We’re just past the halfway point of the nomination filing period for this election cycle, and several would-be candidates are beginning to surface.
In Los Altos, as the election has moved from at-large to district-based, there are two seats up for election: District 2 in the southern part of town and District 4 to the north. Since the election parameters have changed, there are technically no incumbents, but sitting Vice Mayor Larry Lang has already filed his papers and qualified for the ballot in District 4 as of July 21. At time of press, no other candidate has pulled papers in the district.
Councilman Pete Dailey would have been seeking re-election to the council via District 2, but is not running for another term, opting to pursue the Santa Clara Valley Water District 7 seat, opening the door for a new face.
One of those new faces could be a familiar one – the former mayor, Lynette Lee Eng. Lee Eng pulled papers July 27 in hopes of a return to the council seat which she held from 2016 to 2024, serving as mayor in 2018. She left the council to run for the El Camino Health Care District Board, coming up short. Two other potential candidates have emerged in District 2. Lucinda Langley-Andrews and Anky van Deursen both pulled papers on July 14. Van Deursen filed her papers on July 27 and qualified for the ballot July 30.
Three council members in Mountain View – Alison Hicks, Ellen Kamei and Lucas Ramirez — are terming out this year, so there will be a trio of fresh faces filling the seven-seat council. At time of press, a total of eight candidates have pulled papers for the three at-large seats.
Mountain View Historical Association and Kiwanis Mountain View board member Robert Cox, Mountain View Environmental Commission Vice Chair Paul Donahue and activist and member of the Parks and Recreation Commission and Environmental Sustainability Task Force IdaRose Sylvester all pulled their papers on the first day of the period, July 13. Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee Chair James Kuszmaul pulled his papers July 14; Samuel Ali did so on July 27; Los Altos High School teacher Silja Paymer and Mountain View Visual Arts Committee Chair Jesse Cupp pulled papers on July 28; and Santa Clara County Library District outreach specialist Erik Poicon, who unsuccessfully ran in 2024, filed his papers July 31.
Of the eight potential candidates, only Cox and Donahue have filed their papers at time of press, doing so as of July 31.
In Los Altos Hills, Kavita Tankha and George K. Tyson’s at-large seats are available as both have termed out. Four candidates have emerged for the open seats: Jim Waschura, who currently serves on the town’s Planning Commission, and Parks, Recreation and Community Events Committee Chair Jasmeen Pombra have both already qualified for the ballot, while Nick Pliam and Indu Kadambi pulled papers July 31 and have until the Aug. 7 deadline to file all necessary papers with the Registrar of Voters.
Candidates who pull nomination papers must obtain at least 20 signatures from registered voters in their respective city before filing the papers. Once this is filed with the city clerk, the city sends it to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters and they confirm the signatures are valid.
There are several other logistical tasks and verifications, including confirmation of address within the district and the ballot designation worksheet, among others. Once all paperwork is complete and verified, the candidate is qualified.
The nomination period opened July 13 and ends Aug. 7. Vote-by-mail packets will be sent out Oct. 5, which is also the beginning of the early voting period at the Registrar of Voters office. The last day to register to vote in this cycle is Oct. 19 and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
