So when his 18 years on the Monte Sereno City Council started coming to a close, what better place to return to than his roots?

Lucas, 72, will end his years on the council and his last term as mayor on Dec. 3, and he will then immediately start his term as a trustee of the board for the West Valley­Mission Community College District.

Lucas says he was initially approached by a trustee who told him, "Jack, you would be a natural on the board." Lucas said no at first, but "the more he talked, the more he piqued my curiosity. It just really sold me, that I could bring something to that board."

Lucas had heard Trustee Jeffrey Schwartz describe the board as "dysfunctional."

"That's my job—to make dysfunctional people functional," Lucas says. For 23 years, Lucas served as principal of Mark Twain School, the Los Gatos­Saratoga district's continuation high school, which is no longer open.

Lucas also taught and coached at Los Gatos and Saratoga high schools, acting as assistant principal and dean of students at Los Gatos until his retirement in 1991. "One of the things I'm proud of has always been my relationship with kids," Lucas says. "I just enjoy high school kids—working with them and helping them."

"People had so much faith in me," Lucas said of his campaign. Lucas and Schwartz beat out opponents Bret England and Don Wolfe for the two available seats.

"Out of all the people on that board, I bet he's the most qualified," says Monte Sereno Councilwoman Suzanne Jackson. "He comes from the perspective of the teacher; he comes from the perspective of the student. He's said, 'Well, I'm pro-student.' He's always been pro-student."

Jackson, who has been on council for a dozen years, and Lucas will be stepping off the council together. Both have maxed out the three-term limit in Monte Sereno, which was put in place in 1998.

"Even if there were no term limits, I would not have been on the ballot for Monte Sereno," Lucas says. "The time had come to turn the city over to some new citizens."

Lucas himself was one of those new citizens in 1984, when he was elected to replace one of the council members who had dropped out midterm.

At the time, Lucas' only prior experience in city government was the successful 1972 fight to annex part of the county into Monte Sereno. Lucas was then a seven-year resident of Zena Avenue, where he still lives today. A developer had proposed to build a 300-unit apartment complex at Eaton Lane and Grosvenor Court. "Could you imagine what that would've done to Winchester?" Lucas asks incredulously.

Helen Nesbet—mother to reelected Councilwoman Barbara Nesbet and herself a councilwoman—led the charge in the annexation to Monte Sereno, thereby putting a stop to the development.

Fast forward to 1984: Lucas chose to run for the half-term seat instead of a four-year term "because if I didn't like it, I could get out of it." But the rest, Lucas says, "is history."

"I liked the people with whom I was working. I liked the residents; I liked the feeling of helping the city," Lucas says.

Not long after, Lucas was appointed mayor by his fellow council members. "I'll never forget this," Lucas says of that meeting. Some of the council members had decided not to choose the sitting vice mayor and pick Lucas instead. One councilman naïvely nominated the vice mayor, and there was no second.

Lucas says, "I was sitting there, looking like this," his hands folded between his knees, eyes looking down. The vote to install Lucas as mayor was unanimous. And then he reappointed the vice mayor to her position.

"They kind of slipped me in at a young and tender age," Lucas quips, with the self-deprecating wit that he has become known for.

"He has a wonderful way with words," Jackson says.

Los Gatos Weekly-Times file photograph Jack Lucas as a 'young' councilman, circa 1990s.

When Lucas announced his candidacy for the community college district, council members and the audience clapped. "No applause—just send money," Lucas cracked.

In recounting the projects that he's seen in the past two decades, Lucas quips, "I'm a walking history book."

Since that first year as mayor, Lucas has had the title again four times, wrapping up his last term this year.

Lucas says he has seen his fair share of controversy through the years, the first part of which was a moratorium that stopped all building applications in the city for six months while city officials drafted an ordinance to lower the maximum height of buildings.

Even more controversial was a proposal in 1987 to annex La Hacienda into Monte Sereno. The owners wanted to expand the facility with a small shopping center. Doing so would have violated the city's General Plan, which prohibits commercial uses.

"The most people showed up, with hot tar and feathers and ropes," Lucas says.

Although Lucas supported the proposal because it would have brought in additional taxes for the city, "the council decided that was too much," Lucas says. "To me, controversy is when you get a lot of people—from not just the neighborhood, but all over."

