Good grub, beer WEEKEND | P.19 NOVEMBER 5, 2010 VOLUME 18, NO. 44
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INSIDE: MOVIES | PAGE 22
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City says yes to phone tax expansion By Daniel DeBolt
T
MICHELLE LE
Ronit Bryant, surrounded by, from left, Nicky Sherwood, her daughter Astra and Catherine Capriles, checks the updated voting count at her election party held at Savvy Cellar on Tuesday night.
Incumbents hold on to their council seats NEWCOMER CHALLENGERS FAIL TO CLOSE GAP By Daniel DeBolt
M
argaret Abe-Koga, Jac Siegel and Ronit Bryant have won re-election to the City Council, batting back a trio of newcomers and accusations that they were not doing enough to balance the city’s budget. With all precincts reporting, Margaret Abe-Koga sat on top with 26.5 percent of the vote, followed by Mayor Ronit Bryant with 22.5 percent and Vice Mayor Jac Siegel defending the last open seat with 20.7 percent. Google software engineer Daniel Waylonis appeared to be the biggest threat to incumbents, taking 13 percent of the vote, followed by longtime resident Greg David with 10.4 percent and Google ad sales rep Aaron Jabbari
INSIDE
with 6.7 percent. Siegel said he was encouraged by a “solid 10-percent lead” incumbents held in early results posted at 8 p.m. The gap eventu-
“The challengers didn’t have a comprehensive vision.” HUGH DONAGHER
ally closed to 8 percent. “I predict that it will wind up this way,” said Siegel, who gathered with supporters in a room at the back of Don Giovanni’s restaurant. Council member Tom
Means agreed. “It’s no big surprise” that the incumbents will win, he said. The three incumbents were ranked in the same order by voters in 2006. The challengers “didn’t have a comprehensive vision, and we already know what the incumbents are capable of,” said downtown resident Hugh Donagher, who watched the results from Margaret Abe-Koga’s gathering at the Tied House. The results are “as expected,” he said. Though they were trailing at the polls, the three challengers were in good spirits at a gathering at David’s house, where he’s fashioned a mini German beer garden in his front yard. In numerous debates, David, See COUNCIL, page 17
GOINGS ON 24 | MARKETPLACE 26 | REAL ESTATE 29 | VIEWPOINT 18
he city’s general fund is in slightly better shape with the passage of measure T on Tuesday, perhaps bucking a trend of no-new-taxes sentiment in this election. Because it wasn’t technically a tax increase, Measure T only required a simple majority to pass. It received support from 69.4 percent of voters, according to results posted Wednesday morning. The measure applies the city’s 3-percent phone tax to calls made over the Internet, and also extends the tax to interstate and international calls. Mountain View’s 40-year-old “telephone users tax,” as it’s called, currently brings in $1.9 million a year. But city officials say it has declined by $50,000 over the last year as Internet phone services become more popular. The city’s general fund will now be in slightly better shape
than it was before, as the tax goes to core city services, such as fire, police and the library. Tremutola, a city-hired consulting firm, said the city could see a few hundred thousand dollars in new annual revenue if the measure passed. But city officials were concerned that if it did not pass, phone tax revenue could continue to decline or, worse, face legal challenges as the old phone tax was based on obsolete federal laws. Only businesses that heavily use broadband phone services may see a significant increase in their utility bill, which was shown to be hundreds of dollars a month in one case. But those who have their own broadband networks, such as Google, would not. A group of city council members, residents and at least one city official said to be working on his own time organized a campaign to pass the tax, raising $8,500 for mailers with funds from housing developers and city employee unions. V
MV CITY COUNCIL
MEASURE T VOTES
PERCENT
CANDIDATE
VOTES
PERCENT
YES
9,991
69.41%
NO
4,403
30.59%
✔ Margaret Abe-Koga*
8,106
26.52%
✔ Ronit Bryant* 6,893
22.55%
✔ Jac Siegel*
20.73%
6,338
N INSIDE
Daniel Brian Waylonis
3,993
13.06%
More Election Results
Greg David
3,183
10.41%
Aaron Jabbari
2,055
6.72%
Schmidt elected to water district board; Measure E fails. See pages 16 and 17.
✔= Winners *= Incumbents