BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Two candidates on opposite sides of the political spectrum were in the lead last night to join Palo Alto City Council.
Mayor Greer Stone and Councilman Pat Burt took a lead in initial returns, followed by George Lu and Doria Summa from the Planning and Transportation Commission.
Planning Commissioner Keith Reckdahl was right behind Summa last night, and the top four candidates will get elected.
Lu, 32 is in favor of building all kinds of housing, and he wants to streamline the city’s approval process for developers.
Summa, 66, wants to see slower growth and believes that the state is putting undue pressure on Palo Alto to build more housing. She said council should focus on subsidized affordable housing.
Burt, 72, is headed to his fourth term, continuing his run as Palo Alto’s longest tenured official.
Burt was on council from 2009 to 2016 and returned in 2020. He was mayor in 2010, 2016 and 2022 and represents the city on the VTA and Caltrain board.
Mayor Greer Stone, 35, is on pace for a second term. He is a teacher and has made youth mental health a focus.
“It’s a big learning curve, so with four years behind me I’m excited to be able to earn another term,” Stone said during the campaign.
Burt and Stone are aligned with Summa and Reckdahl.
Lu has supported three different candidates: Katie Causey from the Human Relations Commission, Cari Templeton from the Planning and Transportation Commission and Anne Cribbs from the Parks and Recreation Commission.
Lu raised $60,651 — the most of any candidate.
Causey, Templeton and Cribbs were respectively in sixth, seventh and eighth place last night.
Senior advocate Henry Etzkowitz was in last.
Whoever wins will replace Councilman Greg Tanaka and Councilwoman Lydia Kou, who have reached their two-term limits.
Kou ran against Assemblyman Marc Berman and was well behind him last night.
Summa’s campaign complained yesterday that her name didn’t appear on the first page of polling machines, so voters had to touch a “MORE” button to pick her. She was the only candidate on the second page as a result of a random drawing.
“It’s really disappointing that an oversight like this could affect my chances in the election,” Summa said in a statement yesterday.
The limitation on the number of candidates visible at a single time is necessary because of the limited screen size and the need for a readable font, said Steve Goltiao, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
It’s a regular occurrence for some candidates to appear on a second page, Goltiao said.
The ballot issue for doria summa was that 2 options were presented on the ballot page listing all council candidates but her – more or next. If a voter hit next, the next category to vote on came up, and her name was never seen. Only if one hit more did you see her listed and could vote for her.
This was confusing and no doubt led to her being deprived of some votes. Surely the Registrar can do better.