Mayor Ignacio Velazquez confirmed he would run for reelection in 2014 in an interview with the Free Lance last week.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked if he was running again. “I had a great experience this year. I have a great council to work with and great staff.”
Voters elected Velazquez in November 2012 as the first at-large mayor elected in Hollister’s history. Before then, mayors had served on an annually rotating basis from their seats on the city council.
He was elected on a platform of bringing back the motorcycle rally, streamlining city government and generating jobs in Hollister. He also expressed a commitment to allocating more resources for public safety and dealing with the city’s gang problems.
Voters in June 2012, when they chose to elect an at-large mayor and reform the council makeup, decided the city mayor would be elected every two years instead of the city council’s four-year term.
Other than the mayor, the only other declared candidate at this time is Keith Snow, a retired construction foreman, who also ran in 2012 against Velazquez. In the 2012 contest, Velazquez won nearly 40 percent of the vote in a four-man race against Snow, retired engineering manager Marty Richman and former Councilman Doug Emerson.
“I look forward to the next year and the next year and the next year,” the mayor said.
Look back for a more detailed interview with the mayor and his plans for 2014.
