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Published on 07/21/1997 All articles from this issue

3 council, 3 school candidates in, Gray drops out

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue and Linda Taaffe

Town Crier Staff Writers

Three candidates have taken out papers for the two Los Altos City Council seats, and three have taken out papers for the four Los Altos School District Board seats. Candidate papers became available July 14, and candidates have until Aug. 13 to formally file, said city clerk Carol Scharz.

For the city council positions, incumbent Patti Williams, King Lear and John Moss have said they are candidates.

The seats of Williams and councilman Bob Gray are up for election this fall. Gray announced at the July 15 council meeting that he will not be running for re-election.

"Every so many number of years Marie (his wife) and I decide to shake up our lives," Gray said after the meeting when asked why he would not be seeking re-election. He said he may be working as a consultant "at any number of things."

This is an about-face for Gray who had said at a recent council meeting that he would be running for re-election.

Williams, 54, a partner in a local financial advisory firm called the Delta Group, has been active in Los Altos since 1983, and is completing her first term on the city council.

Lear, 59, an engineer with TRW in Sunnyvale, has lived in Los Altos for 26 years.

Moss, 55, an engineer with Hewlett Packard, has lived in Los Altos for 23 years, and is currently finishing his second term on the Los Altos School District Board.

For the school district elections, current board members Jay Thomas and Kristine Salmon have taken out papers, said superintendent Marge Gratiot. Victor Reid, a district school parent, has also taken out papers, she said.

Board president Gerri Carlton has not yet indicated if she will run for another term and board member John Moss is running for city council.

Four of the positions are for three-year terms and one is for a two-year term. Gratiot said although Salmon was appointed to fill the two-year term last year after board member Phil Faillace was elected to the Mountain View/Los Altos Union High School District board, she must re-apply during this year's election to serve out the remainder of her position.

Gratiot said typically the number of candidates matches the number of available board positions, so elections are not always necessary. It is too early to tell how many candidates will take out papers for this year's positions, she added.

Anyone who is a registered district voter is eligible to apply for a position on the school board. Those interested must pick up applications at the district office on Covington Road and file them at the Registrar of Voters Office in Santa Clara County by 5 p.m., Aug. 13.