Sunnyvale City District 3 Councilmember candidate Murali Srinivasan is congratulated by his family and supporters after his name was drawn to be the next District 3 councilmember on Jan. 3, 2023, at Sunnyvale City Hall. The election was decided by drawing a name from a bag on Jan 3, 2023 at Sunnyvale City Hall. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
An election for a Sunnyvale city council seat that was stuck for weeks in limbo after three ballot counts failed to determine a winner came down to two envelopes, one blue tote bag and whole lot of shaking on Tuesday.
Candidates Murali Srinivasan and Justin Wang wrote their names on pieces of paper, put them in envelopes and placed those chances in the bag at City Hall. City Clerk David Carnahan shook the sack and gave each of them a chance to shake the bag themselves before drawing a single name for the District 3 seat.
Nearly two months after the Nov. 8 election and two recounts, Srinivasan was declared the winner of Sunnyvale’s District 3 city council seat. Actually, he was declared the winner for a second time, but the first time didn’t stick.
Srinivasan said he was relieved the election was finally over.
“Today’s draw was a good ending — not because I won, but because the uncertainty has been resolved,” he said. “This kind of uncertainty should not be prolonged for more than what is required.”
He said he looks forward to finding ways for Sunnyvale residents to engage with their local government even more over the next four years.
“Participating in the election is one aspect, but the true work starts next,” Srinivasan said. “I would like to see more and more people participating…more importantly, at the city government level, we need to make it easier for our residents to participate also.”
Wang said he was “bummed about the results,” but readily accepted the outcome.
“This is the process that we have,” Wang said. “No hard feelings whatsoever — I’m really excited for the next four years, and I wish my opponent well. I’m sure he’s going to be doing his best to serve Sunnyvale residents, and I think we’re in good hands.”
The race between Wang and Srinivasan was tight from the beginning. Srinivasan was determined to have won the election by a single vote after the initial count and an automatic recount performed by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
But then, in early December, Wang requested a recount, saying he wanted to ensure that every vote was counted accurately in an election that was so close.
Srinivasan disagreed, saying he wouldn’t have asked for a recount himself and that he was wary of Wang’s representation by several San Francisco-based attorneys in the recount. However, he praised the county Registrar of Voters for conducting the procedure thoroughly and carefully.
Wang said he’s not sure yet what the future holds for his involvement in city politics, but that he remains passionate about the city and its residents.
“As people have heard in my stump speech many times, this is the city I was born and raised in,” Wang said. “I really care deeply about its future…I’m confident that I’m always going to have this desire to serve my community.”
Originally published at Vandana Ravikumar