The race for Hollister history has begun.
With the filing deadline this past Friday, there are four residents in the race to become the first at-large mayor of Hollister.
The mayor’s race will include Councilman Doug Emerson, military and private sector retiree Marty Richman, retired engineer Keith Snow and businessman Ignacio Velazquez.
The four have declared candidacy for the Nov. 6 ballot. For the first time, the mayor will be chosen by the city’s entire electorate of voters, as opposed to the old format that involved the five council members rotating each year in the position.
The race was made possible when voters in June overwhelmingly approved the council’s proposal to elect an at-large mayor with two-year terms and change from five council districts to four, with the mayor carrying a fifth vote on the council.
That mayor’s race will join the ballot Measure E – a proposal to extend the 1 percent Measure T sales tax another five years, an effort to raise around $3 million annually toward the city’s general fund – as the two most prominent contests on the November ballot.
Unlike 2007 when Measure T was approved, there is official opposition this time around, with a “No on Measure E” committee established and its statement signed by Warren Bell. The pro-Measure E committee had signatures from Councilman Ray Friend, former Supervisor Rita Bowling, Hollister police union President David Anderson, Jim Paxton and Brian Malandrone, according to City Clerk Geri Johnson.
There won’t be nearly as much excitement in the races for the two open seats on the council. Friend will run unopposed in District 1, with Councilman Victor Gomez unopposed in District 4.
As for the mayor’s race, though, campaign signs already started cropping up around Hollister and voters can expect a flurry of campaign activity in the next three months.
Richman, a former Free Lance columnist and editorial board member, said the city faces three “critical” issues – taxes and fees, economic activity and reducing the deficit.
“So those three issues will be with us for, I believe, several years,” said Richman, 70. “They will require an aggressive city council that is open to new ideas and willing to engage the public, not a passive city council that rubber stamps nothing but the same old solutions.”
Velazquez, owner of The Vault restaurant and American Electrical Services, said his goal is to “keep the city from going bankrupt.”
“We’re going to get the budget in order,” said Velazquez, 47. “We’re going to get all the different departments working together, so we all have a common vision.”
He said that vision is bringing new businesses here. “Without new business, no matter what we do with the budget, it’s not going to make a difference.”
Emerson and Snow did not immediately return phone calls before press time.
Full candidate list:
Aromas-San Juan Unified School; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
JOSE L. FLORES
MONICA MARTINEZ-GUARACHA
JENNIFER COLBY
MIKE A PEREZ
Bitterwater-Tully Union
JOHN W. BREWEN
NONNA M. COLLINS
Bitterwater-Tully, 2 years
SCOTT COLLINS
Cienega Union, School
ANNE C. BAY-RAMYON
MATTHEW ALLEN
Cienega Union, 2 years; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
No Candidates Filed
Hollister School; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
JUDI H. JOHNSON
DEE BROWN
MICHAEL KEITH
ELIZABETH MARTINEZ
BEN FLORES
Hollister School, 2 years; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
PATRICIA (PAT) MOORE
MELISSA CONSTANTINE
LUPE NAVARRO
Jefferson School
JOANNE FALSEY
DEBBIE SIMMONS
North County Joint Union High School
RENEÉ FAUGHT
STAN PURA
FRANK E. O’CONNELL
Panoche School; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
NICOLE LEE GONZALEZ
Southside School; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
SUSANA FRASHER
MARLENE CHÁVEZ-VILLEGAS
Tres Pinos Union; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
GREGG HOFFMAN
Willow Grove Union; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
LINDA NAEGLE
JEANETTE SHARP
CHARLES SCHLESINGER
San Benito High School, 2 years
JENNIFER COILE
VICTOR N. ANYENEH
STEVE DELAY
San Benito High School
RAY RODRIGUEZ
EVELYN MURO
Cabrillo Community, College
EDWARD K. BANKS
Gavilan Joint Community College area 1
MARK DOVER
Gavilan Joint Community College area 2
JONATHAN A. BRUSCO
Gavilan Joint Community College area 3
THOMAS BREEN
Aromas Water District; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
K. WAYNE NORTON
ERNEST E. HUGGINS
Pachedo Pass Water; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
No Candidates Filed
Pachedo Pass Water, 2 years; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
No Candidates Filed
Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
No Candidates Filed
Sunnyslope Water
KATHLEEN HILL
DAVE MERAZ
Sunnyslope water, 2 years; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
JOHN M. JOHNSON
San Benito County Water, District 2
JOSEPH A. TONASCIA
San Benito County Water, District 3
FRANK E. BETTENCOURT
San Benito County Water, District 5
SONNY FLORES
Tres Pinos Water; Extended to Wednesday at 5 p.m.
No Candidates Filed
Aromas Tri-County Fire
JIM MILLER
Aromas Tri-County Fire
No Candidates Filed in San Benito County
San Benito Health Care
GORDON A. MACHADO
NAZHAT PARVEEN SHARMA
JIM WEST
ERNEST RIVAS
