Dist. 5 Supervisors Race Narrows to 4

Mountain View City Councilwoman Margaret Abe-Koga's announcement Thursday that she would  for Santa Clara County Supervisor narrowed the field to four possible contenders.

It appears to have encouraged, not discouraged, the only other female candidate in the race, former Saratoga Councilwoman Kathleen King.

"She was a good candidate and we've worked together in the past and I admire her a lot," King said of Abe-Koga to Patch. "But it gets a lot easier to have two of us versus three especially, since having the other woman drop out perhaps enhances my race for supervisor."

District 5, currently represented by Supervisor Liz Kniss, who is termed out of the office, includes Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Stanford, Mountain View, Cupertino, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, part of San Jose, and unincoporated Santa Clara County, stretching from Monte Sereno and Saratoga borders in the south to Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills in the north.

To King's dissatisfaction, however, Abe-Koga decided to endorse state Senator Joe Simitian.

"I'm disappointed that with my experience Margaret didn't endorse me instead of Joe," she said, adding that she has skills developed from her time in the corporate, public and non-profit arenas that set her apart from Simitian.

"But that's the way this goes politically. I have strong people who have endorsed me and perhaps some who had endorsed her will now support me."

Simitian sounded enthusiastic as he told Patch about Abe-Koga's support. "I greatly appreciate her generosity to play an active role on the campaign."

As Abe-Koga ended her campaign, other potential candidates—some who have flirted with the idea but had not officially announced—began to come forward.

Cupertino City Councilman Barry Chang, told Patch today, that he's "emphatically" running for the 5th District seat, along with Simitian and King.

"Even if President Obama came here and said he was running for it, I am running, no matter what," Chang said.

Former Cupertino Councilwoman Kris Wang has also , but as of December was only "exploring the option."

Without Wang officially in the race, if a man wins the election there will be no women on the Board of County Supervisors, King said.

Nonetheless, the race "is looking to be a lively and competitive election," Simitian said. 

And he's the one who came up with Abe-Koga's endorsement.

"I'm in a better position today than I was yesterday with her support."

Additional reporting by Patch contributors Pam Marino and Crystal Tai.