[DOWNLOAD EDITED ARTICLE IN WORD FORMAT]

P.A.'s hard choice in the upcoming city council election

Palo Alto City is gearing up to find its ideal candidates Nov. 6f City Council election. Many people say it isn't an easy job because of the differences among the aspirants.

The city will select five council members from the 13 hopefuls vying for the seats. While three of the candidates are incumbents, the other 10 come from various parts of the city and many of them have substantial government experiences.

"Normally, it's almost guaranteed that the incumbents would get re-elected, but this year I can't predict," said Diana Diamond, a columnist with The Palo Alto Daily News.

Last time an incumbent failed in his bid for a second term was 22 years ago, Diamond said. .

To the incumbents - Jim Burch, Mayor Sandy Eakins, and Vice Mayor Victor Ojakian -- experience counts. The city needs experienced people to govern its complex affairs efficiently, they say.

"When I asked for your vote two years ago, I promised to commit my full time to Palo Alto, says Burch, a retired advertising executive. ".As a council member I've been doing just that, spending 40-50 hours each week on city business." Both Eakins, a computer sales company manager, and Ojakian, a Berkeley graduate , made similar calls, citing their work in zoning ordinance and financial planning.

But the challengers say new blood is better, citing what they say were the city's failures to appropriately address housing issues and flood problems in the past.

Wei Wang, a Chinese American candidate, said her ambition was to speak up for people who have a hard time fighting against the "deep-pocket City of Palo Alto." Wang, a software consultant, has fought the city's plans for a 10-foot sound wall behind her home since 1996.
To Hillary Freeman, an African-American, color doesn't matter, but leadership counts.

With a platform focusing on her business achievements and community services, the 44-year-old software company manager has won public endorsement from The Palo Alto Weekly and many community groups.

Both Pria Graves, an artist, and Mark Sabin, a sales manager and chairman-elect of the Chamber of Commerce, said they wanted to address transportation and housing problems faced by the town's middle-income people.

"Some of the most valuable members of the community are being forced to live elsewhere - teachers, firefighters, police officers," said Sabin.

A business consultant with a Stanford MBA, Yoriko Kishimoto has been active in the city's transportation planning work as chair of the transportation committee of the city's Comprehensive Plan advisory group.

Like most of her competitors, Kishimoto said creating a "livable and walkable" community would be the top priority for her.

Both Litsie Indergand, a retired sales agent who devotes herself to the city's nonprofit organizations for homeless people, and Victor Frost who is homeless, called for more attention to the underprivileged groups, even though they often found themselves at odds in evaluations of the city's social welfare system.

As a certified public accountant, Jack Morton said he hoped to devote his expertise to the city's budgetary work, which has drawn attention during the recent economic downturn.

Chris Kelly, at 31 the youngest candidate in the race, cites his experience in the past 10 years a businessman and attorney in law, education, information technology, and the government. As campaign issues, Kelly named almost all the hot topics facing the city -- affordable housing, pedestrian friendly neighborhoods, safe parks, and well-maintained infrastructure.

Power, an 83-year-old retired tool designer who has run for council at least five times, refuses to produce fliers or to raise campaign funds, but he rarely misses a candidate forum, saying that he wants to "restore the honesty to the Palo Alto government" by enhancing civic participation.
The city has had council elections with more than 10 candidates every a few years , but this year is still unusual, said Bern Beecham, a city council member.

"We don't normally have Asian Americans and African American candidates, but this year we have three. I am certainly happy to have many different candidates," he said.

But like many others, Beecham said he did not think most Palo Alto voters would make a decision based on colors or national background.

To Beecham, his ideal new colleagues need to "be open-minded, know how to work with others, and have the ability to explain ideas to get support for things that the council thinks are correct."

"Many people think that a council member has all the power; actually we no power. We only have one vote out of nine, and if so we want to be effective we have to be able to work with many other people," Beecham said.

For further information of the candidates:

The Palo Alto Weekly

League of Women Voters of Palo Alto

Chris Kelly

Edmund Power
(650) 858-2121

Hillary Freeman

Jack Morton

Jim Burch

Litsie Indergand

Mark Sabin
(650) 857-1632

Pria Graves

Sandy Eakins

Victor Frost
Victor_frost@yahoo.com

Victor Ojakian

Wei Wang

Yoriko Kishimoto