The Sunnyvale Sun
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Lieber will challenge Kniss for District 5
Assembly race full of choices
By Cody Kraatz
With the failure of state Prop. 93, a number of political pieces have fallen into place, crystallizing the race for Santa Clara County Supervisor in District 5 and state Assembly District 22.
Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Sally Lieber will term out at the end of 2008 and has set her sights on District 5 Supervisor Liz Kniss' seat, which covers the southern part of Sunnyvale, Cupertino Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and part of San Jose.
Meanwhile, at least six people are vying for the District 22 seat, which covers Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Mountain View and parts of Santa Clara, San Jose and Los Altos.
"Clearly I'm coming in as an underdog with less money, but I think that I have good name recognition and a good track record that I hope voters swill give consideration to," said Lieber.
Kniss said in December that she is surprised by Lieber's candidacy, and objected to her criticism of the county's financial woes when the state's budget is in such bad shape.
The statewide primary election will be held June 3. Candidates must file nomination papers between Feb. 11 and March 7. The general election will be held Nov. 4.
District 22
Lieber announced on Feb. 6 that she endorses Paul Fong, a Foothill-De Anza Community College District trustee, to replace her. Fong, a Cupertino resident who grew up in Sunnyvale, said this "will definitely boost my campaign a bit."
He is running against Santa Clara City Councilman Dominic J. Caserta, Cupertino City Councilwoman Kris Wang, Santa Clara County Board of Education member Anna Song, police officer Martin Monica and retired physical therapist Carol Percent, the only non-Democrat.
Several others dropped out in 2007.
"[Caserta] is going to be lining up as a moderate, and I think Kris is a moderate too, and I'm more of a progressive Democrat," he said. "Hopefully I'll get more of the progressive Democrats in town."
He turned the "o" in his name into a peace sign to signify his opposition to the war in Iraq, and his platform includes reducing carbon emissions and promoting social equality.
"I respect the decision [Lieber] made with Paul and I congratulate him on that," said Caserta, noting that he has endorsed and contributed to Kniss' campaign. "As much as I love endorsements...it's about what I want to do for folks and how I want to move forward."
Experience
Caserta said that his 11 years teaching at Santa Clara High School and his time on the Santa Clara council--he was re-elected to a second term in 2006--give him more experience than Fong.
"I'm the one that deals with issues that we will deal with in the state," he said, citing education reform, job creation, the environment and challenges facing working families.
Wang was re-elected in November 2007, when she was serving as mayor. She said that being a Taiwanese immigrant sets her apart.
"We need [a representative with] more of this background...to be an advocate" for the many immigrants in California, she said, adding that experience on a city council is better preparation than experience with school districts.
Song disagrees.
"I see it as [going] from being on a seven-member board, [and] moving on to an 80-member board," she said.
Fong said he aims to raise $400,000 to $600,000, and had $161,509 on hand at the end of 2007 after raising $197,950 and spending $36,913 that year.
Caserta raised $343,860 and spent $76,961 during 2007, leaving him with $271,785 at the end of the year.
Wang said on Feb. 7 that she had raised about $100,000. Song declined to say how much she had raised.
The candidates' websites are www.dominiccaserta.com, www.paulfong.org, www.annasong.org, www.kriswang.com and martinmonica.com.