will be Marc Berman, a local attorney whose campaign benefited from a sea of endorsements and contributions from local and state leaders. Berman beat out financial consultant Tim Gray for the fourth seat on the council by more than 4,000 votes. He received 9,557 votes, compared to Gray's 5,519.
Gray, who loaned $30,000 to his campaign, ran as the "outsider" candidate and did not accept contributions. He received 11 percent of the votes.
The only other candidate, concert promoter Mark Weiss, finished in distant sixth place with 4,316 votes (8 percent).
Kniss, a former two-time mayor, had the strongest showing with 12,737 votes (25 percent) -- the most cast for a council candidate in at least the past five elections.
Schmid came in second with 9,984 votes or 19 percent of the total vote count. Burt and Berman finished in a near dead heat for the final two seats on the nine-member council, with 9,651 and 9,577 votes, respectively.
Though this will be Berman's first elected position in Palo Alto, he is no stranger to local issues. Berman had served on the city's Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Task Force last year and had helped steer the school district's successful bond campaign in 2010. He said he was "excited" about getting elected to the council and said he expects finances and future developments to take up much of his first year on behind the dais.
Kniss downplayed the early results shortly after 8 p.m., noting that there was plenty of time left but had a hard time concealing her excitement. Her sizable lead over the rest of the field held as results trickled in later in the evening. Kniss said she has been aggressively campaigning throughout the week, all the way until late Sunday night.
Kniss, who is about to conclude her final term on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, is a seasoned veteran of local politics, having sat on the council between 1990 and 2000. She served as mayor in 1994 and 1999.
"I ran to win," Kniss told the Weekly at the election party at the Garden Court Hotel Tuesday evening. "I ran because I'd like to serve again."
Burt, who is preparing to start his second term next year, was more subdued as he saw early results come in. He received 18.6 percent of the votes cast, just ahead of Berman, who received 18.5 percent.
"It's encouraging, and I'm pleased to just have support for the second term," Burt said shortly after 8 p.m. "The truth is, I recognized a while ago that I didn't have the time to aggressively campaign, with a day job and a night job."
Though the results weren't surprising, the Tuesday election was remarkable in one respect -- it marked the first time that Palo Alto residents elected their local leaders while also voting for the president. The city decided to make the switch from odd to even years for local elections in 2010 to save money and to spur more interest among the electorate. Voters approved the switch when they approved Measure E.
Despite the novelty of having local elections in an even year, Palo Alto's council elections were in some ways underwhelming. The six-candidate pool was the city's smallest since 1985 and the only one since 1999 with fewer than 10 candidates. Palo Alto's last council election, in 2009, attracted 14 candidates, including Gray and Weiss.
The results also offered few surprises. Gray has run unsuccessfully twice before, in 2007 and in 2009, and fared no better this year despite an infusion of cash. Weiss, who frequently laments the influence of local developers, ran in 2009 and finished in 13th place, just ahead of panhandler Victor Frost. Despite the defeat, Weiss was cheerful as he mingled at the election party. Finishing sixth is better than finishing 13th, he noted.
The election results ensure that local council watchers will see plenty of familiar faces next year. Even though Mayor Yiaway Yeh and Councilman Sid Espinosa will conclude their council tenures this year (each declined to seek a second term), the learning curve for their replacements won't be as steep as it was for the four newcomers who joined the council in 2009.
Schmid, who is recovering from a heart surgery that he underwent last month, briefly stopped by the Garden Court Hotel party to congratulate fellow victors. But most of his celebration took place at the home of conservationist Enid Pearson, where supporters -- including land-use watchdogs Bob Moss, Councilwoman Karen Holman and planning Commissioner Arthur Keller -- gathered to cheer him on.
Schmid thanked his campaign volunteers for helping him win a second council term and said he was "delighted" with the result, particularly since he had spent the least amount of campaign funds per vote among the winning candidates.
Schmid noted at the election party that the Monday night meeting of the City Council was the first council meeting he was able to attend and sit through in entirety since his surgery.
"Tonight was another long night, but I feel wonderful about where things stand," Schmid said during the party at Pearson's house.
The political party at the Garden Court Hotel remained in full force until well after the election results were obvious. While local elections are nonpartisan, many in the crowd showed their political colors at around 8:30 p.m., when CNN projected President Barrack Obama's re-election.
