Election 2004: Fourth Menlo Park candidate surprises council-watchers Election 2004: Fourth Menlo Park candidate surprises council-watchers (August 18, 2004)

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

Two days before the August 11 filing deadline for candidacy papers, Andrew Cohen says, he woke up, read a newspaper article about the Menlo Park City Council race, then decided to run.

He is only now starting to attend council meetings. He says he doesn't know much about city issues and is now doing "an incredible cram job."

And despite Menlo Park's highly polarized political scene, in which active residents have worked to drum up candidates who reflect their views, Mr. Cohen says no one urged him to run. In fact, several council-watchers expressed surprise when they heard Mr. Cohen is running, saying they don't know who he is.

Since retiring last year as a state administrative law judge in workers' compensation, Mr. Cohen has wanted to "pay back" to the community, he said. He already donates his time delivering for Peninsula Volunteers' Meals on Wheels program.

If he's elected, he'd like to use his judicial background to help cool the heated tone of political debate in town, he said.

"I know it's a contentious scene, but I'm hoping to bring something different to it. As a judge, I had to encourage compromise," Mr. Cohen said in a recent interview, choosing his words carefully and frequently quoting the philosopher Jacques Derrida.

He added, "I want to hear as much as I can about issues and make decisions on what I see as relevant facts."

Mr. Cohen, 64, joins three other candidates in the race for two four-year council seats: planning commissioners Kelly Fergusson and Lorie Sinnott, and architect Michael Lambert.

The council is widely seen as dominated by a three-person majority of Mayor Lee Duboc and council members Mickie Winkler and Nicholas Jellins, who often vote together on major issues. The other two council members, Paul Collacchi and Chuck Kinney, both decided not to run for a third term.

In a prepared campaign statement, Mr. Cohen said: "The current council majority has lost its way. I will serve all the residents: Belle Haven to Sharon Heights, children to seniors. I will honor the city's diversity."

When asked what he means by the comment about the council, he responded, "I don't think there should be the kind of bitter animosity that there is. And I don't know which side is to blame."

Mr. Cohen bought his home in Menlo Park in 1991 and previously lived in the city for a few years as a renter. He has a law degree from Stanford University and was in private practice as a lawyer for 20 years before becoming a judge.

Whom to endorse?

Mr. Cohen's entry into the race meant that former councilman Steve Schmidt did not run again, Mr. Schmidt said. Critical of the council majority and supportive of Ms. Fergusson's campaign, Mr. Schmidt had said he was reluctantly considering running if there was not another candidate he could support.

After meeting with Mr. Cohen, though, Mr. Schmidt said: "He seems like a decent guy to me. We needed two candidates and it looks like we've got them."

On the other side of the aisle, resident Reg Rice, who campaigned in 2002 for the council majority, said he was also intrigued by the new candidate: "I would endorse Sinnott and Lambert, but I don't know what Cohen has to say."

Mr. Rice, vice president of the political group Menlo Park Matters, said he didn't yet know whether his group would make endorsements.

Sinnott's occupation

Meanwhile, Ms. Sinnott got some criticism in a letter to the Almanac from resident Ross Wilson, who faulted her for describing herself in her candidate statement as "Planning Commissioner/Mother."

Mr. Wilson said it was "misleading" that Ms. Sinnott did not mention her work with her husband's Menlo Park architecture and construction firm, Samuel Sinnott and Company. She is listed on the company Web site as chief financial officer and office manager.

According to the California Elections Code, candidates' ballot designations must state their "current principal profession, vocation, or occupation." Menlo Park City Clerk Silvia Vonderlinden said that a candidate is allowed to choose one of the three.

She added that she had checked with county elections officials to confirm that Ms. Sinnott's ballot designation was acceptable.

Ms. Sinnott said that her 12-hour-a-week job with her husband's firm "is certainly not a secret." She added, "I just thought it was less of where I put my emotional energy."

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