It's the time of the year for political campaigns to gear up. Candidates are busily putting up signs, preparing for debates and forums and meeting the voters. After all, the election is less than two months away.
Newspapers are also busy at this time every election year. Editors are lining up candidates for pre-election meetings to determine where the politicians stand on the issues. Following those meetings, editorial boards will determine which candidates they will endorse in the coming election.
It's no different at the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. We are studying each of the three candidates in the Los Gatos Town Council race to decide which two to support in the Nov. 2 election.
But there will be no such endorsement in Monte Sereno this fall. Even though there are two seats up for grabs in 2004, there will be no election.
Incumbents Erin Garner and David Baxter were both up for re-election this year, but no one stepped up to challenge the two sitting councilmen.
Since there were only two candidates for the two seats, the Monte Sereno City Council voted to forgo the election and simply appoint the two councilmen to new terms.
So there's no need for the Weekly-Times to make an endorsement in this race—since there is no race—but we'll make one anyway. We endorse the Monte Sereno council's decision. Not only will the city realize a cost savings by bypassing a council election, but Monte Sereno will benefit by the return of two solid, experience councilmen.
Both Baxter and Garner have served the city admirably over the past four years and represented the city well as mayors. For them to return for another four years can only be a plus for Monte Sereno.
As to why no challengers came forward to oppose the incumbents, Baxter said, "I can only hope it's because people are pleased with the job we're doing." He'll get no argument here.
Aertses deserve praise
Alan and Bonnie Aerts of Monte Sereno deserve a lot of credit.
Not because they have provided the community with a beautiful holiday displays that thousands of onlookers have enjoyed through the years; not because they offer a free program for senior citizens to get help with the repair projects in their homes that they can no longer perform; and not because they have hosted the "Evening With a Heart" for the past three years to raise much-needed funds for charitable organizations.
No, not for any of those reasons—but for all of those reasons.
The Aertses are very special people. They have experienced financial success in their lives, but they've gone above and beyond in their effort to give back to the community. Last week they brought together more than 600 people at Villa Ragusa in Campbell to raise funds for different charities. Their selfless effort is one that deserves our thanks, our support and our admiration.
