Perez Narrowly Wins Second Bid for City Council Seat

An Olympic gold medalist grabbed the bronze in his second bid for a seat on the Foster City City Council.

But a third-place finish was as good as gold for Herb Perez, the 52-year-old free-spending political outsider who was elected to the council Tuesday night by a razor-thin margin.

Perez spent more than $36,000 – more than the rest of the field combined according to the latest filings – to beat 42-year-old insurance agent Jennifer Minkey-Selvitella by 65 votes.

“What we did this time was we reached out to every voter in Foster City so they would have an understanding of what my message and what my vision was for the city,” said Perez, a gold medal winner in tae kwon do in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics who owns a Foster City martial arts studio.

“I think what resonated with voters was that we need to think about the future of our Foster City families, from our children who are going to schools which I am committed to, and to our seniors who need a place where they can age responsibly and respectfully.

“I look forward to working with the four other people on the city council.”

Voters returned incumbent Vice Mayor Art Kiesel to a second term. Kiesel, 68, garnered 21.4 percent of the ballots cast.

“I’m gratified that the residents of Foster City want me in there to forge ahead in these difficult economic times,” Kiesel said. “I look forward to the challenge.”

Staunch Kiesel ally Steve Okamoto, a 69-year-old retired financial consultant, led all vote-getters with 22 percent of the vote.

“I think that (the voters) appreciated the fact that I am prepared to take office,” Okamoto said. “I attended every council meeting, every budget study session, and in all my appearances they felt that I was professional, under control, and that I cared about what was in the best interests of the city.”

Minkey-Selvitella tallied 17.8 percent of the vote.

She lost despite the backing of some political heavyweights and powerful interest groups.  Her supporters included outgoing Mayor Linda Koelling, Kiesel and Okamoto. She also had the endorsement of the Foster City Firefighters Association.

Bill Schwarz, a 70-year-old accountant with a Harvard MBA who ran as a budget hawk, finished fifth with 1,028 votes (10.2 percent), just two votes ahead of Patrick Sullivan, a 58-year-old real estate broker and substitute teacher.

Kiesel’s reelection followed a historic pattern of Foster City voters returning incumbents.

An elected councilmember hasn’t lost a reelection bid in Foster City in 16 years, and an incumbent hasn’t lost in 14 years.

The last elected incumbent to lose a council race was Owen Bramlett (1995). Voters rejected incumbent David Kruss in a 1997 election a year after he was appointed to fill a seat vacated by Peter Yee. Kruss had been elected to the council in 1980 and also won a 1977 special election. 

Kiesel attributed Foster City’s incumbent-friendly environment to a reputation for sound management it’s had for at least 20 years.

“We’ve got money, we’ve got a great park system, and we don’t have a pothole in the city, it’s just been run well and the budget’s been well managed,” Kiesel said.

“We’ve been fiscally responsible, and now that economy’s hurting, we have some fat to live off of.”