November 11, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Mitchell, Tom ready for challenges ahead

by Alexandria Rocha

The hefty campaign efforts of Barbara Mitchell and Dana Tom on behalf of Measure A earlier this year paid off Tuesday night, as both easily won election to the Palo Alto school board.

"They have so much involvement, experience and knowledge. I had such good feelings from them during Measure A," said community member Doris Dahlgren, referring to the school district's annual $493 parcel tax that voters passed in June.

Tom and Mitchell led the race throughout the night against two other competitors, Claude Ezran and Steve Mullen. While Ezran also campaigned for the parcel tax, Mullen opposed Measure A, which did not sit well with district supporters.

"Three (candidates) said, 'Let's make this an outstanding district, spend the money wisely, but the schools don't have enough money,'" said Dave Charleson, the Hoover Elementary School PTA president who was rumored early as a potential candidate. "But I have serious concerns when someone says the schools have enough money."

Mullen did not return calls from the Weekly.

According to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Web site, Tom finished the race in the lead with 10,399 votes, or 34 percent, followed by Mitchell with 9,927, or 33 percent. Mullen came in third with 5,464 votes, or 18 percent, and Ezran came in last with 4,403 votes, or 15 percent.

Besides their prior campaigning, Tom, 44, and Mitchell, 53, possess the experience voters said they were looking for in board members. In this area, Mitchell was clearly the frontrunner. A Palo Alto High School graduate, she has lived here for 46 years. Two of her children are district graduates, and the other two are current students. She has participated in various district committees and volunteered in dozens of classrooms.

She is ready to start working.

"It's a great point in time to do a self-assessment, an internal look at the district, to see how the school board is doing and what we can do differently to help parents, teachers and students get engaged," said Mitchell, shortly after the first round of results foreshadowed the outcome.

Tom's supporters, however, said their candidate's volunteerism during his seven years in the community provided the winning edge. Although Ezran, 50 -- a parent of two district students and a local resident for 14 years -- has experience as treasurer of the Palo Alto Council of PTAs and has been a member of both the Duveneck Elementary School PTA and Healthy School Lunch Committee, Tom's background with the district goes a bit deeper.

Tom, who also has two children in the local schools, has been president of the Duveneck PTA, co-chair of the Duveneck Site Council, a parent representative on the district's strategic planning team in 2004, a youth-sports coach, and an advisor to Duveneck's student newspaper.

"Dana coached my grandson in soccer, and he is really nice with the kids," said Carolyn Tucher, a former school-board member. "You can see it in the campaign. He went around to schools all over town. It's important for local elected officials to show strong ties with the community."

For his part, Ezran said he'll run again next time.

Mullen, 47, a parent of one graduate and one current student, has been in Palo Alto the shortest time of all the candidates. During his six years here, he has also volunteered in various ways, including time on the PTA, site councils and coaching girls' volleyball.

In 2001, he actively campaigned for the district's first parcel tax -- $293 per year. But in November 2004 when the district attempted to renew and increase the tax, Mullen opposed it, saying the figure was too high and the duration too long. He also did not support Measure A.

An equal amount of lawn signs for each candidate speckled Palo Alto and made the race look tight. Some voters, however, said Mitchell and Tom had the most noticeable campaigns. Dahlgren said teenagers shouted the winners' names when she was delivering school-board and city-council signs a few weeks ago to the Town and Country Shopping Center, which Palo Alto High School students frequent for lunch.

"These kids are aware of who would be good," she said.

Charleson added that "wherever a cup of coffee was being poured, Dana was there."

With the new board members' first meeting in mid-December, there are already some major issues to confront. One involves the managing of funds from Measure A; another will be the beginning stages of a year-long review of the district's attendance boundaries. Both are prepared.

"I feel an awesome sense of responsibility," Tom said. "I'm looking forward to immersing myself."

Staff Writer Alexandria Rocha can be reached at arocha@paweekly.com.

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