Election Night With Pierre

Pierluigi Oliverio’s election night shebang–at Tomato Thyme, a sort of upscale sports bar and restaurant nestled next to a Rite Aid and a cleaners outfit in one of San Jose’s ubiquitous strip malls–may have been only moderately attended (it was, after all, an off-cycle election night), but the schmoozing and boozing was in full effect. The candidate was still a bit steamed after the Merc hit piece last month, but in relatively good spirits, especially after checking out his 12-point lead late into the night. Big names like Michael Mulcahy and Santa Clara councilman/49er expert Keith Moore floated through the crowd, and while the bar wasn’t open, the food—individual pizzas, shrimp wrapped in bacon and topped with pesto, cheesy bread, ribs, fried ravioli, chicken pancetta—was about ten times more impressive than the fare offered at Chuck Reed victory party last election. In the end, Oliverio climbed up on a chair and thanked his supporters. His point: that the people had elected a candidate that “wasn’t labor, wasn’t chamber, wasn’t lobbyist.”