By Lauren McSherry

In the race for Los Altos City Council a background in city government may not have impacted voters as much as raising children in the community. Two high-profile parents with moderate agendas - Val Carpenter and Kurt Colehower - claimed and maintained early leads in the race for council in last week’s election.

Colehower has four children attending Los Altos schools and Carpenter is a local Girl Scout leader whose two daughters attended Pinewood School. The council newcomers will be sworn in Dec. 6.

Of the four candidates vying for two seats on the council, Carpenter, a planning commissioner, swept the Nov. 8 election with 35 percent of the vote. Colehower, a businessman with an office downtown, captured nearly 29 percent. Randall Hull, also a planning commissioner, picked up 26 percent, and Chris Croudace, who did not have a ballot statement, received 10 percent.

Colehower, a third-generation Los Altan, and Carpenter, who served on the historical commission before her appointment to tthe planning commission, shared two positions in their campaigns - protecting Los Altos’ small-town charm and promoting local business interests.

Until election results started rolling in last Tuesday, it was unclear which of the three strongest candidates - Carpenter, Hull and Colehower - would lead the race. Croudace appeared to be a one-issue candidate, having been motivated to run out of opposition to the 5100 El Camino Real housing project.

Jane Turnbull, past president of the Mountain View-Los Altos League of Women Voters, was personally surprised that Hull trailed Colehower, who has no prior city government experience.

Issues such as the condominium project planned for 5100 El Camino Real, Rosita pool and the stalled hotel project on Main Street did not appear to have played much of a role in voters’ decisions, and they were barely touched upon during the campaigns, she said. A theme that did emerge, however, was preserving the status quo.

“I think the electorate decided we want to focus on Los Altos as it has been, not on how it can be,” she said, “and I hope I’m wrong.”

That opinion was also reflected in comments from outgoing Councilman John Moss.

“I think in general the voters are interested in having Los Altos be a great place to live and raise a family,” he said. “People want their neighborhoods to continue unchanged.”

Katie Matice, co-president of the Los Altos-Mountain View Parent-Teacher Association council, said, in her personal opinion, the deciding factor for the council race, and in particular Colehower’s win, may have been a strong turnout by parents to vote for school board candidates, despite the fact that parents in the Los Altos School District only comprise 18 percent of registered voters.

“I believe parents came out in droves for the school board election,” she said. “I think perhaps Colehower benefited from that. There’s certainly a common bond with fellow parents.”

Carpenter said two factors that helped her win were her 15 years as a Los Altos resident and name recognition from her previous run.

She also said that she was the most conservative candidate next to Croudace regarding development, and that voters identified with her “sensible progress” platform - balancing development with maintaining the character of neighborhoods.

“I think people move to Los Altos because they like it the way it is,” she said. “We have to do some redevelopment, but I don’t think people want us to change that much.”

Colehower also highlighted balancing development needs, particularly strengthening the downtown, with keeping Los Altos a family-friendly community as playing a key role in his win. He cited a need to resolve contentious development issues, such as the Rosita pool debate and the 5100 El Camino project, so that the city and residents don’t end up opposing one another.

“We’ve got one, if not two, lawsuits pending against the city,” he said. “What a lot of residents are noticing is that you have these standoffs taking place and they’re not healthy. I think people feel that when things like that happen, there’s a failure in the process.”

Overall, the school board and council races spurred residents to get out and cast their votes in Los Altos.

Elaine Larson of the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters said there was higher voter turnout in Los Altos and Palo Alto, two cities with city council and school board seats up for grabs, than in surrounding cities. Approximately 43 percent of registered voters in Los Altos participated in the Nov. 8 election, she said.

Of countywide voting, Larson said, “I think it was a better-than-expected turnout. It looks like it’s going to be close to 45 percent. That’s good for a special election.”

About 20,000 absentee ballots remained uncounted in Santa Clara County as of press deadline, according to the city clerk.