By Christian Mignot

Mountain View

Eleven potential candidates have collected nomination papers for the city of Mountain View 2002 General Municipal Election. They must be filed by Thursday to appear on the November ballot.

Those who successfully file papers will vy for four positions: three city council offices with four-year terms, and one with a two-year term.

The candidate elected for the two-year term will take the place of Mario Ambra, who was thrown out of office for misconduct in May when he was deemed to have used his public position allegedly to influence city decisions from which he might have benefited financially.

As yet, none of those who have shown interest in the positions have filed their candidacy.

Among the seven potential nominees so far for the four-year seat, current Vice-Mayor Mike Kasperzak, nearing the end of his first term in office, will be the only incumbent elective officer in the race. Kasperzak said he would be filing his candidacy papers by the end of the week.

“It’s going to be a challenging race, and hopefully the work I have done in the past four years will give me an edge,” he said. “But there have been incumbents who ran in the past and were defeated, so I cannot be overly confident.”

Also potentially running for the four-year seat is two-time former Mayor Patricia Figueroa, who served as a council member for 16 years.

Figueroa has spent most of her time over the last three years helping various non-profit community service organizations in Mountain View. She now hopes to redirect her efforts and time toward the city, she said.

The election may also see some new yet not unfamiliar faces taking council seats.

Local businesswoman and community activist Rosiland Bivings, who ran for office in 1992 but lost by 74 votes, said she would be filing her candidacy papers at the end of the week.

“I feel like the community needs a more diverse representation and that what I will bring to this council will appeal to a lot of people,” she said.

Additionally, there are four candidates who may be running for the two-year seat, including Bruce Karney, chairman of the Oldhen Mountain View Neighborhood Association and one of the key figures in the push to defeat Measure N, which would have allowed Home Depot to build a warehouse in a residential area of Mountain View.

Karney hopes that applying for the two-year seat will increase his chances of election.

“There are some really great people looking to run for the four-year seats that I admire greatly and am glad I won’t have to compete with,” he said. “I feel that with the two-year seat I have a really good shot.”

The 2002 General Municipal Election for the city of Mountain View is scheduled to take place Nov. 4. All new elected officials will begin their terms in January 2003.