Mayor Al Pinheiro held on to the city’s top post with a
clear-cut victory over current councilman and challenger Craig
Gartman Tuesday night.
Mayor Al Pinheiro held on to the city’s top post with a clear-cut victory over current councilman and challenger Craig Gartman Tuesday night.
Pinheiro – who will lead the city for another four years thanks to the support of nearly 54 percent of voters – credited his success to “my overall commitment to Gilroy.”
“I’ve been a straightforward individual,” Pinheiro said from a catered buffet at the Portuguese Hall where he watched his win unfold on a six-foot projection of a periodically updated county Web page. “I don’t promise what I can’t do.”
More than 70 people – including councilman Dion Bracco and council candidate Tim Day – witnessed Pinheiro celebrate his victory, sitting at six round tables and sipping wine. They also witnessed the election of three new council candidates – lawyer Perry Woodward, former councilman Bob Dillon, and Parks and Recreation Commissioner Cat Tucker.
Despite having to work with three new councilmembers and Gartman – who is in the middle of a four-year council term and will serve under Pinheiro for two more years – Pinheiro is not worried his next term.
“I don’t choose the council, but I will work hard to work well together with (them) for the betterment of Gilroy,” Pinheiro said.
As native Gilroyans, Debbie and Nelson Crocker said they knew Pinheiro from high school and voted for him because they want to see him finish what he has started with downtown revitalization.
“I want Al to continue what he started,” Nelson Crocker said. “Look at Morgan Hill – there are people walking around downtown at night all the time.”
Debbie Crocker agreed and said “you can’t be in a community (as long as Pinheiro) and not care about it.”
Terri Possley, a regular voter casting her ballot at the Eagle Ridge clubhouse in West Gilroy, came out to make sure Mayor Al Pinheiro sees another term.
“The times that I’ve seen him in the community, he’s very involved,” she said. “He just seems trustworthy.”
Despite his seemingly popular stances, Gartman could not muster enough votes to unseat Pinheiro. Running against an incumbent mayoral candidate “is always an uphill battle,” Gartman said.
“As close as I am, I think it sends a message,” said Gartman, who lost by 388 votes.
The results notwithstanding, Gartman said he would not have changed his campaign if given a chance to do it over again.
“The important thing was to get the message out, to get people to commit to action – or inaction,” he said from an intimate 20-person election party at Happy Dog Pizza.
Gartman’s campaign relied heavily on support of frustrated residents for his opposition to a proposed sidewalk ordinance. He also denounced a recent salary plan for 42 top-level city employees as illogical and fiscally irresponsible. Pinheiro supported both issues.
These were key reasons Gartman won the vote of Steve and Darlene Miller, who voted late Tuesday at El Roble Elementary School. They neither wanted to be liable for city trees planted on their property nor supported the recent raises, they said.
For regular voter Alma Perez, casting her ballot at the St. Mary Church on First Street, the reason she picked Gartman was simple.
“Change,” she said.
Ray Rodriguez, who voted at the Masonic Temple, said he chose Gartman using a simple rubric.
“Always vote for the new guy,” he said. Incumbents make fewer promises and are less likely to hold to them, Rodriguez said.
During the race, the candidates’ differing stances engendered some bad blood, fueled by anonymous mailers and incendiary letters to the editor written by third parties. While Pinheiro asserted that Gartman’s stance and comments about issues also contributed to a negative campaign, Gartman said the campaign never strayed into unfair territory.
“To me, negative campaigning is lies, attacking family members,” which did not occur in this race, Gartman said. “If you’re talking about the issues, that’s not negative campaigning.”
Candidates agreed that this was by far the most high-stakes mayoral race in recent history, with the two candidates spending a total of $26,775 and Pinheiro outspending Gartman $15,884 to $10,891.
Both candidates agreed that money was a key element, but their opinions mirrored their approach to spending.
“Everything’s so expensive nowadays that you have no choice but to spend all that you’re allowed to spend,” Pinheiro said.
Yet Gartman believed high cost of advertisements were no excuse for rampant spending – candidates should be limited to about $1 per registered voter, or about $17,000, he said.
“Seeing the number of mailers, seeing the number of signs – I think this is just out of control,” he added.
In addition to incumbency and money, Pinheiro’s connections in business and social circles lifted him to victory, Gartman said.
“I’ve tried to stay positive in what I’ve said, in what I’d like to see as needed changes, but you have a sitting mayor who has a number of friends who are willing to help him fight his battle, whereas I believe in fighting my own battles,” he said.
Gartman will continue to battle in his two remaining years on council by opposing the new salary program and the sidewalk ordinance. Losing the mayoral race will not change his resolve, he said.
“I’m not going to change my mind about any of the issues,” he said. “I stand where I stand, and that’s that.”
