May 9, 2006

Three vie in tight race for Jim Beall’s district four supervisor seat

LeZotte, Mahon, Yeager campaign to join board of supervisors

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

While the San Jose mayor's race may have eclipsed the primary election for District 4 of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, the contest still appears to be tight. San Jose City Council members Linda LeZotte and Ken Yeager and Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan are battling for the seat Jim Beall is vacating because of term limits.

The three are the only ones running for the seat. A fourth candidate, Rebecca Cohn, dropped out of the race a couple of months ago citing personal reasons. She has since thrown her support to Yeager. All three remaining candidates have strong political backgrounds. All have been involved in local, and in some cases, state and national politics and elections for at least 20 years.

All three candidates have lived in the area for at least 20 years. And, all three received undergraduate degrees from San Jose State University.

Mahan grew up in Santa Clara and has been active in politics for the past 21 years, serving two terms on the West Valley/Mission College Community Council, two terms as a Santa Clara City Council member and two terms as mayor of Santa Clara. She received a law degree from Santa Clara University.

LeZotte was born in New York. She began working in politics at the age of 15 when she worked on Robert F. Kennedy's senate campaign. She moved here with her family in 1973 and later became active as well as a leader in her neighborhood association. A former San Jose planning commissioner, she has served two terms on the San Jose City Council. She has two bachelors' degrees in business administration and behavioral science and a masters degree in tax law.

Yeager, a native of Riverside, Calif., also came here to go to San Jose State where he received his undergraduate degree and where he teaches today. He received two masters and a PhD in education from Stanford. Prior to his two terms on the San Jose City Council, he served six years as a San Jose/Evergreen Community College Trustee, worked as an intern with Susie Watson on the San Jose City Council and worked for Mayor Susan Hammer as well as Congressman Don Edwards in Washington, D.C. and Rod Diridon at the county level.

Why they are candidates
All three candidates have been quite active in their city responsibilities and have served on and as heads of various committees representing their cities.

"During my term as mayor of Santa Clara, I represented the city on a number of committees that put me in touch with lots of issues that impact smaller cities. These cities are smaller than San Jose and need different things." As mayor, Mahan is also vice president of the Santa Clara County Cities Association and stresses that the experience has helped make her aware of what all the areas need, not just the larger cities.

LeZotte joined the race because "this is the first job I wanted. I've had my eye on the seat and since it was my eighth and final year as a San Jose City Council member, I decided to go after it."

Yeager, who has been active in senior and education programs, decided to run because he wants "to make sure that all the county services and programs run efficiently and are well funded. The best way to do that is to serve on the board of supervisors," he said.

Setting goals
"I want to be able to protect the safety net that the county provides its residents, " said Yeager. "I want to ensure that health care programs remain intact. For example, if Measure A doesn't pass, then health care funding will be in jeopardy. It's not just health care, there are so many good programs the county provides," we have to find a way keep them running.

The council member, who has two years left to go on his second city council term, also wants to improve the relationship between all the various cities in the county, but especially San Jose in light of the recent lawsuit regarding the fairgrounds. "I want to bring people together and build a consensus." His other priorities include improving schools, hospitals and healthcare, keeping streets and neighborhoods safe, reducing traffic congestion and improving the county's economy.

Among the issues the county and its various cities can work together on are education, said Yeager. “It's important to assist cities with teacher housing and truancy issues.”

In addition, he wants the county to look at developing an ethics ordinance, which he did as part of San Jose's Blue Ribbon Task Force. Another part of his plan has to do with senior services. It's important to continue to maintain nutrition programs and senior activities, he said.

LeZotte also emphasized continuing the programs the county already has in place including working with young people, with seniors and the disabled. She also brings up environmental issues, as she did on the San Jose City Council. Those would also include working with the county's Department of Agriculture, she added, especially in the areas of bird flu and West Nile virus issues.

LeZotte also wants to build up county neighborhoods, help with communities and provide beautification projects.
Mahan's main thrust will be toward the county's budget shortfalls. Citing 30 percent cutbacks as well as budget shortfalls, her main desire is to increase county revenues without cutbacks. "We do this routinely in Santa Clara," she said.

Her other priorities include keeping unincorporated areas of the county from being incorporated into San Jose and enhancing transit access throughout the district.

What makes them different?
The three candidates all differ in their demeanor and the order of their priorities.

Mahan cites her experience as providing her with a "finer appreciation countywide. A major difference between me and the other candidates is that I'm not a paid politician," she added.

"I've been campaigning for this seat for nearly a year. It's a grass roots campaign where I've been walking the precincts since November and hearing the same message overall. There's a great deal of discontent with how the county operates with San Jose. We need more cooperation between the county and all of its cities. I think our residents identify with their cities but also with being a part of Santa Clara Valley. It's a waste of time and money when local governments fight. I think we need cooperation and less controversy and confrontation."

Not surprisingly, her fellow candidates agree. Both Yeager and LeZotte noted the lawsuit between San Jose and the county over the county fairgrounds development. Both agreed that it shouldn't have happened. LeZotte boasted that she did not support the lawsuit the city brought against the county. "You don't make friends that way. It's a big waste of taxpayers' money and time," she added.

Yeager, an openly gay candidate, says he thinks he's seen as a "consensus builder and someone who brings people together. The San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce endorsed me because I can work with different groups. " In addition, Yeager notes that his 16 years of classroom experience as well as his involvement with libraries, neighborhood associations and parks proves that he can multi-task while bringing projects to fruition.

For more information on the candidates visit their Web sites: www.mayormahan.org, www.lindalezotte.com and www.kenyeager.com. Another Web site that will provide information on all the candidates is www.smartvoter.org.