By Town Crier Staff

Voters will have an eclectic choice of candidates during this November’s Los Altos City Council race. Eight residents have thrown their names into the race for the three available four-year seats, City Clerk Susan Kitchens confirmed after the filing deadline Aug. 13. Jeffrey Martin was the only potential candidate to pull papers, who did not file.

The list of contenders includes the city’s youngest candidate ever; the first candidate in more than 30 years to seek a third, consecutive term; the first African-American; and two people making a second try for a council seat.

Incumbent Francis La Poll will seek his third, consecutive term on the council while Christopher Nicholson, 18, will seek his first position in public office. Nicholson recently graduated from Los Altos High School. Jeannice Samani is the first African-American woman to put her name on the ballot. This is Ron Packard’s second time on the ballot. He lost by a small margin in 1992. Stephen Smiley, an engineer, unsuccessfully ran against John Moss and King Lear in 1997.

Other candidates include Val Carpenter, David Casas and Curtis Cole.

Carpenter has experience serving on the historical commission; Casas has served on the Los Altos School Board and Parks Commission; and Cole is a member of the planning commission.