Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Dolly Sandoval and Patrick S. Kwok have reason to cheer during an election night gathering at Big Apple Pizza. Both won seats on the Cupertino City Council.

Voters elect Sandoval, Kwok and James

It's McCue, Cheng and Liao on the school district board

By GEORGE MOORE

The present and future challenges facing Cupertino will be shouldered with the help of two new council members elected Nov. 6, along with Mayor Sandra James, whom voters returned to office. The Cupertino Union School District will also be welcoming a new member to its board.

Mayor Sandra James, running as an incumbent, received the most votes for council, but Patrick S. Kwok and Dolly Sandoval were a close second and third, respectively. Each winner garnered more than 20 percent of the vote. All three will be sworn in Nov. 15 at a ceremonial meeting in the council chamber at city hall. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m.

In the race for three seats on the Cupertino Union School Board, incumbents Pearl Cheng, Ben Liao and newly elected Gary McCue each received more than 20 percent of the vote.

McCue has worked as a member of the Cupertino Coalition the past two years, lobbying the state for equalization dollars to bring the district to the state average. For the past eight years he has kept active in the district as a member of various school site councils and on the Parents and Teachers Association. McCue said there is a lot of work to be done--the main issue being school funding and taking care of the teachers.

"I'm looking forward to working together as a team and working with the city to find housing solutions for our teachers," McCue said.


Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Mayor Sandra James (left) and her campaign manager, Mary Ellen Chell, are happy with election results. James was returned to office.




For Mayor James, election day was followed by business as usual, as she found herself attending meetings at 7 and 8 a.m., followed that night by a swearing in ceremony at the Quinlan Center for the appointed members of the new Teen Commission.

"To me, every time I'm elected, it's a very nice validation of the hard work I do in this community," James said.

A tired but pleased Sandoval said she looks forward to meeting the challenges the city will face in the next four years, which include traffic congestion and housing issues.

"I'm excited to be serving with my new colleagues," Sandoval said. "They're all hard workers, and I believe we will work well together to move the city ahead."

She said she also looks forward to talking to more of the residents of the city and getting their input on the issues.

Candidate Orrin Mahoney was disappointed that he lost, but said it was a hard-fought race by a good slate of candidates.

"It was a good, positive campaign, but I won't be running in the next election," Mahoney said. "But I will be staying active volunteering in the community."

Candidate Geoff Patnoe was also disappointed, but he plans to run again in two years.

"I'm going to keep my options open," Patnoe said. "Fortunately, I get a chance to continue to serve on the planning commission."

Patnoe said running for a seat on the council was one of the most fun and exciting things he has ever done.

"I was pleased with the campaign and have no regrets," he said. "This is a community I care very strongly about."

Candidate Robert Levy joined the race late with a pursuit of bringing back school busing and increasing the number of people on the council. Levy said he intends to remain an activist on the sides of the city council.

"Just because I'm not on the city council, doesn't mean I can't fight for what I believe in," Levy said. "I will applaud the things that I think are being done correctly, but I will scream when I believe things are being done wrong."

Slightly more than 30 percent of the 23,989 registered voters in Cupertino participated in the election--something that Levy feels would change if Cupertino were divided into districts governed by additional council members.

"I'm appalled at our present system, and feel it is part of the reason that people show such little interest in local government," Levy said.

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