Former Hollister mayors say there are both advantages and
disadvantages to changing to the position so it’s elected by the
entire city.
Former Hollister mayors say there are both advantages and disadvantages to changing to the position so it’s elected by the entire city.
Officials are studying what the change would involve and details necessary to potentially have the question placed on the ballot for the electorate’s consideration. The mayor is currently chosen among the five city council members who vote annually among themselves to choose the next year’s leader.
Pauline Valdivia, a two-time mayor and a current council member, said her major concern about the proposal is funding. The job most likely would have to be paid as a full-time position, she said.
“You have to be visible and be out there,” she said.
Valdivia said it will be interesting to see if voters favor the idea. She does think that having an at-large mayor would work well for the city, she said.
Each year, Hollister gets a new mayor and people don’t have the chance to really get to know that person, said Gordon Machado, who is on the New Urbanism Committee that brought the proposal forward and is advocating for it.
Machado also is a former Hollister council member and mayor. If a mayor is elected at large, he contended, the public can remember who he or she is, he said.
“Change is always a disadvantage, but results always override it, though,” he said.
Machado said if a mayor is elected at large, he or she would serve a two-year term, while council members serve four-year terms.
Robbie Scattini, another former mayor, said he thinks the position should be an at-large, elected role.
The way the city does it now, the chosen official who holds the position signs papers and goes to some functions, he noted, but they are really just another council member.
Former Councilman and Mayor Tony Bruscia said he has mixed emotions on the issue. There’s a better chance of finding the right person to lead the community, and have wider influence in the role, by holding a citywide election for the job.
But a disadvantage is that he doesn’t believe the city can afford to pay someone to be mayor, he said. He said a mayor elected at large would probably have to get paid more than what a city council member gets.
Bruscia said he doesn’t think people will get more involved if they elect the mayor. People are interested only when something major happens, he said.
Bruscia said he thinks if there is a campaign, it could become a popularity contest and not about who is best for the job.
