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Published on 06/01/1998 All articles from this issue

Local interest in primary: sheriff's race, initiatives

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Town Crier Staff Report

With no city council election occurring for either Los Altos or Los Altos Hills, local focus on the primary election June 2 shifted to state propositions, regional races and county committees.

Los Altos resident George Kiehle, a pilot with United Airlines, finished a distant fourth in a six-candidate race for the 14th Congressional District. Incumbent Anna Eshoo, D-Atherton, easily fended off challengers, taking 65.9 percent of the popular vote.

Kiehle, the lone Democratic challenger, got 4.3 percent of the vote. His campaign's main message was that Eshoo was not in touch with her constituents. But Los Altos resident Art Lynch, with the Peninsula Democratic Coalition, said Eshoo spends most Saturdays at her Palo Alto office addressing local residents "and Sundays, sometimes, to meet with people."

Of special concern to residents in Los Altos Hills and the unincorporated areas of Los Altos was the race for county sheriff, where assistant sheriffs Laurie Smith and Ruben Diaz were the top two vote-getters in a five-candidate race. Smith, who led all challengers with 24.7 percent of the vote and Diaz (22.1 percent) will run off in the November election.

Los Altos Hills resident Jean Mohler, a Diaz supporter, was surprised by Smith's showing. "She wasn't very well known," Mohler said. "Ruben has 27 years in law enforcement, all the credentials, the management experience and has more vision than she does."

Smith herself acknowledged that her being the only woman candidate probably played a big role in the vote count. She also told a candidates' forum last month in Mountain View that she had initiated "more positive programs than the other candidates combined."

The Diaz-Smith run-off campaign for Charles Gillingham's seat is already off to a heated beginning, with Diaz accusing Smith of "lying" about starting a county task force to combat sexual predators. Smith dismissed the accusation.

In other county races, incumbent District Attorney George Kennedy easily retained his position with 74.6 percent of the vote. Incumbent County Assessor Larry Stone also breezed through the June 2 election with 73.6 percent of the vote.

In a race for the Republican County Central Committee in District 5, Los Altos residents Pat Millar and Stanley Dickinson led a moderate slate that took all six available seats. Millar said she was "stunned by the results," with 20 of 23 county committee seats now occupied by moderates. "This is a strong statement of how careful the voters were."

Of the state propositions on the ballot, two related to schools, 223 and 227 seemed to generate the most controversy. Proposition 227, the English for the Children initiative, won with 61 percent of the vote statewide, 56.3 percent in Santa Clara County. The initiative would eliminate most bilingual education programs, although the repercussions would be minimal in Los Altos school districts. Proposition 223, which would have limited school administration to 5 percent, was defeated with 56.4 percent of the vote statewide.