GILROY
– Two unsuccessful City Council candidates from the November
election met with different fates Monday as both still vie to make
themselves players in the Gilroy political scene.
Dion Bracco, who was just 70 votes shy of winning a City Council
seat Nov. 4, has earned a spot on the city Planning Commission
– a land-use advisory panel to the Council holding, arguably,
the most political clout after the City Council dais.
GILROY – Two unsuccessful City Council candidates from the November election met with different fates Monday as both still vie to make themselves players in the Gilroy political scene.
Dion Bracco, who was just 70 votes shy of winning a City Council seat Nov. 4, has earned a spot on the city Planning Commission – a land-use advisory panel to the Council holding, arguably, the most political clout after the City Council dais.
A seat on the Planning Commission eluded Bruce Morasca, who finished last in the Council race with 7.7 percent of the vote. None of the Council voted to appoint the grocery store clerk who made open space preservation and Wal-Mart watchdogging key issues in his campaign.
“I am disappointed, but in the back of my mind I know I have other options (for getting involved in Gilroy politics),” Morasca said in an interview after the vote Monday. “It might have been a political decision by the Council. I don’t know.”
Morasca, who was endorsed by the unions, got passed over in favor of incumbent commissioner Joan Lewis, Chamber of Commerce board member Tim Day, native Gilroyan and former planning commissioner Ermelindo Puente and Bracco.
Also-rans were Morasca, Gavilan College Vice President John Baker, downtown business owner Steve Ashford, small business owners Stephen Jones and Larry Mickartz, mother of three Lisa Prieto, corporate accountant Kathleen Schreckengost and magazine publisher Martin Wall.
Planning Commission seats are a common stepping stone to the City Council dais. Fourof the sitting Councilmen served on the Planning Commission before being elected to Council. In fact, both Bracco and Morasca acknowledged that their appointment to the commission was a way of getting political experience and more name recognition for City Council bids in 2005.
“During the campaign, I learned a lot about how the city operates, and I want to be more involved with the type of city we plan out for the future,” Bracco said Monday before the appointments were made.
Bracco did not attend Monday night’s City Council meeting when the selections were made. The tow-truck business owner campaigned on a common sense fiscal conservative platform that sits well with a majority of existing Councilmen.
However, Bracco Monday got support from all but one Councilman, Paul Correa, which underscores the native Gilroyan’s broad-based appeal and strong likelihood of winning a Council seat in a not-so-distant election.
“Dion’s interview went well,” Morales said. “He showed he is sensitive to environmental issues, suggesting we should screen new businesses to ensure they can be sensitive to the environment. I picked him based on the fact he’s lived in the community his whole life. He’s a traditional family man. He has a personal commitment and interest in the community.”
Registered Gilroy voters can apply to be Planning Commission members. Council appoints commissioners based on their resume and one-on-one interviews. Council then votes publicly at a subsequent meeting.
The selection process Monday was neck and neck. Due to ties, it took three rounds of voting by Council to finally arrive at the top four. Mickartz nearly won a position on the Planning Commission, but in a final tie-breaker, Puente received five of seven City Council votes to take the fourth and final vacancy.
Several Councilmen prefaced their votes with positive remarks regarding the entire field of applicants.
“This was very tough for me to decide who to pick,” Councilman Roland Velasco said. “All the applicants would be great (planning commissioners). I encourage everyone of them to keep trying (to get on an advisory board).”
The next vacancy will be in December 2004.
The new planning commissioners will join Thomas Boe, Norm Thompson and Cat Tucker.
Vacancies on several other city advisory panels were also filled Monday.
Sam Bozzo, Ermelindo Puente and Bruce Williams won seats on the Parks and Recreation Commission. Council appointed Judy Lazarus to the Arts and Culture Commission, Eileen Kopp and Joyce Taylor to the Library Commission, Samuel Kekaha Jr. to the Building Board of Appeals, Sherrean Carr to the Physically Challenged Board of Appeals, Roberta Jones to the Public Art Committee and Thomas Muniz, Bert Rangel, Anthony Rosso and Sherri Stuart to the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Board.
