Dennis Kennedy won a fifth two-year term as mayor Tuesday night,
passing challenger and Councilman Greg Sellers by about 19 percent
with some absentee votes still left to count. Kennedy received
6,150 or 59.02 percent; Sellers 4,247 or 40.77 percent as of 4pm
Friday.
Dennis Kennedy won a fifth two-year term as mayor Tuesday night, passing challenger and Councilman Greg Sellers by about 19 percent with some absentee votes still left to count.
Kennedy received 6,150 or 59.02 percent; Sellers 4,247 or 40.77 percent as of 4pm Friday.
In the race for two City Council seats, incumbent Larry Carr and longtime council watcher, Mark Grzan, were the top two vote getters in a field of five with 5,383 votes or 33.13 and 4,247 or 31.85 percent of the vote respectively.
Grzan will join Carr, Councilmen Steve Tate and Sellers on the council, along with Kennedy as mayor. Sellers will continue to serve the final two years of his second four-year term.
The count will not be final for at least a week because of the unexpectedly high number of absentee, provisional and paper ballots. The Registrar of Voters’ office said Friday that 90,835 ballots were left to count.
Kennedy, 66, celebrated election night with well-wishers at a party in Holiday Lake Estates.
On Thursday he predicted more good things for the 98-year-old town of 35,000.
“The next two years will be exciting – with the new library, senior, youth and sports centers, the courthouse and, of course, we will be celebrating our centennial,” Kennedy said. “I am pleased and honored that the public allowed me to continue as mayor for two more years.”
Sellers, 43, who held his election party at Rosy’s at the Beach in Downtown, found more than one positive thing from even a losing campaign.
“I met so many new families while we walked precincts – 85 percent of them,” Sellers said. “It was just a wonderful experience.”
On Thursday, he said that he was mostly disappointed in himself.
“There was a case to be made for change during the campaign,” Sellers said. “And I didn’t make it clearly enough.”
Sellers focused primarily on a downtown that is teetering on the fence: it could see a renaissance of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues or retrogress into closed doors and a recession. He is a fervent advocate for making downtown a pleasant and thriving destination.
Kennedy’s slogan appeared to be “Steady as she goes,” promising more of his deliberate, patient progress.
Carr, 35, will start his second four-year council term on Dec. 1.
“It’s great to be part of this exciting election,” said Carr, at the general election-night party at Rosy’s.
“I’m humbled by the fact that the voters must think we’re doing a very good job and are interested in us continuing.”
Grzan was also at Rosy’s with his wife, Colleen.
“I just want to say I am honored and humbled,” Grzan said.
By Thursday he had made plans to meet with the city’s executive staff and, one-on-one, with each council member, to get himself familiar with upcoming issues.
“I’m taking each step carefully,” Grzan said. “This is a precious time for me and for the city and I want to make the most of it.”
He said he might not be as opinionated as he once was.
“But I’ll still be me – I’ll still write and share my thoughts and communicate with the people,” he said.
Grzan plans to find as many ways as possible to include citizens in the decision-making process.
He, Kennedy and Carr will be sworn in on Dec. 1.
Three others campaigned for council: Julia Starling got 2,014 votes or 12.39 percent; Kelly Bell Kubica, who did not campaign at all received 1,939 votes or 11.93 percent and Allan Abrams, 1,721 or 10.95 percent.
Starling said she met a lot of wonderful people during the campaign, but she was surprised to come in third because other candidates had larger budgets.
“I just talked to a lot of people, put up some signs and sent out a lot of mailers,” Starling said.
She thought her mailers may have caught voters’ attention because she added patriotic stickers.
“My brother died in World War II and I have supported the troops ever since,” she said.
She’ll continue to serve the town she loves and to help seniors and youth.
Abrams said he intends to keep active in the community and could even consider another try in 2006 but, for now, was just grateful to those who voted for him.
“I’m especially thankful to the Citizens for Responsible Development,” Abrams said.
The group was formed to resist city attempts to rezone the Walnut Grove area on East Dunne Avenue for a second auto dealer and was the reason Abrams entered the race.
Councilwoman Hedy Chang, who did not run for a third term, said she was pleased with the results.
“I’m glad Mark will be taking my place,” Chang said. “I like that he is in favor of the medical center, opening the dayworker center, keeping our rural atmosphere and, moving ahead with the library. I also like that he is conservative with money.”
All mayor and council winners have lived in the community for many years.
Both Kennedy and Sellers have lived here for decades, have served in several civic capacities and have significant followings.
Kennedy, a retired engineer, served on the Planning Commission and was first elected to the council in 1994 and mayor in 1997. Before 1997 the mayor’s position was rotated among council members on a yearly basis.
Because council will have more or less the same players, he said, those changes will still need to be made.
Sellers, whose campaign slogan was “It’s time for a change,” grew up in Morgan Hill, graduated from Live Oak High School and returned after college to head the Downtown Revitalization Program for several years in the early 1990s.
He was elected to council in 1998 and reelected, unopposed, in 2002 and has his own political consulting business.
Carr has lived in Morgan Hill most of his life and served a term on the school board before moving to the council in 2000. Carr is director of government relations for the Stanford Hospital and Clinics in Palo Alto. His focus, he said, will continue to be the economic health of the city, housing and education.
Grzan, 53, has lived in town for 10 years and is an administrative analyst for the City of Newark. Grzan is fiscally conservative, environmentally protective and believes that the integrity of the general plan, on which he worked, should remain intact except under extraordinary circumstances.
Carol Holzgrafe covers City Hall for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at ch********@*************es.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 201.
