The El Camino Hospital District Board of Directors hasn’t had an election in a decade. That changed this year.
Incumbent John Zoglin and challengers Julia Miller and Dennis Chiu took the lead Tuesday night in the five-way race for three seats. Incumbent Wesley Alles was in fourth place, with 98 of 108 precincts reporting.
It is almost certain to be one of the most expensive races ever held for a quiet special district that serves Mountain View, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and Palo Alto. As such, it doesn’t hold elections unless there is a contested race and hasn't for the last decade. The past few years, however, during which the district acquired Los Gatos Hospital outside of its boundaries, was criticized sharply by the Civil Grand Jury, and was reviewed by the Local Area Formation Commission, brought a scrutiny that invited new candidates and appears to have turned out one of its incumbents.
Results
98 of 108 Precincts Reporting (100%)
Votes
Percentage
Vote for 3
El Camino Hospital District Trustee
John Zoglin*
20,931
24.53%
Julia Miller
18,972
22.23%
Dennis Chiu
16,655
19.52%
Wesley Alles
14,664
17%
Bill James
14,115
16.54
*indicates incumbent
Wesley F. Alles
- Occupation: Incumbent
- Senior Research Scholar, Stanford University School of Medicine
- Served on Hospital and District Board for ten years
- Former Chair of the Hospital and District Board
- Service as Committee Chair: Governance, Compliance, Finance
- Advisory Committee: California Department of Public Health
- Founding member, South Bay Business Group on Health
Top Priorities
- Maintain El Camino Hospital as a not-for-profit, locally governed public asset
- Sustain financial viability of hospital while maintaining highest quality of care
- Follow the strategic plan especially employee wellness and population health
More information on Alles on the smartvoter.org site
Dennis W. Chiu
- Occupation: Business Attorney
- Former Vice President & General Counsel, AACI (nonprofit healthcare corporation)
- Former Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel, UIS Technology Partners (IT services corporation)
- Owner, Prodigy Law (acts as outside general counsel to businesses)
- Vice Chair, Santa Clara County Planning Commission
- Commissioner, Sunnyvale Housing & Human Services Commission
- BA, UCLA (1993); JD, Santa Clara University School of Law (1996)
Top Priorities
- Maintain excellent patient care & increase preventative care.
- Increase hospital funding to district health related nonprofits.
- Ensure accountability to district taxpayers by resolving conflicts of interests between taxpayers and the hospital corporation.
More in formation on Chiu on the smartvoter.org site
Bill James
- Occupation: Attorney
- Patent attorney - built, together with partners, a thriving local patent firm based in Cupertino
- J.D. Stanford Law School (1994)
- B.S. United States Naval Academy (1986)
- Married father of three young children, active parent volunteer in the schools and as an AYSO soccer coach
- Fulbright Scholar (Mexico 2000-2001)
- Board Member and past Secretary, Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills (2006-present)
Top Priorities
- Provide comprehensive care to all District residents at affordable prices
- Maintain the financial health of El Camino Hospital
- Keep El Camino Hospital under local, District control
More information on Bill James on the smartvoter.org site
Julia E. Miller
- Occupation: Small Business Owner
- Mayor and Council Member Sunnyvale
- Lockheed Martin employee
- Staff Assistant, Congressman Norman Y Mineta
Top Priorities
- Transparent of decisions available to the public
- Accountability to the community
- Equitable health services to the community
More information on Miller at the smartvoter.org site
John Zoglin
- Occupation: Director, El Camino Hospital District
- eCommerce and Digital Marketing Executive
- Increased El Camino Hospital (ECH) transparency by adding 24 community members to 6 new oversight committees
- Doubled ECH community benefit dollars reinvested ($5.5M) in community healthcare providers (e.g. paying for school nurses)
- Expanded the Women's Hospital, Stroke Center, Heart and Vascular Institute, South Asian Heart Center and Chinese Health Initiative
- Graduated from local public grade, junior and high schools
- Harvard College, BA 1978; Stanford University, MBA, 1984
Top Priorities
- Continuum of Care: Focus on quality of care not just within the confines of the hospital campuses, but throughout the District.
- Affordability: With healthcare costs continuing to escalate, El Camino Hospital must also do whatever we can to make health care affordable.
- Independent --accountable to all stakeholders, not any special interest group while maintaining ECH as an, award-winning, independent hospital
More information on Zoglin on smartvoter.org
