Politics

Hollister’s Interim City Manager Paul Eckert resigned today, Nov. 14, after just eight days on the job, according to Mayor Ignacio Velazquez. Velazquez said Eckert delivered a resignation letter to the city late Thursday afternoon, one day before City Manager Bill Avera’s retirement and one...

Within days after the Hollister City Council backtracked on a commitment to hire Paul Eckert as its new city manager—hiring him instead on an interim basis—even that appointment was increasingly in doubt this week. Eckert’s job status was to be the subject of another closed-door...

The Hollister City Council’s infighting continued into the fall as council members filed additional complaints against one another. A complaint to the California Fair Political Practices Committee (FPPC) filed by Councilmember Rolan Resendiz against Councilmember Honor Spencer over an alleged conflict of interest was denied...

The Farmworker Housing Act of 2019, introduced by Assemblymember Robert Rivas of Hollister, passed the California Assembly and State Senate. For Rivas, who represents the 30th district in the Assembly, the passage of the bill in his first term is personal. His grandfather was a...

The Hollister City Council meetings are becoming increasingly contentious—and loud. Its most recent meeting Aug.19 devolved into a series of shouting matches as councilmembers went head to head over several seemingly minor agenda items.  The meeting went on for five hours as council members waded into...

The 2020 mayoral field in Hollister already has two candidates: current Mayor Ignacio Velazquez and first-term District 3 council member Honor Spencer. Spencer announced at the Aug. 5 city council meeting that she would be running for mayor in March 2020, and Velazquez confirmed that...

San Benito County Supervisors unanimously approved an amended 2019-2020 county budget June 25. The new budget allocates $143.4 million in total spending for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Edgar Nolasco, deputy county administrative officer, told the Free Lance that total spending is approximately $87 million less...

Hollister’s cost of living may be relatively low compared to its northern neighbors, but wages and benefits for its city workers place it among the top 20 percent in the entire state, according to a new report. In her annual report of Government Compensation in...

Neil Kitchens, a Republican candidate who ran an unsuccessful campaign for State Assembly District 30 in 2018, has been charged with five counts of election fraud. Kitchens pleaded not guilty at an arraignment June 28 in Monterey County Superior Court, according to court filings. He...

The San Juan Bautista City Council was set to approve an employment agreement for a new city manager, Don Reynolds. Reynolds currently works as the assistant public works director in Salinas. Reynolds told the Free Lance he’s spent three decades in public service, working...