The Hollister City Council has put Measure K before voters on the Nov. 4 ballot to ask voters if they want the city treasurer position to be appointed by the council instead of elected.
“There’s nothing really for job responsibilities,” said Christine Black, deputy city clerk. “Right now, it’s kind of a figurehead position.”
The measure hits the ballot after about eight years of the position being appointed to City Clerk Geri Johnson because no candidates ran in recent elections. This year, though, three people are vying for the seat. The candidates for treasurer this year are Karina Hernandez, a licensed insurance broker; Cecilia Rios, a Hollister Free Lance account executive; and Judi Johnson, a city transcriptionist.
“I truly believe we should have an appointed qualified treasurer as government finance has changed and our city treasurer should not be elected by a popularity vote,” Johnson wrote in an email to the Free Lance Tuesday evening. “We should have someone that knows what they are doing. I am not that qualified person, however I am qualified and trained to be a city clerk.”
The benefits of the treasurer position for candidates include a stipend of $200 a month and health insurance, which could be worth between $1,500 and $2,000 a month, Black said. The council suggested making the position permanently appointed because many of the responsibilities already have been divvied out to city employees and appointing the position to existing staff would save the city the cost of benefits for an additional person, she said.
“Other cities have gone this way, as well,” Black said.
Frank Felice last held the elected treasurer job. He passed away while in office in January 2006, when Johnson was appointed to take his position. In November of that year, the city’s voters opposed Measure O, which would have changed the position of city treasurer from elected to appointed. No candidates ran for treasurer during that election, so it was appointed to Johnson.
