October 27, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

'Goliath' expected to prevail over 'David' in state Senate race

by Tony Burchyns

Republican Jon Zellhoefer placed 126th in last year's gubernatorial recall election. .

Despite his minimal showing, he's not willing to give up on politics. He's now a long-shot candidate against popular Palo Alto Democrat Joe Simitian in a race for the state Senate.

"If we let an attitude prevail that we aren't going to run if we definitely aren't going to win, what kind of democracy would that be?" Zellhoefer said. "I'm running to give voters an alternative choice."

Like Republican Steve Poizner in the overlapping state Assembly race, Zellhoefer is a political outsider with a business background. But there's a tremendous difference between the two: "I don't have millions of dollars to put into my campaign," Zellhoefer said.

Zellhoefer, an environmental engineer who lives in San Jose, hopes the populist themes that worked for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will now work for him in a senate district that blankets Silicon Valley and parts of Santa Cruz County.

"I would hope that voters send up some more outsiders to help the governor out," he said. "He can't fight the bureaucracy alone."

Yet his chances against Joe Simitian, a politician with a 20-year track record in public service and name recognition as a state assemblyman, a former Santa Clara County supervisor, former mayor of Palo Alto and the former president of the Palo Alto Unified School District Board, are slim. Especially given that the 11th senate district has 221,203 registered Democrats and 136,026 registered Republicans.

Simitian has picked up the support of 39 lobbies, including the California Teacher's Association, the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and the League of Conservation Voters.

Simitian touts a well-versed approach to public policy-making, especially on issues of education finance and elder abuse.

He's introduced close to 40 bills on topics including education finance, elder abuse and air and water pollution. Since his election to the state assembly in 2000, Simitian has chaired the standing Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance as well as a subcommittee on elder abuse issues, which he launched.

"He calls himself a 'public servant.' He's not a 'career politician,' " said Palo Alto resident Julie Jerome, who served with Simitian on the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education from 1989 to 1992. "He's well-situated to deal with education issues."

Simitian said his biggest accomplishment in Sacramento was defeating a 2003 proposal by the Davis Administration to cut funding for "basic-aid" school districts by up to 30 percent.

Ravenswood Elementary School District Board member Marcelino Lopez endorses Simitian largely because the assemblyman was able to secure $1.3 million in withheld funds for the struggling school district. Lopez credit's Simitian's influence - and many friends in the capitol - for getting the district the much-needed dollars.

"I think without him, we probably wouldn't have gotten it," Lopez said.

Zellhoefer said his lack of political experience wouldn't be a hindrance if he were elected to the senate. He feels he's a qualified task-master based on his experience working in China, Ukraine and Russia helping foreign governments and businesses find ways to streamline factories and power grids.

"I'm a business guy, and Joe Simitian's a lawyer and a politician," he said.

After he earned an engineering degree from the University of California-Los Angeles in 1975, Zellhoefer served on California's first Energy Commission Technology Review Panel under Gov. Jerry Brown.

If elected, Zellhoefer said he'd launch a full inquiry into the energy contracts signed by Gov. Davis, a populist theme that helped Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger win the recall last year.

"We shouldn't have to pay more than Arizona and Nevada," Zellhoefer said. Like Schwarzenegger, he accuses big-money groups of controlling the state's legislative process.

Zellhoefer, who lives in San Jose, favors school vouchers at heart, but also has ideas for reducing spending on traditional textbooks in public schools.

"There's so much information you can put on DVDs these days. I really don't understand why students are lugging around 80 pounds of books," he said.

He would fight to extend library and school computer lab hours for students who don't have access to high-speed Internet connections at home.

Zellhoefer's backers say the Republican candidate brings a fresh perspective and business expertise.

"He's a successful businessperson and we need more successful people in Sacramento," said Barbara Wales, a member of the Association of Republican Women in the Bay Area. "I think many Democrats would be interested in him if they knew him."

Zellhoefer, who was once laid off at Christmas, would focus on creating a better business environment in California. He would also demand a fixed registration fee of $35 for any vehicle and propose a state-operated gaming network at established resorts to make up the lost revenues.

Both Zellhoefer and Simitian put a high priority on issues concerning senior citizens.

Simitian launched an assembly subcommittee on elder abuse and passed two laws on the subject.

"Financial abuse has been a source of increasing concern as the population grows older and home prices soar," Simitian said.

Not to be outdone, Zellhoefer said he would focus on affordable housing for seniors and better care options for Alzheimer's patients. His father suffered from the degenerative disease, he said, and in taking care of him Zellhoefer and his brother realized how poor state resources are for many patients.

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