Don Gage, Santa Clara Valley Water District Director and former Gilroy mayor, confirmed Thursday that he is again running for mayor, adding another player to an already complicated race for the seat.
“People were stopping me in the grocery store and asking me if I would run,” Gage said Thursday morning. “I just couldn’t ignore it any longer.”
Gage said his entering into the election scene as a fourth candidate is positive for Gilroy voters. “I think it’s good for Gilroy to have choices,” he said. “And I’m up for the challenge.”
City Council members Dion Bracco, Perry Woodward and Peter Arellano have also declared they will run for the mayor seat occupied by Mayor Al Pinheiro. Pinheiro has said he will not run for re-election.
Almost two weeks ago, the Dispatch reported that Gage said he was thinking about running; saying on March 4 that, “I’ve been watching all the shenanigans that have been going on, and have been getting a little sick about it. I’ve had enough of it.”
Gage, a lifelong Gilroy resident, served on Gilroy’s City Council beginning in 1981 then served two terms as mayor from 1991 to 1997. He then won the seat to represent District 1 (South San Jose to Gilroy) as a Santa Clara County Supervisor, before his term expired.
He has been on the water district’s board of directors since 2010, a publicly elected seat.
“I’ve lived here all my life, and I just want to make sure that things in Gilroy are going well,” he said, referring to what he described as the “bickering” going on in the City Council.
If Gage were to be elected in November, he would have to resign midterm from the water district, a move he said the district won’t be thrilled about.
Gage said that as mayor, he would address problems in the community such as teens dropping out of high school and gang violence.
“We have problems in this city that I can’t turn my back on,” he said. “I’ve done a lot for this community, and I’m not done yet.”
