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Menlo filing deadline extended By Sandy Brundage Almanac Staff Writer
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he pool of Menlo Park City Council candidates shrank by one, as Councilman Andy Cohen decided not to follow through on running for a third term. Candidates Dave Bragg, Ray Mueller, Catherine Carlton, Kelly Fergusson and Carolyn Clarke collected the required 20 signatures from city residents and filed their paperwork by Aug. 10. With one incumbent not running, the deadline to file is extended until 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, according to the city clerk’s office. Although campaign season now officially begins, the candidates have already been busy building support. Ms. Carlton counts former council members John Boyle and Mickie Winkler among her endorsements, along with Councilman Peter Ohtaki,
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Commissioner Kelly Blythe and Menlo Park Fire Protection District board member Virginia Chang-Kiraly. As for the single incumbent seeking re-election, Ms. Fergusson announced endorsements
Incumbent Andy Cohen decides not to run for a third term. from local business owners Clark Kepler, Nick Sharma, Kathleen Daly, as well as Supervisor Dave Pine and Planning Commisioner Katie Ferrick. She said several former mayors are also backing her campaign. Some of the same names pop up on Mr. Mueller’s extensive list of endorsements — Mr. Boyle, Ms. Winkler and Ms. Ferrick, for example — although he’s gotten
the support of the entire Planning Commission as well as the Transportation Commission. Both Ms. Fergusson and Mr. Mueller filed campaign finance reports as well. The councilwoman reported $3,355 in contributions from Jan. 1 through June 30; that includes $2,500 she loaned herself. Fourteen donors chipped in; some, like fire district board member Rob Silano, downtown business owner Mark Flegel and Burlingame Councilwoman Terry Nagel, gave $100 apiece. Mr. Mueller’s balance sheet showed $2,700 — all from himself — for June 1 through June 30. First elected to the council in 2004, Mr. Cohen, 72, wasn’t immediately available for comment on his decision to not seek re-election. He ran for the county Board of Supervisors earlier this year, but failed to make the run-off during the June primary, coming in sixth out of seven candidates with 4,723 votes.
Almanac News Editor
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he period for filing candidate papers in the race for a seat on the Las Lomitas School District board has been extended until Wednesday, Aug. 15, because the two incumbents are not seeking re-election. But with both incumbents in the Menlo Park City School District board race running, the filing period closed Aug. 10 for that race for two board seats — and because no one else filed papers, there will be no contest in that race. Maria Hilton and Jeff Child will retain their seats for another four-year term. Las Lomitas board President
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Maria Doktorczyk and member John Macdonald will step down when their terms end this year, Ms. Doktorczyk told the Almanac. As of the Almanac’s press time on Monday, there is only one candidate for the two open seats in the Las Lomitas race: Retired attorney Bill Steinmetz of Ladera filed his papers last week. Mr. Steinmetz is the father of three daughters; two will be at La Entrada Middle School, and one will be a first-grader at Las Lomitas School this year. He told the Almanac that he chose to run for a seat on the
board after being asked to do so by a number of people, and deciding that “I do have things I can bring to the table.” Those things include his experience as an attorney, which involved work in mediation and arbitration. Also, before his law career, Mr. Steinmetz was a civil engineer who managed construction projects and dealt with employee unions. With the district poised to tackle facilities issues, primarily because of a burgeoning enrollment, his experience as an on-site field engineer will allow him to contribute a valuable perspective to the board’s decision-making process, he said.
a water stop along the way. The Rotary Club provides emergency and technical support (SAG) over all three routes that is accessible by phone. Proceeds from the ride support various Rotary projects, including tutoring Englishlanguage learners and providing need-based scholarships to local high school students. In addition, funds from the Tour support the Almanac’s Holiday Fund, which makes donations to 10 local nonprofit agencies that help the hungry, homeless and youths who need counseling in southern San Mateo Country. In last year’s ride, the 65-mile route was by far the most popu-
What Title Insurance Insures Dear Monica. I am buying a property owned by several trusts, and the language in the title report’s vesting paragraph lists each owner as well as their share of the ownership. Am I protected if after escrow closes it is found that vesting was incorrectly written and the transfer of title was therefore wrongly done? Jon D Dear Jon: This is one of the many areas in which title insurance is so important. The title company through the escrow process is responsible for trans-
ferring the title from one owner to another, and then recording that change of ownership. You as a buyer obtain title insurance to protect you if the chain of title is incorrect or wrongly recorded. Your title insurance policy covers you for this risk. Despite this protection you should still read the preliminary title report carefully and make sure to have all of your questions answered adequately. If you find an error or you think you do, let your agent and the title company know about it to avoid problems later.
For answers to any questions you may have on real estate, you may e-mail me at mcorman@apr.com or call 462-1111, Alain Pinel Realtors. I also offer a free market analysis of your property. www.MonicaCorman.com
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Hundreds expected for Tour de Menlo Registration for this year’s Tour de Menlo bike ride will be accepted until 9 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at Menlo-Atherton High School, where the ride starts and finishes. Ride officials expect up to 500 cyclists to take part in the annual event, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Menlo Park and the Almanac. The Tour features three routes of 65, 45 and 35 miles. The $50 ($60 for those who register on ride day) entry fee includes a T-shirt and lunch prepared by Lutticken’s Deli at the Picchetti Open Space Reserve in Cupertino, as well as fully stocked rest stops and
by Monica Corman
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Extended deadline for Las Lomitas; no contest in Menlo Park district By Renee Batti
R EAL E STATE Q&A
lar, taking riders up to Belmont and the first rest stop on Polhemus Road. Then, after climbing up to the bike bridge, riders head south to Canada Road in Woodside and then to the Portola Road firehouse near Alpine Road to the second rest stop. Go to tourdemenlo.com for more information and to find a link to sign up online, which is available until Aug. 17. Riders may also sign up at M-A until 9 a.m. on ride day. It is still possible to order this year’s tour jersey, which will be delivered about eight weeks after the ride. For more information, call Tom at 223-6507.
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