And then there was a day-care center controversy, during which small children holding signs came to city council meetings. Daves Avenue School opened up a day-care center, affecting the First Baptist Community Church of Los Gatos across the street. The church's day-care center had been issued a permit by the city that said if the school opened a day-care center, the church would close its facility. "At the same time, the need for day care continues to grow and grow and grow," Lucas says.

The council's compromise was to rewrite the church's permit, allowing it to remain, but with limitations.

Though the city has experienced some controversies, Lucas has plenty of things to be proud of. His list of accomplishments includes the stoplight at Winchester and Daves, the city's revamped site and architecture commission, the "performance of every city manager that we've hired" and the purchase of the former Red Cross building, which is now city hall.

Lucas also mentions the city's decision to contract with the Los Gatos Police Department for law enforcement services, instead of the county sheriff. "To say goodbye to the sheriff after 35 years—that was a great move," Lucas says. Now, with Los Gatos police, Monte Sereno residents receive more coverage and less response time at a lower cost than the sheriff charged.

"Los Gatos hasn't just treated us as a little contract but definitely a partner in a two-city contract," Lucas says.

Lucas says the city has "become more professional" in the past 18 years, transitioning from typewritten council meeting minutes and developing a more streamlined permit process.

"A lot of people will say that houses have gotten larger. This is a common complaint," Lucas says. "The rules haven't changed, but people are now building to the maximum allowed."

At the same time, "there's still a feeling of commitment to the General Plan, to preserving what we have. When I was campaigning and walking the streets, which I love to do, I ask people, 'Are you happy in Monte Sereno?' And invariably, they say yes. They like living here. I think, in general, they have confidence in their government," Lucas says.

"We've come a long way from meeting in the admiral's kitchen to part of a complete regional area now," Lucas says.

Lucas has been part of the regional involvement, participating in several larger boards and committees throughout the years. He is the director of the West Valley Sanitation District and member of the West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority, and in the past was active with several transportation and utilities boards.

"Jack's been very active in the county. Monte Sereno—we're a force to be dealt with, and he's had a hand in that," Jackson says.

Outgoing Los Gatos Mayor Randy Attaway has worked with Lucas on some of those governing bodies. "Clearly, Jack is a consensus-builder," Attaway says. "He does do his homework to educate himself on issues."

Attaway says Lucas has been a "strong leader," both regionally and locally. "He's always been a person that we highly respect in Monte Sereno," Attaway says.

Jeanette Watson, recently reelected Campbell mayor, agrees. Watson says Lucas studies the issues and gives opinions fairly. "Jack is a very thoughtful, methodical person," Watson says, which gives the city of Monte Sereno a good reputation.

"He is really good," Jackson says. Lucas is a fair listener, tries to communicate in a way that the public can understand and "acknowledges people. He gives credit to the people in the community," Jackson says. "I thoroughly enjoy working with him. He's been my mentor."

"I always work for compromises. I won't completely commit myself until I've studied all the issues," Lucas says. "If that's called fence-straddling, I'll scratch that callus."

Lucas says his motto is: "If you've made a decision, be proud of it, whether in the majority or the minority."

Photograph by George Sakkestad Eighteen-year Monte Sereno Councilman Jack Lucas says he will miss serving the city but is looking forward to the 'new challenges ahead.'

The couple has three grown children: Kathy—who, Lucas points out, was the first female student body president at Los Gatos High School—Janet and John.

Photographs of the family, and of Jack and Frances' ancestors, line the main hallway of the Lucas' home—along with a large, framed copy of a Steven DeCinzo cartoon that portrays Lucas as a Star Trek monolith.

The tour of the Lucas home isn't complete without the showing of a KCAT videotape that Lucas made in 1986 as a fundraiser for the cable station. Called "A Mayor Walks His Town," the 10-minute segment shows a leaner, darker-haired Lucas taking viewers to the city's greenbelt area, the former John Steinbeck house, Dennis and Kathy Varni's historic home and the Claravale Dairy.

"That's the bottom line: I just love this city," Lucas says.

Lucas says that although he will miss some aspects of serving on the city council, such as the Tuesday night meetings and his colleagues, he has some new challenges ahead.

"But I'm not going to say good-bye," Lucas says. "I'm still going to live here; I'm still going to keep an eye on Monte Sereno. This is my city. I never want to leave."