GILROY
– The November race for Gilroy City Council may have opened up a
bit in the past week – and it could grow wider still.
GILROY – The November race for Gilroy City Council may have opened up a bit in the past week – and it could grow wider still.
With one Councilman announcing a mayoral challenge and another incumbent Councilman still on the fence about a re-election bid for his current seat, there’s the possibility that two incumbent candidates could be out of the race for the three non-mayoral seats before voters.
Councilman Al Pinheiro’s official entry into the mayoral contest last week means he will not be able to run for his current Council seat. Under city rules, Pinheiro will either take the mayor’s chair or be ejected from the Council entirely if defeated by incumbent Tom Springer or another potential mayoral candidate.
“There’s a vacant seat now on the Council,” said Paul Correa, a Planning Commissioner who is considering a Council run, in reference to Pinheiro’s move. “(Pinheiro) would be a formidable challenger to anyone.
“It opens up the field a lot more, I think.”
Meanwhile, Councilman Roland Velasco is still undecided about whether to make a re-election bid for his seat. If he decides not to run again, that would leave a second Council seat without an incumbent to stage a defense against challengers.
Velasco, an aide to District 1 County Supervisor Don Gage, said Thursday that he is weighing family commitments in his decision to run or not. The single parent said he wants to make sure his 15-year-old son is focused on education and remains college-bound.
“Family comes first,” Velasco said. “I want to make sure he’s OK with me running for another term. As soon as I get his nod and the support of extended family members, I’ll be able to make a decision about whether to run or not.”
So far, Planning Commissioner and two-time Council candidate Russ Valiquette, a manager at Bonfante Gardens, is the only non-incumbent who has formally announced his November candidacy to the press.
Correa, a land-use planner who also ran for Council in 2001, said he’s still mulling over the idea of a run and will likely make a decision soon.
“I haven’t made my final decision, but (Pinheiro’s move) definitely impacts it,” he said.
Councilman Peter Arellano’s seat is up for re-election as well, but he has not returned calls inquiring into his November plans. Councilmember Charlie Morales has not ruled out a mayoral bid, but his current seat is not up for reelection and he would retain it if he runs for mayor and does not prevail. As a government body, the Council has significant potential to impact the lives of Gilroy residents, whether it be the amount of traffic on their roads, the availability of jobs, the preservation of open space and farmland or emergency response times.
The most polarizing issue of the 2001 Council election – the decision whether to target 660 acres of east Gilroy farmland for future campus industrial development – was partially settled with the adoption of the city’s new General Plan last year.
However, post-November the newly elected Council could still affect how the city addresses its strained relations with the Local Agency Formation Commission, a state-formed agency that approves city boundary changes and has influence over the 660.
Some other issues that could arise in the November race could include:
• The city’s use of financial incentives to lure certain types of industry and commercial development
• Downtown revitalization
• Agland preservation and whether to join the county’s Open Space Authority
• The city budget, such as finding ways to pay for increased services and benefits or deal with potential impacts from the state’s budget deficit and other threats to local revenues.
Candidates can pull papers to run for office beginning July 14, said Gilroy City Clerk Rhonda Pellin. The deadline to file as a City Council or Mayoral candidate is Aug. 8. If any incumbent does not run for re-election, the deadline will be extended to Aug. 13. Candidates need 20 valid signatures – that is, signatures from registered voters who live within Gilroy city limits. Candidates must be registered voters and live within Gilroy city limits.
