May 6, 2004

District 10 candidate seeks campaign consultant
Considers backing of biggest labor union

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

San Jose City Council District 10 candidate Nancy Pyle is searching for a new campaign consultant as her former advisor, Morgan Hill Councilman Greg Sellers, concentrates full time on a bid for mayor.

“Both Greg and I came to the mutual conclusion that with him running for mayor, trying to be a candidate and a consultant, is a really big job and probably too much for one person,” explained Pyle of the decision to let Sellers go. “It wouldn’t have been wise to continue for neither one of us.”

Pyle and candidate Rich De La Rosa are headed for a political showdown in the upcoming November runoff election.

De La Rosa finished ahead of Pyle in the March 2 primary election, but below the 50 percent and one-vote majority needed to win. The seat represents Almaden Valley, Santa Teresa, and Blossom Valley.

The 65-year-old Evergreen Community College trustee said she’s strategizing her campaign to improve her voting numbers in the next election since she came in a distant second from De La Rosa, “because we can’t do things the same way and expect different results.”

Of five municipal council campaigns up for grabs in March, only District 10 did not have a returning incumbent as Vice Mayor Pat Dando was termed out.

Dando has endorsed De La Rosa, 51, a Blossom Valley insurance agent.

Pyle has twice run unsuccessfully against Dando. Both candidates espoused job recovery and helping business.

“With more strategy I’ll do considerably better,” said a hopeful Pyle, adding that the fall presidential election may help more Almaden voters hit the polls giving her their votes. “I consider myself a ‘publicrat,’ ” answered Pyle when asked about her political affiliation.

“Greg is going to continue as a friend, as a supporter,” she added.

In the meantime, Pyle said she’s considering the support of the nation’s largest and most influential labor union, the AFL-CIO, an important boost for her in her attempt to edge out De La Rosa.

“It’s on the table,” she said, explaining that the powerful labor union will interview De La Rosa and herself and then back one of them.

Pyle ran for the first time in 1996 for the conservative council seat.

Sellers, 42, a campaign consultant for 12 years, said he was sad to stop representing Pyle because they’ve been close friends for about six years. “It was good working together…but I’m helping her out with the selection of a new consultant.”

Sellers, former campaign consultant for Assemblyman Simon Salinas, D-Salinas, helped Pyle develop and implement her campaign strategy. Pyle is now concentrating on what additional issues she wants to focus on during the campaign and the most effective way to communicate with voters.

Sellers said parting ways with Pyle at this stage during the campaign would not adversely affect Pyle because according to campaign finance law she can’t spend money on hiring a campaign consultant until six months before the election. “I think it will be a smooth transition. The foundation is there. Nancy is a seasoned campaigner. She knows what she’s doing. She just needs someone to refine her message and refine the details,” said Sellers. “She’s going to be in great shape.”

De La Rosa became well known when he represented the Tropicana Shopping Center’s merchant association during its victorious legal battle to stop the San Jose Redevelopment Agency from seizing the aging mall. His family members operate a store at the center.

Last week, ex-congressman Tom Campbell announced his support of De La Rosa for San Jose City Council.
“Economic issues have always been one of my top concerns—that’s why I am endorsing Rich De La Rosa,” said Campbell, former Congressman representing the Almaden area.

“Rich will provide a needed balance to the City Council—and a voice with real business experience,” continued the former Stanford University Law School professor. “The City is losing a very strong voice for sensible economic policy with Pat Dando leaving due to term limits. The City and the region will need Rich De La Rosa to help bring back jobs, keep the economic recovery moving and provide balance on the City Council.”

Campbell, who serves as Dean of the UC Berkley Haas School of Business, joins other De La Rosa supporters, which include former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnerey, Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, former Assemblyman Jim Cunneen, former San Jose Councilman John Diquisto and Evergreen College Trustee Dawn Wright. De La Rosa has also won the endorsement of a host of business leaders, including the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Pyle has been endorsed by U.S. Congressman Mike Honda, Evergreen Community College District Chancellor Geraldine Evans, Former San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer, San Jose City College President Chui L. Tsang, and Evergreen Valley College President Clay Whitlow.