Council candidate wins by one vote — yes, just one
Lisa Schmidt received 2,495 votes in the recent election and eked out a win against Jay Sutaria
LOS ALTOS HILLS >> It’s a slogan that gets repeated over and over during an election — every vote counts! — but for Lisa Schmidt, it has a much more personal meaning.
The Los Altos Hills resident and now newly elected councilwoman decided to run for a shot at three open seats on the council and found herself in a tight race. As of Dec. 14, Schmidt appears to have won by a single vote against her opponent, Facebook software engineer Jay Sutaria, and will serve a two-year term. That’s right, just one vote. During the initial count on Election Day and the days after, the margin fluctuated a little bit. By the end, Schmidt was ahead by one vote, with 2,495 to Sutaria’s 2,494, which triggered a recount.
“I tried to be hopeful; of course I wanted to be a council member because that’s why I ran,” Schmidt said. “But it was so close that I said, ‘If it doesn’t happen, that’s OK, too; there are other roles to fill in the town that are helpful.'”
But as of noon Dec. 14, election officials said Schmidt kept her lead and will head to the council along with Linda Swan, who came in first place, and Stanley Mok, who came in second place. All three will replace outgoing Mayor Michelle Wu and Council members Courtenay
Corrigan and Roger Spreen.
The tight council race is by no means an outlier for the area — but it is the only one that has been this close. In Mountain View, a recount is still underway for a fourth seat on the City Council, with just 58 votes separating candidates Pat Showalter and Alex Nuñez.
In neighboring Los Altos four years ago, Lynette Lee Eng and Neysa Fligor were separated by just five votes.
Small margins have determined key races in the past, too.
In the East Bay, a 1992 Martinez school board race saw Howard Barto lose out to Bob Repicky after Barto cast three votes, including one for himself and one for Repicky. If he had just voted for himself, he would have won.
Probably the last time a council race was determined by a single vote in the Bay Area was in Benicia in 1992.
Schmidt chalks her win up to knowing more people, but she also said it shows what one vote means in a hillside community like Los Altos Hills. She said just 160 votes separated the firstplace candidate from the last-place candidate.
“I think this tells you that our town is pretty small,” Schmidt said. “Everyone I talk to says that it’s their vote; it’s been fun. I guess it’s me knowing a few more people and having a lot of more personal support, but I’m kind of baffled.”
Though “naturally disappointed by the outcome,” Sutaria said he wishes Schmidt “the best of luck” in her new position. Sutaria ran as part of a three-candidate slate along with Mok and Swan, and his loss denies the organized group a majority on the five-member council.
Sutaria said he’s pleased to see two of the three members of his slate joining the City Council next year.
“Our goal in running as a slate was never about voting one way or the other on any particular issue, but rather about a shared commitment to honesty, transparency and fairness in our local government,” Sutaria said. “I hope that other members of the council will work with them to put these values into action.”
Despite the upset, Sutaria said he’ll remain a vocal member of the Los Altos Hills community in crafting its policy. He said he hasn’t made a decision on running again in 2022.
“I have been active in Los Altos Hills’ civic life since moving to this town seven years ago,” he said. “And I intend to stay involved in the issues that contribute to quality of life in our community.”
For Schmidt, her election clearly demonstrates how every interaction with a voter is key.
“I think it dramatically indicates that every vote counts,” she said. “You can’t get a much better example of that, and it’s absolutely true. Of 12,605 votes cast, that one vote made the difference. Don’t ever think your vote doesn’t make a difference.”