December 30, 2004


Nancy Pyle: Looking toward the future

Perennial candidate called ‘Seabiscuit’ of Silicon Valley in biggest election upset in recent memory

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

Not many people took educator Nancy Pyle seriously in 1995, when she ran for Councilman Joe Head’s unexpired 18-month term along with five other candidates.

This photo has “3 a.m. you say?” written on it and shows Pyle working on a paper as a college student.

She was a woman. She lacked name recognition.

Political observers would later brand her the perennial candidate.

One alternative newspaper called her boring.

Her adversaries, many in the Republican Party, would even call her a loser.

Most underestimated her.

The petite 5-foot-tall woman, with the piercing blue eyes and reddish brown hair, also lacked the essential big-name endorsements for a win.

During the second race for the city council in 2000, Pyle was called crazy for running against now termed-out Councilwoman Pat Dando, who had gained enormous popularity and was the incumbent.

And when she threw her hat in the political ring in 2004, many again thought she was insane.

“People expected her to lose. They had coined her the losing candidate not to be taken seriously,” said friend Meri Maben.

What her opponents and critics ignored was the tremendous amount of courage Pyle had in running three times.

They also overlooked her dogged tenacity, sheer determination and burning desire to serve in a public role.

Pyle’s laser-focused goal was to become a member of the San Jose City Council. She wouldn’t take no for an answer.

With each failure, Pyle gained name recognition and became more politically savvy.

In 1996, she was elected to the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District Board of Trustees. People began accepting the name and making a connection. When she ran for the third time this March, voters knew Pyle. Many were impressed because she was the only woman running for a city council seat out of 11 candidates in the four districts up for election.

“She didn’t mind putting her name out there,” Maben said. “She invested time, money and effort to run for office. It was her perseverance that got her elected. It was an uphill road to get to where she wanted to go, but she wasn’t afraid to take it on.”

Maben, an Almaden community activist who works as district director for Democratic Congressman Mike Honda, ran with Pyle and Dando in 1995.

After losing during the primary election, Pyle supported Maben who ran against Dando in the general election. Maben said, like Pyle, voters had difficulty taking her seriously because she was female, many voters questioned her ability to lead as she still had children at home.

Maben admired Pyle’s teaching career and knew she would be an effective leader, as she understood family and children’s issues. “She had the skills to do the job and had a strong desire to serve. She knew in her heart that she could represent District 10 well.”

Bets weren’t on Pyle
Many, including Pyle, have found endearing similarities between her political trajectory to the underdog story of the small, crooked-legged thoroughbred racehorse named Seabiscuit who during the Depression came from behind to win by a full nose.

“Size isn’t everything,” Maben said. “When you see a petite woman you may not value what’s inside of her. As a woman, she has done great things for our gender by continuing to fight, overcoming and winning. Like Seabiscuit, she was not the establishment choice. The bets were not on Pyle.”

The establishment has been described as the Mercury News, the police and fire unions, the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Republican Party.

Others called her triumph over opponent Rich De La Rosa by a lead of 414 votes the biggest election upset in recent Silicon Valley memory. During the primary election in March, De La Rosa won by a 12 percentage-point lead over Pyle. De La Rosa finished with nearly 49 percent of the vote, narrowly missing the majority needed for a win.

Pyle received 36 percent of the vote.

While serving as a community college district trustee, Pyle became a close friend of Councilman Ken Yeager, who had been elected a trustee in 1992. Yeager would support her during her bid for the city council in 2000 and 2004, mobilizing the Democratic Party to work on her behalf raising funds, reaching out to voters and walking precincts.

“She was always very effective and knew how to get things done,” Yeager said, recalling how Pyle was the driving force in the passage of the $135.7 million measure I bond campaign to replace buildings at San Jose City College and to build new ones at Evergreen Valley College.

“When people were saying the bond would never pass she was never discouraged and continued on getting it approved by the voters,” he said. “We’ve always been allies. She’s funny, bright and a good listener. She’s someone who likes to strategize.”

Yeager thinks Pyle won because of her determination. “Nobody expected her to win, but she never gave up. She got up every morning, walked precincts, went to bed and started all over again the next day. It was pretty remarkable.”

In terms of politics, Yeager said Pyle would work to reach consensus with fellow council members talking to everyone and finding solutions to challenges that everyone can live with. “She’s a bridge builder. She’s the one who will see solutions we won’t see because she’s new.”

Bert Bonanno, the retired dean of physical education and athletics from San Jose City College, called Pyle “something special for a special time.”

Bonanno said he’s never met anyone with as much energy as Pyle who “does not accept the obvious” and tries to change things around.

“Half the people in this valley thought there was no way she could win. She outworked everyone. She’s a firm believer in that what is right will win out in the long run. She’s hard to discourage.”

Bonanno also described Pyle as having an analytical mind, as being a people person who understands the psychology of life and as being unfairly slammed by several media outlets. “She could have quit, but she didn’t. We have to admire that.”

Bonanno also called Pyle a “giant killer,” referring to the biblical story of the small David and the giant Goliath who was killed with a slingshot and a stone.

Political prowess built from adversity

Pyle’s political prowess was learned studying and practicing during each race. Her resolve was built at a young age to persevere despite failures.

