Hollister
– Mayor Robert Scattini said he’s been active in Hollister’s
public life for more than 40 years. But as he competes with Eugenia
Sanchez for the District 2 City Council seat, he said he doesn’t
plan to capitalize on the connections he’s made.
Hollister – Mayor Robert Scattini said he’s been active in Hollister’s public life for more than 40 years. But as he competes with Eugenia Sanchez for the District 2 City Council seat, he said he doesn’t plan to capitalize on the connections he’s made.
“I’m not asking for any endorsements,” Scattini said. “I’m running on my credibility as a councilmember. If people think I’ve done a good job, they’ll vote for me.”
Scattini said he’s been pretty busy for the past four years. Since he took office, he hasn’t missed a single council meeting, and he’s been active on every city committee except the Local Agency Formation Commission.
“I know in my heart that no one works harder to make the city a better place,” he said.
So what has Scattini accomplished at all of those meetings? He noted that construction will soon begin on the long-awaited wastewater treatment plant. If all goes well, this in turn will eventually lead to the end of the city’s development moratorium.
The treatment plant isn’t cheap, though, and councilmembers – including Scattini – have taken heat from residents for increasing sewer rates to pay for construction costs.
“What I tell people is this: I don’t want to point fingers, but the bottom line is that the previous city councils didn’t pay attention to the farm,” Scattini said. “The present City Council had no other option.”
Scattini has also been a big supporter of the annual motorcycle rally. He was one of the dissenting votes when the council decided to cancel this year’s rally, and he played a key role in organizing the new Hollister Motorcycle Rally Committee, which has taken over the rally from the now-bankrupt Hollister Independence Rally Committee.
“It puts the city on the map,” Scattini said. He added that the rally is a boon to local businesses. “For some (businesses), it makes the money that helps them survive the whole year.”
Scattini acknowledged that some vendors from previous rallies feel wary, because they lost the deposits they paid HIRC for a spot in the 2006 rally. He said the city is doing things differently this year by putting together a committee that represents a diverse cross-section of local groups and by hiring a professional promoter.
One of the most high-profile items on local ballots is Measure S, the initiative sponsored by Pulte Homes. If passed, the measure would amend the city’s general plan to redesignate 1,300 acres of agricultural land near the airport as a “mixed use residential community” and create an exemption to the Measure-U imposed building cap. That exemption could allow Pulte subsidiary Del Webb to receive up to 650 building permits a year for its proposed Sun City Hollister senior living community. Scattini was one of three councilmembers who recently supported a resolution in opposition to the measure; he said that the proposed project “will never fly” due to its proximity to the airport.
Scattini, who is 66, said he has lived in Hollister since he was 2 years old. He is married; he has a 40-year-old stepson and a 35-year-old son. Scattini added that he’s been involved in law enforcement for 46 years, first as a California Highway Patrol officer, then as the Glenn County Sheriff and now as the county marshal. As a marshal, Scattini serves to provide civil law enforcement for the courts, including evictions.
Scattini is competing against Eugenia Sanchez, a Gilroy elementary school teacher and current president of the Hollister School District Board of Trustees. Sanchez has described herself as a “key to a new beginning,” while Scattini asks voters to support his experience and record.
When asked if there was anything that had surprised him about being a councilmember, Scattini said, “It’s a little harder than I ever thought it would be. It’s a full-time job.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
