Election 2004: Poizner carried Atherton, Portola Valley, Woodside (December 08, 2004)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

While Republican Steve Poizner lost the 21st Assembly district election to Democrat Ira Ruskin, he did carry three of the four towns in the Almanac circulation area, according to official election recently made public.

Mr. Poizner won majorities of 66 percent in Atherton, 56 percent in Woodside, and 53 percent in Portola Valley with 53 percent, the San Mateo County Elections Office reported.

They were the only three towns in San Mateo County that Mr. Poizner carried. Mr. Ruskin, who lives in Redwood City, won by 56 to 44 percent in San Mateo County, while Mr. Poizner, who lives in Los Gatos, carried Santa Clara County, 52 percent to 48 percent.

October voter registration statistics show that Republicans continue to outnumber Democrats in both Atherton and Woodside and the two parties are nearly even in their representation in Portola Valley.

In Menlo Park, where the Democratic registration surpasses the Republican by 15 percentage points, Mr. Ruskin won by 13 points.

Mr. Poizner still won 41 percent of the vote in Menlo Park, where only 31 percent are registered as Republicans.

In the four towns, those who declined to state a party affiliation ranged from 17 percent to 20 percent of the registered voters.

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