March 4, 2004

District 10 election forces solo City Council seat runoff
De La Rosa versus Pyle in November election

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

As the primary election gives way to morning-after results, District 10 voters find that another trip back to the polls in November will be needed to decide who will replace termed-out Pat Dando in the only City Council seat runoff in San Jose.

While Rich De La Rosa was the top vote getter among the candidates, with 48 percent of the total, Nancy Pyle landed 36 percent—forcing a second round of campaigning. Newcomer Ron Siporen captured 10 percent and William Garbett pulled in 5 percent.

In the other City Council races, incumbents Forrest Williams, Chuck Reed and Ken Yeager all breezed to victory, while Dave Corteze ran unopposed.

During a post-election party at Amatos Pizzeria Tuesday night, De La Rosa thanked his family—especially his wife Misty—for making the campaign “a wonderful experience” and issuing kudos to key players, community leaders, supporters and the media for making it a successful effort. “You really helped with your endorsements to get the word out to the people that there was going to be a new sheriff in town,” he said. “It's amazing to have this kind of support behind me. Now, we're going to run this campaign as if we were behind. It starts over as far as we're concerned.

“This race doesn't get off the ground without the queen of District 10—Pat Dando,” De La Rosa added. “The best thing that can happen to me now is that she becomes my next boss.”

In the opposite corner, Nancy Pyle remains determined to defeat De La Rosa in the November runoff election, citing low voter turnout as a major player in the results.

“Considering the fact that I was totally the underdog, it wasn't an easy task to keep De La Rosa from winning it outright,” she said. “However, it did not come out the way we had anticipated because the voter turnout was so abysmal. My plan now is to just get busy, strategize and work hard—to paint a picture of who I am, to find myself as a candidate, and find better ways to bring more to District 10. We're getting geared up.”