Unlike the often rancorous tone in the national race, Palo Alto's contest was a mostly subdued and convivial affair. At the Garden Court party, candidates and their supporters traded jokes and shared stories over glasses of wine, bottles of Sierra Nevada and platters of cheese and deli meats. At about 10:30 p.m., Mayor Yiaway Yeh addressed the crowd and called Tuesday a "special night in Palo Alto."
"In Palo Alto, we're so fortunate that all candidates can come together to see what the results are," Yeh said, calling these gatherings the city's "special tradition."
Minutes after Yeh's address, the crowd of about 50 turned its attention to the TV screen, where Obama was giving his victory speech.
Comments
Midtown
on Nov 7, 2012 at 7:20 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 7:20 am
Gennady,
You write "Palo Alto voters gave the city's political establishment an enthusiastic vote of confidence on Election Tuesday ..." - however, only one candidate, Liz Kniss,the non-incumbent, received votes from over 50% of the electorate, while Pat Burt the incumbent got re-elected with votes from only 44% of the electorate (and barely escaped coming in 4th place for 4 seats). If this was a vote of confidence, I would expect the incumbents to receive 60-70% of the vote, and be coming in 1st or 2nd place. I used as the number of voters, the votes on Measure C, a local issue as the base.
In 2009, 3 of the 5 council member elected received votes from over 50% of the electorate.
In 2007, 3 of 4 council members elected received votes from over 50% of the electorate.
In 2005, 5 of 5 council members elected received votes from over 50% of the electorate.
A follow up article exploring the reasons for this, and how it will affect future governence would be of great interest.
Charleston Meadows
on Nov 7, 2012 at 8:09 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 8:09 am
I guess I am destined to go fishing instead of going to City Council meetings in the next few years.
The 5,000 votes I got for my brand of Environmental preservation, fiscal restraint, and socially progressive outlook didn't win over those entrenched in the machines. Back to fishing for Salmon and Steelhead. Thanks for all the kind cheers. I modeled participation in democracy for my children and started friendships with some pretty enlightened people.
Hakuna Matata! My two pleas -- 1.) Beware of those promoting commercial agendas waiving green flags. 2.) Watch out for bureaucrats packaging "noble causes" as reasons to gain support for big bond issues. And please, don't be afraid to say "the room is full" before El Palo Alto wilts in the shadow of LA-style towers.
Thanks for taking notes,
Tim Gray
Midtown
on Nov 7, 2012 at 8:15 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 8:15 am
Sorry you lost, Timothy. You bravely attacked the way things are done here [Portion removed due to disrespectful comment or offensive language]. Maybe next time.
Monroe Park
on Nov 7, 2012 at 8:31 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 8:31 am
Thank you, Timothy Gray, for running. I'm sorry not enough of my fellow citizens appreciated your level-headed approach to the issues.
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Nov 7, 2012 at 8:38 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 8:38 am
With about 37,000 registered voters, none of these candidates received more than about 33% of the total possible votes from the electorate. Either these people chose not to vote at all, or did not vote for City of Palo Alto government candidates.
The data posted for City government elections shows the winner with 24%, but what that particular statistic is supposed to mean is not exactly clear--particularly since the number likely was generated by the Registrar of Voters.
None of these candidates have much of a mandate. The Weekly's claim that Kniss was "enthusiastically endorsed" has already been called into question by a previous poster. Sadly, the Weekly is not a newspaper--but a stealth Public Relations effort for "the Status Quo".
Midtown
on Nov 7, 2012 at 9:08 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 9:08 am
I don't think Burt's poor showing had anything to do with his being busy. Some people noticed how tied in he is with major developers and how he always votes for them.
Kniss was able to hide her similar alliances because people do not remember her earlier time on the council. Her loyalties to big development were obvious and strong. She has expressed no opposition whatsoever to the Arrillaga mega project. She just changes the subject. Slick.
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Nov 7, 2012 at 9:24 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 9:24 am
So sorry Tim.
We needed you.
Instead we will have same old, same old. Some of us understand better than others.
Charleston Meadows
on Nov 7, 2012 at 10:11 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 10:11 am
Thanks for the nice comments. Let's give the elected council a chance to make good decisions, and shine a bright light on the topics if something looks shady. Hope for the best and keep our eyes open.
