Elizabeth Lewis, Vice Mayor of Atherton and the only incumbent running for one of two seats on the Atherton City Council, has received a notable degree of bi-partisan support. While Elizabeth is a registered Republican, been endorsed by Virginia Chang Kiraly and the San Mateo County Republican Party, Vice Mayor Lewis has won recognition and endorsements from a number of high profile Democrats in our Region, including Rich Gordon, our district’s State Senator and Dave Pine and Don Horsley, both San Mateo County Supervisors, among others.
In addition, Ms. Lewis has received endorsements from leading Republican residents, including Didi and John Fisher, both former mayors and leaders in the “No on Measure F” campaign, along with an impressive array of Democratic residents, including Rick DeGolia, a leading fundraiser for Obama among Valley tech mavens, and Valerie Gardner, a former Environmental Programs Committee member and one of the town’s staunchest environmental advocates.
Such widespread endorsements give credence to claims by many supporters that Ms. Lewis has been working hard to address concerns of residents, to hear what they feel about the issues, without imposing her own preferences on the town. Ms. Lewis has built a reputation among her colleagues for showing up to meetings, doing her homework, and calmly and with irrepressible cheer and good humor, articulating the concerns and interests that she hears expressed by residents, thereby winning considerable respect for her clear-eyed approach as a public servant.
With her consistency and steadfast adherence to dealing with town and regional matters with poise and professionalism, Lewis has managed to win the respect of many residents who had previously heard harsh accusations leveled at Ms. Lewis personally during the 2008 campaign, a tactical approach which Ms. Lewis chose not to return. Ms. Lewis won a first term, and in spite of ongoing turmoil on the council during her first term, Ms. Lewis steered a straight course to help residents feel well represented, demurring from expressing her own personal opinions in her desire to serve as the elected representative of all residents. Ms. Lewis’ positive ratings with residents and broad-based endorsements from community leaders, speak strongly to the success she earned in her first term on the council.
