City Council hopeful Mark Paxton is debating whether or not
he’ll run as a write-in candidate for the Nov. 2 election.
City Council hopeful Mark Paxton is debating whether or not he’ll run as a write-in candidate for the Nov. 2 election.
Paxton handed in his nomination paperwork on the last day to file, Aug. 6, and immediately left town to vacation in Costa Rica. When he arrived home the following Wednesday, there was a message on his answering machine saying some of his signatures were invalid, and that his name wouldn’t appear on the District 5 ballot.
“It was such a bone-headed thing to do,” Paxton said about his nomination papers. “It’s my fault for not looking it over.”
Council candidates are required to gather 20 signatures from registered voters in their district. Paxton brought back 24, but many of the residents were the same people who signed Bruscia’s nomination papers, which made them invalid, according to the Elections Office.
Bruscia, and challengers Monica Johnson and Martin Deffee may still see Paxton’s name on the ballot, but in pen instead of print. If he chooses to run as a write-in candidate, Paxton said, he has until mid-September to inform the Elections Office. During the next few weeks, he’ll decide if his penciled-in run for office will be worth it.
“I would run if I thought I would prevail,” Paxton said. “It’s very difficult to get people to write in names. And I don’t know enough about the candidates, which figures into my dilemma.”
Paxton, 47, has lived in Hollister since he was 4, and is a former editor of the Free Lance Newspaper. Currently, he is an editor and project manager for Education Data Systems in Morgan Hill.
In order to determine if there is enough interest in his district to see him run, Paxton will speak with residents and make a decision sometime in the next few weeks.
“The horrendous difficulty this city has encountered in the past few years is behind us, and there are great opportunities for growth to be part of,” he said.