College Terrace
on Nov 7, 2012 at 10:13 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 10:13 am
Tim: I join those who are sorry that you did not win; we would have been well served by you. Your voice of reason and fiscal responsibility is badly needed. Thank you for trying.
Greenmeadow
on Nov 7, 2012 at 11:04 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 11:04 am
Sorry you did not win, Mr. Gray.
As for the pro-developer candidates, to quote from "No-Mandate:"
<Sadly, the Weekly is not a newspaper--but a stealth Public Relations effort for "the Status Quo".>
What would you expect from a publication whose major advertisers are real estate brokers? They are not going to bite the hand that feeds them.
Meadow Park
on Nov 7, 2012 at 11:07 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 11:07 am
Looks like the weekly is in "saving face" mode. They are censoring a ny and all comments critical of their actions. While labeling them as "disrespectful and offensive" . In reality the weekly's actions are the ones that are disrespectful and offensive.
Stanford
on Nov 7, 2012 at 11:57 am
on Nov 7, 2012 at 11:57 am
Pat Burt re-elected? What did he accomplish to justify that? About the defining issue of the last few years for Palo Alto -- viz., HSR -- all Burt did was to urge time and time again that Palo Alto "go slow", "not alienate CHSRA," "we want to be part of the discussion with CHSRA." He resisted as long as possible putting PA on record (per Klein's strong initiative) as being against this HSR. All this when Burt was on the City Council that enthusiastically and unanimously put Palo Alto on the record as being for Prop. 1 before the Nov. 2008 vote. I fail to see that Burt's position of diffident and belated (perhaps even reluctant) opposition to HSR got Palo Alto ANYTHING. The only thing that might stop HSR on the Peninsula is the law suits and I didn't hear Burt pushing for Palo Alto to pursue those. No, it took Menlo Park and Atherton to file the lawsuits and Palo Alto, much further downstream, only gave the suits verbal support. Another example of no accountability. Where are the regular and non-rich members of the community on this City Council? Where are the members of the City Council who are committed to defending Palo Alto against the insatiable lust for mega-development by local developers that will lead to greater and greater degradation of this community? I don't see the PACC really fighting to preserve the quality of life in this community. I see the PACC as basically allowing the developers to steam roll them into acquiesce in plans for ever more dense developments and greater traffic in this community. Question: how many members of the PACC have gotten campaign contributions or other favors from developers that do business before them when they have their PACC hats on? I'd like to know the answer to that question. The day that the PACC rejects a mega-development proposal on quality of life grounds will be the day that hell freezes over.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Nov 7, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Registered user
on Nov 7, 2012 at 1:43 pm
I was really hoping there would be no more Liz Kniss in Palo Alto politics, so I am disappointed. She is spread pretty thin as is, does she not have enough to do in other political arenas?
Pat Burt, I suspect, is in the pocket of the developers. I truly hope he proves otherwise.
Registered user
Professorville
on Nov 7, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Registered user
on Nov 7, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Legitimate positions open themselves up to be challenged by those who disagree, thus I put forward the following assertions in order for Pat Burt, James Keene and Police Chief Dennis Burns to challenge and refute the assertions presented:
City Councilman Pat Burt condones the deliberate violations of city policy committed by police chief Dennis Burns and city manager James Keene. By refusing to hold Chief Burns and City Manager Keene accountable Mr. Burt is refusing to represent the interests of the people of Palo Alto and therefore should no longer be a city councilman. The election is the people's process of hiring and or firing fellow citizens from representing them. We need to terminate Pat Burt's employment with the city.
Tony Ciampi
Registered user
Charleston Meadows
on Nov 7, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Registered user
on Nov 7, 2012 at 10:35 pm
I disagree with Robert's comments about Pat Burt's efforts on High Speed Rail.
Pat was among the first members of the City Council to understand the implications of the HSR initial proposals and for over three years has taken a proactive role in advocating for Palo Alto and supporting the modernization of Caltrain. He spearheaded efforts to collaborate with sister cities along the route and has worked with our state representatives to develop unified, workable vision for the peninsula.
This is a very complex issue, and there have been many changes since HSRA's rolled out their initial plans to the community in 2009. Pat has consistently been on the front lines and has a deep understanding of the issues, both local and systemic. He has served on the Council's Rail Corridor Subcommittee, was a founding member of Peninsula Cities Consortium, and has spent countless hours working with groups throughout the peninsula and state. We are lucky to have Pat Burt serve our community for another four years.