Five candidates are looking to succeed Joe Simitian for the District 5 seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. The termed-out incumbent is vying for the United States Congress, leaving big shoes to fill in a district that includes Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View.
Unlike Congress, there are no phantom candidates in this race: All contenders, Margaret Abe-Koga, Sally Lieber, Dr. Peter Fung, Barry Chang and Sandy Sans, are serious about their candidacy. All except Sans, a Los Altos resident, have experience sitting on the boards of governing public agencies.
Abe-Koga is finishing up her second eight-year term on the Mountain View City Council. Lieber is also a former Mountain View council member, and she served six years in the state Assembly. Fung has been on the board of the El Camino Healthcare District going on 10 years now. Chang previously served on the Cupertino City Council. Sans’ recent history included trying to start a new political party before deciding to run for supervisor.
There is no shortage of challenges before the five-member Board of Supervisors, which oversee an annual budget of more than $10 billion. The board is currently dealing with a budget deficit that hit $280 million in 2023-24.
The following are brief looks at each of the candidates in this race.
Margaret Abe-Koga
Margaret Abe-Koga feels she is “battle tested, battle ready” for the Board of Supervisors as she’s coming off 16 years of service on the Mountain View City Council.
“It’s really an opportunity to continue the work I’ve been able to do,” said Abe-Koga. “I think I have the experience and the skills to be able to contribute to the county.”
Abe-Koga already has regional experience under her belt, having served on the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) board and with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). She also has served on the county Board of Education.
Her political background includes work with U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo and Assemblymember Evan Low. She’s had experience in the public, nonprofit and private sectors, including ownership of a small business.
What she’s learned from her time in government is that nothing gets done quickly. “It’s about persistence and continuity and keeping at it for a long time,” she said. “I just want to hunker down and do some good work.”
Her biggest priority as a supervisor would be tackling the county’s current $250 million budget deficit.
“If you don’t take care of it, it just continues to grow,” she said.
Public safety is another one of her priorities. Abe-Koga has received the endorsement of county Sheriff Bob Jonsen.
Sally Lieber
Sally Lieber, who has vowed to be a “corporate free” candidate, has a long history of political leadership in the Bay Area. Despite her political career spanning 25 years and three offices (Mountain View City Council, State Assembly and now the Board of Equalization), Lieber still self-identifies as an activist.
Lieber’s progressive platform seeks to aid the most vulnerable communities of Santa Clara County, including people who are low-income, unhoused, disabled or immigrants, which has earned her recognition among pro-housing groups and organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America, of which she is a member.
She sees the position with the county as an opportunity to effectively implement state and federal law and to inspire reform in the county.
“I see a lot of opportunities in mental health, the jails, the health and hospital system and dealing with the needs of people who have chronic conditions,” Lieber said. “There are a lot of good opportunities there for an activist who has experience.”
Another key area of priority for Lieber is navigating the county’s budget shortfall, which she says she is equipped to do after dealing with a similar crisis at the state level.
If elected, Lieber would leave her position on the BOE 11 months early. This has stirred some controversy since she resigned from her latest stint on the city council when elected to the BOE. When she ran, Lieber said she was advised that there would not be overlap between the two offices, but ultimately, she had to step down.
Peter Fung
Dr. Peter Fung, a Los Altos Hills resident and retired neurologist, serves on the El Camino Healthcare District Board. He is squarely focused on addressing healthcare issues in the county as a means to address wider problems in the region.
About half of the county’s $11.3 billion budget is spent on healthcare, funding multiple medical centers and other health services. Dr. Fung said that someone with expertise in the area is needed to resolve the expected structural deficit in the coming year.
“I’m going to bring in an entirely new, accountable and innovative leadership to resolve some of the challenges that the county is presently solving,” Dr. Fung said.
The doctor boasts the success of the healthcare district during his tenure on the board, pointing to a boost in profitability and expansion of services. For 10 years, he led El Camino’s stroke program, which is named in his honor.
“My belief is healthcare is at the root of the mental health crisis and is actually the reason why we have so many societal crises, and they are all interrelated,” he said.
Sandy Sans
Sandy Sans, a Los Altos resident and business owner, has big political aspirations despite a modest campaign. Sans spent time last year seeking to establish a new political party in California based on total reform of the current bipartisan system. Some of his rhetoric may sound radical, but Sans believes in a moderate approach, drawing from both sides of the political spectrum to solve the county’s problems.
One idea Sans put forward is the implementation of ranked-choice voting, which experts have deemed successful in places like Alaska and Maine.
So far, Sans has self-funded his campaign with the exception of a few individual donations. He said he will focus on fundraising in the coming weeks.
Barry Chang
Barry Chang, a Cupertino resident, was on the Cupertino City Council from 1999 to 2018. While serving, he polarized many Cupertino residents with his emphatic efforts to bring the Lehigh Cement Plant into compliance with environmental standards.
His priorities, if elected to office, include alleviating traffic congestion, bolstering senior services and providing better public safety and public health services.
Chang did not sit down for an interview with the Town Crier.
