Why is this vote count taking so long?

I just checked the registrar of voters website using the link in the article. It shows 100% of precincts counted and it indicates Hicks is 3rd so it seems as though it is official that all incumbents were defeated.

@BT and @StupidQuestion: All precincts are counted, but there are still votes to be tallied, according to the Registrar of Voters. A combination of mail-in and provisional ballots, along with high voter turn-out, seems to be slowing things down this year. It's not unusual for the counting to continue for days (or weeks) but the winners in most races can be determined pretty quickly. The close Mountain View City Council race is an exception.

Here's hoping that the now fully incumbent city council will make fair, intelligent decisions for all legit tax paying residents of Mt. View. Lots of challenging issues on the table. Best Regards.

Showalter shouldn't have flip-flopped (to be kind) on bus lanes ruining El Camino Real, and she should have been less tolerant to over-building and for encouraging transient RV dwellers to move to MV. She'd still be on the City Council. The times, they are a-changin'.

A fresh start without the progressive socialist-democratic regime in power?
Yippee !

One can only hope the new crew will take heed of the clear message that the majority of Mountain View citizens are sending.

Christmas has come early.

On cue, the grumpy minority has come out. It's interesting that you have no explanation for Ellen and Lucas winning, given their progressive, pro-housing stances. And you lack any explanation for John Inks, the only anti-RV candidate, losing in a devastating landslide? Somehow, a difference of 84 votes confirms what you believed all along, and if you listen to Alison Hicks, it would confirm it regardless of who wins.

Very pleased that the balance of power on the Council will change. Lenny lost but he will likely re-brand himself from politician to activist, which is what he is anyway. The people we elect should represent all of us (or at least most of us).

Homeowner here. I worked pretty hard to get a steady and well paying job in tech and just like my spouse, so luckily we're able to save a little for retirement after the mortgage payment. My parents bought their home here in the late 70's too, so i'm very happy that they have been able to stay in Mountain View in really safe and peaceful neighborhoods I grew up in.

Whoever makes it on City Council, I hope that they are able to make sure we keep adding new and better jobs, because jobs are good to our economy. I just don't want them to keep building really tall skyscraper apartment buildings all around Mountain View because I think they look ugly. Not everyone should be able to live here. If you can't afford it too bad, that's just the economy.

I think it serves Lenny Siegel right for thinking that we should have to pay for people not being able to afford living in Mountain View. Is it our fault that they don't go get more education to earn one of the good jobs?? Just because they worked here and their kids go to school here doesn't mean they just get to keep having these things. There are schools in so many other places, so why do they need to stay here?

I don't want Mountain View to get uglier with people living in their RV's because they can't afford to live here. Mountain View is not a poor city, so why should it look like one?? The REAL problem is that people like Pat Showalter and Lenny Siegel want to make this a city for everyone when it has never been for everyone to start. As soon as this new council recognizes this fact then we can get rid of the problem of having people living in ugly RV's doing who knows what living next to us and restore what Mountain View is supposed to be about.

I am glad to see Showalter pay the price of lying to get in office.

Maybe, if she runs again, she might consider telling the truth about what she would do if elected. I just hope nobody falls for anything that comes out of her mouth again.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Hicks was my favorite due to her candor and her skills and her credentials and her NOT BEING IN ANYONE'S POCKET. Her campaign was financially supported by lots and lots of individual donors who live in MV and are concerned about how our lovely town grows into the future. This is the sort of public official we deserve at all levels of government. HOORAY!

Im glad it appears Alison Hicks won!

I checked her name in lieu of Lucas and Ellen because I had a feeling Hicks would be somewhat of an underdog and I wanted to increase her chances of getting in, not that Kamei and Ramirez were necessarily poor choices.

Its good that Lenny and Pat are out, but Im a little worried about Lucas Ramirez and his stance and commitment to cleaning up the RV mess.

I hope he is open to listening to the pragmatic concerns of the majority of residents on this situation.

ShorelineWestDude, Lucas got significantly more votes than Alison, so maybe she should listen to his voters rather than the grumpy minority like you? Not that you'll be swayed by actual evidence, as her stance was "even if I lost, I'll have been proven right."

I hope Hicks keeps the lead!

Lets see some new policies to address the problems people are stating above.
I can't wait until they get to work and actually DO something to alleviate the issues so many residents care about. I'm hoping one of the first issues they tackle is the RV problem.

So glad to see Ellen and Alison on the MV Council (hoping that Alison is a permanent win). It was interesting to see Lucas Ramirez state (right after the election) that it is obvious that MV wanted policies other than what Showalter and Siegel represented - so I hope he will vote to honor the majority of voters, and help develop a truly "representative government" that respects the outcome of this election and what the taxpaying voters want Mountain View to be.

