The jockeying has started early for the termed-out District 1 supervisor’s seat held by Don Gage, which will be on the ballot in June 2010, still more than a year away. Former San Jose City Councilmember Forrest Williams has been telling anyone who will listen that he’s running for the seat, and water district board member Rosemary Kamei has been mentioned as another possible candidate.
One interesting entrant would be Teresa Alvarado, daughter of ex-Supervisor Blanca Alvarado, who’s been telling friends she’s serious about taking a run at it. The race could become even more interesting if Republican Pat Dando, a former San Jose city councilmember and mayoral candidate who currently runs the Chamber of Commerce, dives in.
Dando says that she has not made any decisions and needs to talk to her family but adds, “I am seriously considering it. I care a lot about this city and Santa Clara County and have a good sense of what the district’s needs are, as well as the special services that the county provides.” The South County seat incorporates her former Almaden Valley council district, where she is quite popular. Dando had lunch Monday with Mayor Chuck Reed at Billy Berk’s, but swears she was talking about “strictly issues dealing with the business community.”
Alvarado similarly confirms that she is “very much interested in and actively looking into it and will make a decision in the coming month.” First though, she has to sort out issues with her employer, the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, where she is executive director, as well as exit the Mercury News’ volunteer editorial board. She offered the same reasons as Dando for wanting the job, saying she “cares a lot about the county” and that “the services they provide are really important.”
I hear that Teresa Alvarado has already resigned her position at the Hispanic Foundation to run.
I seriously doubt that Dando would leave her cushy gig at the Chamber to put up with the serious budget headaches facing the County Board of Supervisors over the next several years.
And rumor has it that Pat Waite met with Supervisor Gage this morning to talk about, among other things, Supervisory District 1.
ABF
Anyone but Forrest please….
Teresa Alvarado would be a great addition to the BOS. On the other hand, George Shirakawa is so big he could fill both seats.
Teresa should have run for her Mother’s seat, I would have voted for her but in the conservative south county?
I also heard she’s already left the foundation, Fly, you need better sources.
I also heard something about Morgan Hill councilmember Larry Carr being a candidate for this seat.
#5: Actually, South County is no longer as conservative as you think. Democrats now make up the plurality of voters in Supervisorial District 1 (44% vs 30% Republican).
Dando would be awesome!
Have any of these folks ever shown any interest in the social services that are the primary focus of the County? If not, how would any of them be “awesome?”
#8-Just Wondering,
Pat Dando, Forest Williams, Teresa Alvarado have. All three have spent much of their time assisting in social justice areas.
Really? They must have been very quiet about it. Good for them.
The County does not need feel good people as supervisors but rather needs fiscally responsible people.
Larry Carr would be a breath of fresh air in comparison to everyone else mentioned above. Not sure if the local Dem. powers that be would get behind him rather than the others though. Too bad, he’d be great.