John Vidovich
Age: 50
Family: Married with three daughters, one son
Job: Farmer, almonds, raisins and pistachios; builder; De Anza Properties
Background: Born in Palo Alto, grew up in unincorporated Los Altos Hills
Moved to Los Altos Hills: Six years ago
Challenger John Vidovich brings irreverent energy to the table and enters the city council race as a relative newcomer to town politics, but with regional civic experience.
His campaign quickly centered on the schools issue, and Vidovich describes the community’s schools as its “most important infrastructure.” Although his children went to parochial schools for the most part, Vidovich is a longtime supporter of the Los Altos School District and said he supports the schools in any area he develops.
His 15-year Quarry Hill development project made Vidovich a familiar name in Los Altos Hills and gave him an introduction to the town’s government and development policy.
“I come from the discipline of building and development, and good or bad - that’s what the town does,” Vidovich said. “The current rules are fair and the fast-track process is really good.” But, he added, he sees erosion in the council’s attitude toward residents who come with development projects and in such reforms as the eucalyptus and highly visible lots ordinances.
“They’re going back to more control. Subjective control leads to prejudice.
“If the council were doing fine, I wouldn’t run,” Vidovich said. While he expressed respect for the other candidates, he said the council had become too exclusionary, and added, “I really think the majority of the Hills doesn’t want to redistrict.”
He opposes the town’s recent energy-efficiency requirements, saying the statewide standards are stringent enough.
Vidovich has served on the Santa Clara County Planning Commission, the Community School of Music and Arts Board and an Agricultural Water Board in Kings County, where he farms.
“I enjoy the Hills because we’ve created a community where I live, where we know everybody - we all get along,” Vidovich said. The runner and tennis player describes farming as his passion and tends a home vineyard.
“I like the rural nature of the Hills, and the diversity of both the people and housing types,” he said.
Breene Kerr
Age: 54
Family: Married with four daughters, one son
Job: Marketing and communications in high-tech industry, freelance writer and alternative energy consultant
Background: Grew up in Oklahoma and Washington, D.C.
Moved to Los Altos Hills: Eight years ago
Incumbent Breene Kerr waxes eloquent when he describes the projects he was proud to oversee on the council.
“We helped re-establish Los Altos Hills as a leader in environmental issues,” he said, citing the open space initiative, improving and enlarging the pathways system and making the town a leader in solar energy and energy-efficiency.
Kerr said the personal satisfaction he gets from seeing such projects succeed is one reason he is running again for office. Another recent success is the town’s increasing presence on a regional level. His interactions with county officials helped produce a half-million-dollar annual windfall for the town with the passage of AB 117 and increased funding from the Valley Transportation Authority for pathway improvement.
Kerr stands by the council’s lawsuit against the Los Altos School District and the redistricting petition to the county, but he said he sees potential for cooperation with the district in the development of the Bullis-Purissima campus in Los Altos Hills. The development of town playing fields, perhaps at that campus, is of interest to Kerr because they could provide space for female athletes, who are underserved by the Little League fields. He has volunteered to serve on LASD’s committee planning that development.
“Regardless of the strained relations, I would like to see that what they do over there has green, sustainable elements like the town hall does,” he added.
“You have to have a thick skin,” Kerr said of serving on the council. But it is worth weathering criticism and anger to see public-sector projects “actually getting done” he said. Kerr said the Westwind Barn renovations and Moody Road pathway improvements were two particular places where his get-it-done talents could help the town.
Kerr’s interest in alternative energy and sustainability extends to his personal life, where he enjoys off-road biking with his son and rides a motorcycle, which he describes as “a good way to have fun without using a lot of gas.” His travels around the state have given him perspective on his neighbors in Los Altos Hills - the best part of living in the town.
Dean Warshawsky
Age: 37
Family: Married with a son
Job: sales and marketing at a software startup
Background: Born in Detroit, grew up in Ohio
Moved to Los Altos Hills: Four years ago
The current mayor of Los Altos Hills, Dean Warshawsky is the young enthusiast of the council. Asked how he stood out from the other candidates and members of the council, Warshawsky put it simply: “I think I have more fun at the job.”
He described the council’s and his own involvement in the school redistricting process as an effort to give residents a means to express their opinions. “Ultimately the county and voters will make the decision,” he said. “Let the voters figure this out.”
Warshawsky said his biggest function as a councilmember is to “stay out of residents’ lives,” preserve the rural character of the town and “uphold the values that got people there in the first place.”
He stressed three goals in the upcoming council term: infrastructure improvements, a stable development process for homeowners and moderate implementation of green ordinances.
“We want to provide carrots, not sticks,” Warshawsky said. “I would prefer a more educational, incentive-based” policy.
Two projects he dedicated particular energy to in his current term are undergrounding utilities and improving wireless coverage throughout town. Two cell-phone towers are currently in construction on town-owned land and three more permit applications have been filed. Construction on two undergrounding pilot projects is expected to begin next summer. The town is using PG&E funding to remove utility poles from the roads along Byrne Preserve and the Little League fields.
During his time on the council Warshawsky served on the Joint Policy Collaborative, a regional government and business organization; the board of the Housing Trust, a Silicon Valley non-profit for affordable housing; and the Joint Community Volunteer Service Awards Committee.
“I always look forward to meeting and getting to know our amazing residents,” Warshawsky said, adding that the town’s people and its scenic beauty were two things he valued most about the community.
Running the town’s pathways is one of his favorite pastimes, in addition to mountain biking.
“The toughest part of being on the council is saying no to worthwhile ideas because they don’t fit into our budget,” he said.
