Election 2004: Menlo council race is a squeaker Election 2004: Menlo council race is a squeaker (November 10, 2004)

** Kelly Fergusson wins easily; Andy Cohen and Lorie Sinnott watch the vote count for the second seat.

By Rebecca Wallace
Almanac Staff Writer

When Andy Cohen and Lorie Sinnott met for lunch last Friday, you can bet they didn't just talk about the weather.

With the ballots still being counted, the two were running neck and neck in the race for two seats on the Menlo Park City Council. The most recent numbers put Mr. Cohen in second place with 4,718 votes, 34 ahead of Ms. Sinnott's total of 4,684.

Kelly Fergusson easily took the top spot with 5,390 votes, and Michael Lambert was in fourth place with 4,456.

But that didn't include the absentee and provisional votes still being counted by elections officials. Officials say the count likely won't be finished until at least mid-week.

Ms. Sinnott said last week of herself and Mr. Cohen, "We're both on tenterhooks right now." She said Mr. Cohen had called her to have lunch and make peace after the election.

Ms. Sinnott added of her supporters, "Most people are calling and saying they're really, really sorry, and I'm saying, 'Why don't you wait another day?'"

Menlo Park also had a close council race in 1998, with Nicholas Jellins winning a seat by four votes after a recount. The initial count had put his lead at one vote.

'Couldn't be more surprised'

In the midst of the television and laptop monitors glowing with election results, a voice shouted above the din: "Andy's in second place! Andy won!"

The crowd at Ms. Fergusson's and Mr. Cohen's election night party on San Mateo Drive exploded. No one seemed surprised to see Ms. Fergusson, a vocal planning commissioner, take the highest number of votes. But Mr. Cohen was a newcomer to city politics and a relative unknown.

"I couldn't be more surprised," Mr. Cohen said in his typically low-key way.

Those around him, who had joined Mr. Cohen and Ms. Fergusson in opposing the current three-member council majority on a variety of issues, were less reserved.

Former planning commissioner Patti Fry, who was not reappointed to her seat by the majority, squealed with delight. Minority council member Paul Collacchi raised his arms in a touchdown gesture. Champagne flowed.

Days later, despite the fact that Mr. Cohen's slim lead may not stand, Ms. Fergusson hailed the vote as a "decisive victory."

"For such a dark horse to come out of nowhere and get so many votes ... that really sends a strong message that people didn't like the direction of the council over the past couple of years," she said.

So why did the vote go the way it did? Some supporters of Ms. Fergusson and Mr. Cohen say residents wanted to provide a balance on the council, rather than electing more people whose views are aligned with majority members Mr. Jellins, Lee Duboc and Mickie Winkler, who often vote together on major issues.

The three endorsed Ms. Sinnott and Mr. Lambert, while minority members Mr. Collacchi and Chuck Kinney -- who both opted not to run again -- endorsed Ms. Fergusson and Mr. Cohen.

Menlo Park has become increasingly polarized in recent years. Many residents stereotype the Duboc-Jellins-Winkler camp as one that's more friendly to businesses and individual property rights, and the Collacchi-Kinney camp as one that wants to have more review of new homes and other development to ensure that they blend into the community.

Dan Dippery, a Fergusson-Cohen supporter who designed Mr. Cohen's yard sign, said the election results show "a general feeling of nervousness about development."

Former council member Steve Schmidt also noted that having both Ms. Fergusson and Mr. Cohen on the council makes it easier to win back the council majority in 2006.

Many people who supported Ms. Fergusson may also have voted in a Fergusson-Cohen block, recognizing that the two share several values and goals.

Sue Kayton, webmaster for Ms. Sinnott's campaign, agreed with the block-voting theory.

"The town has been polarized. Most people who follow elections know who's on which side," she said.

Last-minute mailer

But campaigns are not waged with signs alone, and several residents said a last-minute mailer by the Fergusson-Cohen camp bashing Ms. Sinnott and Mr. Lambert may have swayed many a voter.

Paid for by the Menlo Park Residentialists, a group that lists Councilman Collacchi as treasurer, the mailer leveled several criticisms at the candidates, labeling them "developers" and saying they would help create a pro-development "monopoly" if elected. Featuring a cartoon of a train, it said, "Don't let the City Council majority keep railroading our community."

Praising Ms. Sinnott and Mr. Lambert for running "clean campaigns," Ms. Kayton said the mailer was unfair, particularly due to its timing.

"People didn't have time to check the facts, and they didn't have time to ask their friends, 'Did that happen?'" she said.

Ms. Sinnott said she'd like to see a letter of apology about the mailer.

Some people, though, said what comes around goes around. Memories linger of the notorious "blockhead" fliers from the 2002 race, in which Ms. Duboc, Mr. Jellins and Ms. Winkler put out campaign materials with cartoons depicting other council members as prominently square-headed.

What's next?

At the first meeting in December, the new council members are sworn in and the real work begins.

With the election results yet undecided, it's notably hard to speculate about how the council will change. But a few residents still had a few predictions -- and concerns -- last week.

Henry Riggs, a Sinnott-Lambert supporter, said he was concerned that the council majority and Ms. Fergusson might have trouble working together constructively. In the most visible clash, Ms. Fergusson led a successful referendum campaign earlier this year against a new set of home-building rules, ordinance 926, that the majority approved. The council later rescinded the rules rather than taking them to the voters.

"Kelly has a lot of energy, and she's made a point ever since the 926 debates to be very vocal in criticism of the council majority. And I don't think she got on the council to be less critical," Mr. Riggs said. "I think we're in for some long and uncomfortable debates."

Ms. Fergusson said she works well with Ms. Sinnott on the Planning Commission and will make a strong effort to build bridges with the rest of the council.

Former council member Schmidt said he hopes Mr. Cohen's lead will hold.

"He'll be a force to be reckoned with on the council. I don't think he puts up with a lot of b.s.," Mr. Schmidt said of the former judge. "I think he has the ability to be able to slow things down and get more substantive discussion on issues instead of just accepting things as they roll into the council chambers."

Meanwhile, Mr. Lambert, the fourth-place candidate, said he himself will not disappear from the chambers, but will keep speaking out on issues that interest him. Earlier this year, he actively campaigned against a law that would have required fire sprinklers in many new homes and major remodels.

Mr. Lambert also said he has benefited from meeting so many fellow residents and working with his campaign team.

"I had a great group of people helping me, and I will always keep a deep appreciation of them," he said.

Menlo Park City Council

X Kelly Fergusson 5,390 28.0%

Andrew Cohen
4,718 24.5%

Lorie Sinnott 4,684 24.3%

Michael Lambert 4,456 23.2%

Count as of Nov. 8

X denotes winner

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