GILROY – A nearly 40-year Gilroy resident with a
self-deprecating sense of humor, a penchant for good food and a
campaign message that said he was the leader who could bring a
diverse Council to consensus won the mayoral election hands down
Tuesday.
Al Pinheiro, an incumbent City Councilman and popular business
leader in Gilroy, garnered a whopping 64 percent of the vote in the
Nov. 4 city election. Second-place candidate, Lupe Arellano,
finished more than 1,800 votes behind Pinheiro.
GILROY – A nearly 40-year Gilroy resident with a self-deprecating sense of humor, a penchant for good food and a campaign message that said he was the leader who could bring a diverse Council to consensus won the mayoral election hands down Tuesday.
Al Pinheiro, an incumbent City Councilman and popular business leader in Gilroy, garnered a whopping 64 percent of the vote in the Nov. 4 city election. Second-place candidate, Lupe Arellano, finished more than 1,800 votes behind Pinheiro.
“My first priority will be to get the Council to work together. Priority number two is the budget,” Pinheiro said, referring to the likely dip in city revenue due to a faltering California economy and the state’s budget woes.
When Pinheiro was asked what he thought voters expected from him over the next four years, the insurance broker – who says he always speaks from the heart but often without eloquence – said two words, “balance” and “inclusiveness.”
In Pinheiro’s victory speech inside his election party at Portuguese Hall, the former city Planning Commissioner and Chamber of Commerce “Man of the Year” thanked his supporters and gave special kudos to his mother and his wife.
Pinheiro, whose father died when he was 7 years old, credited his mom for making him the man he is today. Pinheiro said she taught him the morals and perseverance he will use to guide him over the next four years to serve Gilroy.
Arellano’s second-place finish and second failed bid for mayor made her the fourth union-backed candidate to falter in Tuesday’s election. City Council candidates Peter Arellano, Mark Dover and Bruce Morasca lost their election bids after receiving endorsement from the South Bay AFL-CIO.
However, the former councilwoman said, in a way she’s a winner, too.
“I won already because all of a sudden people started talking about open space, about joining the Open Space Authority, revitalization of downtown … and quality of life,” Arellano said. “I was up against a machine, and I lost. But I’ve already won. I think if Al stays true with open space and clean growth, … I think we’ll have a good mayor.”
In the face of three consecutive campaign defeats – Arellano lost a re-election bid in 2001 and a mayoral bid in 1999 – the native Gilroyan said she has no plan to retire from politics.
Arellano said she is considering running for a seat on the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors or for the State Assembly.
Political newcomers Mary Hohenbrink and Ellyn Atkins took in 8.4 percent and 2.2 percent of the vote respectively. Atkins was unavailable for comment, but Hohenbrink spent the evening celebrating with a small group of supporters at The Cove restaurant and later visited Arellano at The Strand and Pinheiro at Portuguese Hall.
Similar to her candidacy, Hohenbrink showed a combination of political naivete and “everyman’s” honesty on election night.
“I was jumping up and down just because I got 100 votes,” Hohenbrink said early Tuesday night when election results first came in.
Hohenbrink, who has never run for political office, misread the registrar’s Web site and didn’t realize only absentee ballots had been reported at that time. She ended up garnering nearly 300 more votes.
Results for a last-minute write-in candidate Celeste Zamzow were not available before press time, although 34 total write-in votes were cast Tuesday. Zamzow had been heralded by a local women’s group just days before the election as Gilroy’s best option for mayor.
However, Zamzow supporters missed the filing deadline for write-in candidates, making any vote cast in her name strictly symbolic.
City Council, which gained two new faces Tuesday night, is now headed by a man many think can point Gilroy in the same direction as outgoing Mayor Tom Springer while reaching more accord with the entire Council. Council members will include newly elected Roland Velasco, Russ Valiquette and Paul Correa and the returning Bob Dillon, Craig Gartman and Charles Morales.
When asked what will distinguish his mayorship from Springer’s, Pinhiero pointed to personal style rather than policy.
“I’ll be more inclusive with the Council,” Pinhiero said.
Springer, who congratulated his successor at the Portuguese Hall party, said Pinhiero would make a good mayor.
“I think he’s going to keep things on the course we’ve started,” Springer said.
That course has been to attract retail development which raises sales-tax revenue for the city. The next phase, Springer said, is to attract industry with new jobs.
Politically, Springer said Pinhiero is less conservative than himself.
“I would rely less on government to do things … and look more to the private sector,” Springer said.
Their styles differ as well, Springer acknowledged.
“I’m an engineer. I’m methodical, and I go in for the details,” Springer said. “Al is a manager style. … Al is looking from the top down. … He’s looking for people who can give him the answers. I’m in there looking for the answers.”
Staff Writer Peter Crowley contributed to this report.
