By Khalida Sarwari
Engineers and planning commissioners are among the field of candidates vying for a seat on the Saratoga City Council this fall.
Three seats are up for grabs in the Nov. 4 election, those of Mayor Emily Lo and council members Chuck Page and Jill Hunter. All three are four-year terms; Lo is seeking re-election.
Several residents announced their intention to run as early as February. Since then, a few have chosen to drop out and one resident recently decided to join a pool of candidates that is mostly made up of planning commissioners and community leaders.
• John Chen, a 12-year Saratoga resident and data center engineer for Raptr, a Mountain View-based social network for video gamers, is the latest candidate to throw his hat into the ring. This is Chen’s first time running for any political office, and he said he was inspired to do so after regularly attending and speaking out at workshops and meetings on the Highway 85 issue.
“I felt since I was doing all this advocacy it might be worthwhile for me to run for city council, because as a city council member I’d have a little more influence with the VTA board than I would as a citizen,” he said.
Chen said, if elected he’d prioritize environmental issues and controlling the development of high-density housing. As part of that, he said he would look for ways to improve Saratoga’s air quality and offer more bike-friendly paths.
Chen plays the ukelele during Christmas events at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and for the Peninsulaires, a barbershop choir. He graduated from UC-Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in computer science.
• Lo, the second Asian woman ever to be appointed mayor in the city’s history, will be running for re-election. She ran for city council for the first time in 2008 but was unsuccessful. She ran again in 2010 and won.
Lo credits her friends and family for encouraging her to go into public service. She believes her experience and upbringing give her a unique edge on the council. She has indicated that celebrating the diversity that attracted her to Saratoga will remain one of her priorities.
Prior to her involvement in civic life, Lo was an active member of the school community, starting with a two-year stint as principal of a Chinese language school in Cupertino and later serving a two-year role as president of the parent-teacher association at Saratoga High School. In 2000, Lo joined the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, and became president in 2009.
She is a graduate of the American missionary school in Hong Kong.
• Rishi Kumar is the founder of local nonprofit organization Saratoga Cares Foundation, which puts on Saratoga’s Got Talent, an annual local talent show that raises money for various causes in the community, focusing on those that benefit seniors and children. He said the driving force behind his decision to run for city council is the late Susie Nagpal, a Saratoga councilwoman who died from lung cancer in 2010.
Kumar and Nagpal served on the planning commission together, and he later helped her run her campaign for city council. He said he wants to continue to fulfill Nagpal’s vision for Saratoga. Unifying the community, actively communicating and collaborating with residents, and making changes that improve the city while maintaining its ambience are Kumar’s main priorities.
Kumar is a graduate of the University of Mumbai, where he received his bachelor’s degree in engineering, and the University of Connecticut, where he earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He works at Imaginea Technologies.
• Yan Zhao is one of two planning commissioners seeking a seat on the council. Her term ended in April, marking the end of an eight-year career on the commission.
She first ran for council in 2010. This time around, Zhao said she wants to focus on maintaining safe neighborhoods, ensuring fiscal responsibility and strengthening the services provided by the library.
She serves on the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women and as a parliamentarian on the Saratoga Elementary School parent-teacher association board.
Zhao graduated from UC-Berkeley with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science and Santa Clara University, where she received a master’s in electrical engineering. She works as a sales engineer at Linear Technology.
• Mary-Lynne Bernald, vice chair of the planning commission, also has decided to join the race. Her commission term ends April 2015.
Bernald’s first stint on the planning commission was in 1996, and she has served in different capacities over the years, including chair.
Bernald said she is committed to “achieving optimal solutions while building a strong sense of community.”
She previously served as a member of the Saratoga Library Expansion Committee as well as on the “Yes on Measures A and B” campaign, or library bond measure initiative.
Bernald received a degree in political science from the University of Colorado. Prior to settling in Saratoga 35 years ago, Bernald said she was an “Army brat who moved throughout the U.S. and Europe on the average of every two years.”
NO KING, GROVER
Kathleen King and Pragati Grover, who had initially expressed interest in running, have changed their minds. Grover serves as the vice chair of the planning commission, and King, no stranger to the city after serving as both council member and mayor, is the CEO of the Healthier Kids Foundation, a nonprofit that raises funds to support outreach for the Healthy Kids insurance program and the Children’s Health Initiative in Santa Clara County. She is also the founder and chairwoman of the Silicon Valley Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Grover cited personal reasons for dropping out of the race, but said that she would continue to serve on the planning commission.
King said she realized she would rather focus on expanding the projects she is working on and making room for others who are interested in running.
“They’ll bring a fresh attitude to it, and I can’t do that with the projects I’m working on,” King said. “I can probably make a bigger difference now working with families and children than going back to the council and doing that again. And I like seeing people give their time to their community, so if my not doing it allows other people to do it, all the better.”
Residents interested in running for a council seat can contact the city clerk’s office at 408.868.1269 for more information. Candidates must be registered to vote in Saratoga. Prospective candidates have until Aug. 8 to turn in their nomination forms at city hall, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga.
Five candidates in the running for council, but there’s room for more
