"As the pool of candidates dried up nationwide, it was bound to be that in some places the pool would dry up entirely," Putnam said in a telephone interview. "This is not some kind of local California fluke. I'm sure it is part of a larger pattern."
City officials here and in the other six cities where elections have been canceled said one of two factors led to the dearth of candidates: a particularly rancorous previous election had drained political interest, or residents were simply satisfied with the status quo.
Some residents also said fewer people sought office in tough times, when they might be called on to slash budgets and services. Some suggested that potential candidates are dissuaded by the thought of spending a hefty sum to win a low-paying part-time job that can become a full-time commitment.
"I don't know if any of this has to do with the whole hullabaloo of the recall," said Linda Koelling, one of the three new City Council appointees in Foster City. "Just maybe seeing so many cities canceling elections because of lack of participation will be a wake-up call."
When it became clear that Belmont's election would be uncontested, state law left the City Council with two options: hold the election and allow for write-in candidacies, or dispense with it and save about US$15,000.
The city's vice mayor, George Metropulos, who favored canceling the election, said that if even one more person had expressed interest in running, he would have voted differently.
But, he said, not one did.
"If people say:`You're denying us a choice,"' said Metropulos, who teaches third grade, "I am hard pressed to understand what choice I'm denying them. You can't manufacture a candidate."
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