Politics

District 4 Hollister Councilman Victor Gomez announced he will seek a third, four-year term.

As most Californians know, there is only one consolidated city-county in the state, San Francisco. The other 57 counties have 481 cities and towns within their borders; San Benito County has only two, Hollister and San Juan Bautista. A good case can be made for making San Benito the second consolidated city-county in the state to improve our economic and political future and to ensure that the residents of Hollister are fairly represented at the county level.

Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, announced Wednesday farmers in San Benito County would be eligible to apply for federal disaster relief funds due to the region’s recent drought.

Daniel Recht contended boosting the tourism industry wouldn’t save the county from its woes. Victor Gomez referred to Recht’s sentiment about tourism as “negative” and called for using more hotel-tax revenue to attract visitors. Jerry Muenzer, meanwhile, touted his backing of a tourism business district to fund the efforts.

The San Benito Rising group submitted more than 4,000 signatures to the elections office Tuesday on Earth Day for a ballot proposal to ban fracking and limit oil extraction in the county.

Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, was presented with a “Promotor de Oportunidades” Award for outstanding leadership Thursday at a dinner in Sacramento hosted by the national League of United Latin American Citizens organization.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has won re-election, easily brushing

The Hollister City Council on Tuesday approved construction of a