Three Hollister City Council seats, and the mayor’s seat are all up for election this November, and there will be at least two new faces on the council.
Mayor Ignacio Velazquez filed his candidate paperwork a day before the initial Aug. 10 filing deadline, and will face three challengers. Districts 3 and 4, as well as the City Treasurer’s position, will not have incumbents running.
Because incumbents have decided not to run, the deadline to file for the District 3 and 4 seats as well as the City Treasurer position will be extended until Aug. 15.
In the mayoral race, Velasquez, who has served two consecutive two-year terms, will run against Gordon Machado, Zavan Quezada and Keith Snow. Machado previously served 12 years on the Hollister City Council and eight on the Gilroy Planning Commission. Snow made a previous run at mayor in 2012.
The District 2 race will be between incumbent Mickie Solorio Luna and Rolan Resendiz.
With no incumbents running in the District 3 race, the candidates are Raul Escareno, Kenneth Johnson, Honor Spencer and Elia Salinas. Spencer currently serves as a member of the Board of Supervisors for the Sunnyslope Water District.
The District 4 race is for a two-year seat. The candidates are Marty Richman, Leila Sadeghian and Salvador Mora. Richman made a run in the 2012 mayoral race.The current council member for District 4, Jim Gillio, will be running for the District 4 County Board of Supervisors seat.
Current City Treasurer Geri Johnson will not be seeking re-election. Anietra Gomez will be running for the position unopposed.
