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Four candidates now running for Los Gatos Town Council [Los Gatos Weekly-Times, Calif. :: ]
[July 14, 2014]

Four candidates now running for Los Gatos Town Council [Los Gatos Weekly-Times, Calif. :: ]


(Los Gatos Weekly-Times (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 10--The race is on for Los Gatos Town Council, with four candidates now vying for three council seats. Since the time frame for candidates to file nomination papers runs through Aug. 13, there could be more candidates still to come.



The latest residents to announce their council candidacy are former high school principal James Russell and Los Gatos Parks Commissioner Rob Rennie.

They will be joined on the Nov. 4 ballot by Planning Commissioner Marico Sayoc and incumbent Steve Leonardis, who is running for a second term.


Incumbent council members Diane McNutt and Joe Pirzynski are not seeking re-election.

Russell is a longtime town resident and a retired educator.

"As a 32-year resident of Los Gatos, I will combine my knowledge of the town with my professional background of commonsense leadership to forge consensus solutions to complex problems focused on maintaining the small town charm of Los Gatos," Russell said in a written statement.

Russell spent 31 years working as a teacher, coach and administrator in the Campbell Union High School District. For seven of those years he was principal of Del Mar High School. In 2008, Del Mar became a California Distinguished School under Russell's stewardship.

He was also Leigh High School's principal for 10 years. Leigh was also named a distinguished school during Russell's tenure.

Russell's community involvement includes a 10-year stint on the Los Gatos Drug Free Community Committee. And he chaired the Westside Safe Schools Committee that worked with the San Jose Mayor's Gang Task Force.

He works as a consultant to school districts, providing expert testimony in education lawsuits.

Russell has a master's degree in public administration and a bachelor of arts degree in political science.

Candidate Rennie moved to Los Gatos in 1992 and is an active volunteer with numerous organizations. He will be president of the Los Gatos Morning Rotary Club in 2015-16, serves on the board of the Los Gatos Community Foundation and is a captain of the Almond Grove Community Emergency Response Team.

Rennie also belongs to the Sierra Club.

Rennie cites his love of Los Gatos as a key reason for his candidacy. "I want to preserve the unique character of the town I love, but also the vibrancy," he said in a prepared statement.

Building strong families, making small businesses successful and helping seniors age in place are some of Rennie's priorities. "There are many competing priorities, so we have to stay smart and creative," he said.

Rennie has a 20-year background in the semiconductor industry and works in the solar energy industry.

He has a master's degree in electrical engineering from Dartmouth College and a bachelor's degree in physics and chemistry from Skidmore College.

Rennie's website is robrennie4lgcouncil.com. Russell's website is expected to be online by early August.

___ (c)2014 the Los Gatos Weekly-Times (San Jose, Calif.) Visit the Los Gatos Weekly-Times (San Jose, Calif.) at www.mercurynews.com/los-gatos Distributed by MCT Information Services

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