Showalter lied to us during the first election, saying she would NEVER vote for the VTA to overtake two lanes on El Camino - then betrayed us by voting FOR it. Siegel was a bully and arrogantly pushed his private agenda, not realizing he was voted in to represent what the taxpaying majority of a city wants. Good riddance to both - they DESERVED to lose. Lets go forward and clean up this city!

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I don’t have a problem with folks being pleased that the two incumbents who were running for re-election (and appear to have lost their bid) because they want change on city council - as it usually speaks to larger issues going on in the city, in general, that folks may be unhappy about. If that is the case, and folks did indeed vote for change, then I also suggest that those people continue to make their voices heard by speaking up at city council meetings, and/or sending letters to council regarding items of interest, and particularly regarding upcoming council agenda items.

City council members are supposed to represent the residents of Mountain View, but unless residents continue to speak up and let council know what is important to them, it is the voices of the organized groups and out of town interests who often hold the most sway with staff and council.

Stay involved, because those with disparate interests certainly will be.

Truth.

The difference between first and first is not great. Most voters probably learned only that John Inks stood for something - being a Libertarian. The rest may have been seen as similar politically. My guess is that the 3 who actually shook hands slipped it.

It's unusual for so many incumbents to lose. I was hoping that Sunnyvale Councilperson Glenn Hendricks would lose as well, but he was re-elected. In Cupertino, one developer-owned incumbent appears to have lost but it's still very close.

I don't think that it's as much of a candidate's position on an issue, but whether or not they lie about what they are going to do if elected.

Time to call the election and move on its been 3 weeks Pat needs to GIVE IT UP the people have spoke . Wake UP City Council STOP TURNING THIS CITY INTO AN RV PARK.

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I don't want the RVs out, but there should be regulations. The status quo is what is currently causing a rift so lets end the status quo, get some regulations everyone, or at least a great majority of us can deal with, and move forward.
I voted for the candidates that expressed a slower growth(i.e. not Inks) and tighter RV rules as they pertain to living on the streets (i.e. not Siegle).

The reality is that it's very unlikely that two incumbents are not reelected. That send a clear message. Also,another experienced candidate John Inks was a loser because of the smear job done by the pro tenant group. That said, the reality is that by not reelecting incumbents means that rookies are elected. It doesn't matter that some of these candidates had similar viewpoints as the incumbents. The clear message is that the rookies better solve some of the problems affecting MV or they will not be reelected. So let's see if these three change some of their viewpoints and do what's best for the city and not pander to special interest groups.

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Nearly all candidates recognized that there is a housing crisis in Mountain View and the Bay Area and that part of the solution is to address the jobs-housing imbalance and add more housing stock. Two of the top three candidates even supported Measure V, the rent stabilization act that protected thousands of individuals and families from predatory rent gouging. I thank them for that. I am part of the many in Mountain View who believe that the city should maintain a socio-economically diverse population, and that it is not a crime to be poor.

Lenny Siegel and to some extent, Pat Showalter, may have taken the fall from all the negativity generated by a vocal minority on the RV situation. But they and some other candidates stood on the side of the people (the forgotten, the downtrodden, the working class, and not only the homeowners) and justice. They do not find many defenders in these commentary sections, but I would venture many of their supporters have less of this luxury of time than some regular commentators. If every eligible voter who resided in Mountain View had voted (not to mention the huge unrepresented foreign population, the whole gammut between tech worker and pastry maker) and there was a bit more effort on voter outreach and education, I think Siegel and Showalter would have been re-elected.

The RV situation is a consequence of all the short-sighted politics that have plagued the Bay Area over the past few decades. It is a consequence the shortage of affordable housing, of skyrocketing rents, wage stagnation, foreclosures, and the terrible medical system we have in this country.


An excerpt from an affordability study:

When skyrocketing rents force individuals and families to spend an increasingly larger share of their income on housing, it doesn’t just strain household budgets, it can limit growth for the entire region and exacerbate existing racial inequalities. This week, we are highlighting this interplay between housing, economic growth, and racial equity by looking at the Bay Area, where rising housing costs and stagnant wages have hit low-income communities and communities of color hardest, making it difficult for many residents to care for their families, contribute to the local economy, or invest in their future.

Though the Bay Area has never been a low-cost housing market, over the past three years rents have increased precipitously, forcing many households to spend far above the federal standard for affordability: households that spend 30 percent of income on housing are considered “rent burdened.” In the Bay Area, fully half of all renters, and 60 percent of low-income, Black, Latino, and Native American households fall into this category.

Web Link


Don't forget, readers, that the comments on these pages in no way reflect all the views and opinions of city residents. For that, try to go out and talk to your fellow neighbors, but also to those in much different living situations than yours. It is easy to remain in a bubble and not realize the daily struggles facing so many individuals and families here. They too deserve to continue to call this place their home.

Hopefully, they get rid of the RVs I am tired of increasing crime and drug use in Mountain View. If you can't afford to live here then you should leave we could warn these junkie nomads 3 months in advance that they need to leave.