The oldest child of four children in a family where an alcoholic father abused her mother, she would constantly fight to keep the family together and to make their lives happy.

“I was the protector. I tried so hard to keep it a secret. I thought, ‘What would the neighbors think if they knew?’” Pyle said.

Several years ago, she realized she was living a charade when confronted by a sister about the abuse, she continued to try to cover it up. “My sister said, ‘you tried so hard to cover it up, but we all knew.’ She was pretty emotional.”

Nancy Pyle was the oldest child in her family. Here she poses with her younger sister Maureen and middle sister Patty at the tender age of 8.

Pyle has been private about her childhood, until recently when she again showed courage in coming forward to reveal her father’s alcoholism and give hope to those who are struggling with the disease. “If my experience helps one person who is trying to work through their problems then it’s worth shedding my privacy,” she said.

As an older child, she often felt responsible for helping the rest of the family when problems occurred. “It was a lot to put on one person. There weren’t enough agencies available to help. We didn’t have Alcoholics Anon-ymous.”

Pyle was born and raised in the small town of Camillus outside Syracuse, N.Y., in a 100-acre dairy farm where her family grew different crops to feed the dairy herd.

The oldest of four children, Pyle grew up fast, as her parents were always busy working. When her father decided to begin a wholesale business buying eggs from farmers to sell them to restaurants, she was chosen to candle the eggs at the young age of 6. The tedious task of candling required her to hold up the eggs to a light fixture to make sure they were free of defects.

During the candling sessions, Pyle began listening to the radio, which taught her more adult things than any other source, fueling her imagination toward greatness and hope for a better life.

Pyle soon became fascinated by government’s role in people’s lives.

At the time, the government was paying farmers money to not grow certain crops. Her father would not take the money, as poor as they were, as he felt it was not earned.

During one winter storm, Pyle watched from her kitchen window while her family’s crop of sugar beets was destroyed in a matter of minutes. The government purchased the beets to make sugar, which was scarce.
“I agreed with my father that you don’t pay people for things that they don’t earn,” Pyle said.

Young Pyle excelled in academics. Her mother only spoke to her once about grades after a teacher complained Pyle was daydreaming and had received a mediocre grade—a B—in one class.

Her childhood experience with alcoholism explains Pyle’s passionate work to teach children that there’s a better future for them, free of addiction. She’s also served on the YWCA board of directors, which serves many families suffering from addiction.

As a councilmember, Pyle said she would try to lend a hand to those who can’t help themselves. “I believe in teaching people to fish. I don’t believe in handing people fish. That’s the wrong thing to do.”

Her father, now 92 years old, has been sober for 52 years. He lives in a care home in upstate New York. She has reconciled her past and now has a good relationship with her father.

“My family life was so miserable because of the alcoholism that it made me strive harder and push harder. I was willing to do whatever the heck it took to become a success,” she said.

In high school, she worked after school to make enough money to support herself and her family. After graduating, Pyle enrolled at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., where she survived on five hours of sleep every night. Her busy work and academic schedule didn’t allow for more rest. She didn’t know about student loans so she worked about 35 hours a week and carried a full academic load and graduated on time.

In the 1960s, she met her first husband, moving to San Jose. She soon had two children. She then divorced in 1969.

A single mom
Pyle was a single parent for more than a decade, working hard to earn a real estate license and continued teaching while raising her children.

She chose to become an educator because of the great teachers that had touched her life.

She taught for 25 years. She first taught grade school in upstate New York for one year, then taught in Cupertino for three years and then worked for 25 years in the San Jose Unified School District as a teacher and administrator.

In 1982 she met Roger Pyle–a busy electrical engineer working for Ricoh Corporation. Pyle was teaching and selling real estate and was politically involved in the California Teachers Association (CTA).

Both had joined “Great Expectations,” a dating service that allowed them to see prospective partners before dating them. She received a card from Roger asking her out on a date for coffee and after a short courtship romance flourished.

They married in June 27, 1983. He has three children from a previous marriage. “He’s willing to do almost anything to help,” Pyle said. “He’s a make-things-happen kind of person.”

Roger…and many others help Pyle win the election
Pyle said while Roger could have opposed her plans to run for office, he instead embraced her desire and did whatever he could to help her succeed, coordinating volunteers, managing the campaign’s finances and cooking for everyone who helped get his wife elected. He even put up signs to increase her name recognition.

Analyzing the stressful battle for District 10, political observers have concluded Pyle simply out-campaigned her opponent in the contentious race.

Pyle also appealed to many community and women’s groups and school organizations. The Democratic Party helped push her over the edge by telling fellow Democrats that Pyle shared their values. History was made when the San Jose Teacher’s Association endorsed Pyle, which was the first time the Association backed a local candidate. Prior to that the Association only backed candidates on a state level.

Pyle, who is a young 66, said she combed through the district’s 103 precincts, walking most of them during the hot summer months to gain an edge on her opponent.

“This election was his (Rich De La Rosa) to win and he didn’t. Had he put a little more effort into it, he would have been the winner,” she said.

Like Maben, Yeager and Bonanno, Pyle, too, doesn’t think anybody anticipated— not even some of her campaign workers—that she would work as hard as she did and that she would prevail in the end.

“There were a lot of dropped jaws out there,” she said.