By Bruce Barton

Los Altos Hills City Council candidate Steve Hubbell surprised supporters and opponents alike last week when he dropped out of the council race.

“I’m thinking of putting up a poster in polling places to let (voters) know I’m not running,” said the 51-year-old engineer. Hubbell said he decided to drop out because he felt his running would hurt the election chances of his preferred candidates, Breene Kerr and Dean Warshawsky.

“My feelings about the town are stronger than my own feelings of success,” Hubbell said, adding he didn’t want to be a “Ralph Nader.” Democrats blamed Nader in the 2000 general election for Al Gore’s defeat by President Bush.

Supporters of Warshawsky and Kerr also were concerned Hubbell, an enigmatic candidate who was not campaigning, would take votes away from their candidates. Warshawsky and Kerr are basically running as a slate against another pair of running mates, Janet Vitu and Bill Kerns.

“That was a classy thing for him to do,” Warshawsky said. “It’s for the good of the town. Steve is ultimately above personal ambition and is trying to bring our town together.”

Kerr and Warshawsky backers told the Town Crier they tried to talk Hubbell out of running for council early on, but Hubbell “stuck to his guns,” as one supporter said. Their consensus was that Hubbell was not yet ready for “prime time.”

But Hubbell unexpectedly scored points with the audience at the Oct. 16 Los Altos Hills candidates forum and won an endorsement from the Town Crier. His call for “boring town government” drew both laughs and support from the election forum crowd. These successes, however, made Kerr realize, after reflection, he could hurt more than help the cause for a better city council.

“He’s doing it in the best interests of the town,” said Duffy Price, secretary of the Hills 2000 group. “Steve is above personal ambition.”

Hubbell said he plans on running again but will first serve on a few town committees to better understand and get acquainted with the workings of town government.