Around Town Around Town (December 21, 2005)

VICE MAYOR JOSTLING . . . It's almost time for Palo Alto's annual changing of the guard, and there could be a contest looming. With Vice Mayor Judy Kleinberg all but assured of the mayor's post for 2006, speculation among political insiders moves to who will be vice mayor. There are no set procedures for the switch but there are two logical choices: Council members Yoriko Kishimoto and Jack Morton. Both have served four years, have yet to be mayor and said they were interested. Insider bets for the vice-mayor seat are on Kishimoto. She argues she should be the choice because she received the most number of votes in this November's recent election. Morton, meanwhile, argued the important issue is who would best support Kleinberg as mayor. He also noted the council has had a recent policy of having men in the position when women were mayor, and vice versa, making him the logical choice. (Morton, in his assessment, apparently neglects 2004, when Jim Burch was selected as vice mayor to support MayorBern Beecham.) The new mayor and vice mayor will be picked by the council on Jan. 9. Three new council members -- Peter Drekmeier, Larry Klein and John Barton -- will also take their seats that night.

HISTORIC TURNOUT . . . Last November's Palo Alto City Council election registered a 59 percent voter turnout -- the second highest in the city's history, former mayor and unofficial city historian Gary Fazzino reports. Citing the final report from the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office, Fazzino said the only higher turnout was the 61 percent who voted in the contentious 1971 election. That year, "residentialists" -- council members who favored "slow-growth" policies in real estate development and traffic -- reclaimed control of the council with a near-sweep. The 2005 vote will displace for second place two earlier elections that each had a 58 percent turnout of registered voters: a hotly contested 1963 vote in which two "residentialists" won council seats after a contentious vote that narrowly approved construction of the Oregon Expressway and the bitter 1967 "all council" or "recall" election -- where all council members not regularly up for election were subjected to a recall-petition drive. Fazzino said the fall's turnout was likely related to people voting against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's four defeated ballot initiatives.

NOT TAKING ALL THE KING'S MEN . . . "The Egg" is being put back together again. The Palo Alto Public Art Commission voted last Wednesday night to pay $2,200 to mend damage vandals caused to Digital DNA, the egg-shaped artwork located in Lytton Plaza. Due to the frequent damage done to the sculpture, the commission is considering moving it to a new, lower-profile location. The commission also voted last week to spend $500 for postcards to promote its new Web site: www.paloaltopublicart.org.

WHO'S THE MASTER NOW? . . . Would-be vandals and solicitors beware: Palo Altans are getting wise to your ways. On Homer, Guinda and Forest avenues, eight vehicles were vandalized on a single day last month. After swapping stories, the cars' owners realized they had all been approached by a similar door-to-door solicitor, and all refused to purchase a magazine from him. Apparently, his opening line was, "Are you the master of the castle?" Relating the information via e-mail last week, Duveneck/St. Francis Neighborhood Association President Karen White warned those approached by a solicitor to contact police. One neighbor took the advice, and added his own savvy spin. When a solicitor matching the description showed up at the door, the neighbor, who is of Asian descent, claimed not to speak English -- and then promptly called the cops, who nabbed the salesman for not having a permit.

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