GILROY
– Mayoral and City Council candidates on both sides of the
political spectrum spent the weekend drilling voters with a common
campaign message: There’s a lot at stake for Gilroy in the November
2003 election.
GILROY – Mayoral and City Council candidates on both sides of the political spectrum spent the weekend drilling voters with a common campaign message: There’s a lot at stake for Gilroy in the November 2003 election.
Some candidates are using the message to suggest it’s time for change on City Council. Others make it the reason to keep the dais mostly intact as Gilroy expands economically and brings major projects – like a police station, parks and arts and culture center – online.
While there are nearly 2,000 more registered voters in Gilroy in 2003 compared to the last City Council election in 2001, candidates in the waning moments of their stumps hope it shows in turnout at the polls. In 2001, only 27.4 percent of registered Gilroy voters exercised their most fundamental democratic right.
“I’m hoping for a large voter turnout, and I hope people realize that major changes could happen in the city if they don’t go out and vote,” mayoral candidate and City Council incumbent Al Pinheiro said. “This campaign has a slate of candidates versus non-slate candidates. I’d like to see a balanced Council not a slate.”
Pinheiro’s leading challenger, Lupe Arellano, is hoping for a strong voter turnout, too. Arellano says based on her conversations during door-to-door campaigning, the electorate has been geared up by the October recall election.
“The recall had certainly taken away from campaign issues for a time. But over the last month, local issues have been covered,” Arellano said. “The more I talk to people, the more I’m finding they want change in California and in Gilroy.”
Local voters Tuesday will select from 11 candidates their choice for three City Council vacancies and one mayor’s seat. The four open seats comprise a seven-member board that has had its share of 5-2 and 4-3 votes that in recent years have swung to the right.
City Council candidates are incumbents Peter Arellano and Roland Velasco, and hopefuls Dion Bracco, Paul Correa, Mark Dover, Bruce Morasca and Russ Valiquette. For mayor, Pinheiro and Lupe Arellano are taking on Mary Hohenbrink and Ellyn Atkins.
Polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For the first time in Santa Clara County, voters will use touch-screen computers to cast ballots.
A fifth mayoral hopeful, Celeste Zamzow, has also been put forward as a write-in candidate. However, the city clerk and the county Registrar of Voter’s Office say Zamzow, no matter how many votes she receives, will not become Gilroy’s mayor.
Zamzow did not meet the deadline for filing as an official write-in candidate. Her votes will show up on final tallies, but by law will not count them, the registrar’s office said.
The November election is comprised of a wide range of issues, from whether a super-sized version of Wal-Mart will be allowed to open and sell groceries that could undercut existing supermarket companies to how the city can best cope with likely another round of cuts in revenue from the state.
Other topics that have surfaced in recent weeks include downtown revitalization, public safety costs, recruitment of industrial businesses and preservation of open space.
“It seems like whichever issue a voter cares most about depends on where they live in Gilroy, how long they’ve lived in Gilroy,” City Council candidate Velasco said. “For relatively new residents who live in the northwest quad, education and the new high school has come up a few times. If you’ve been around Gilroy a long time, it seems like revitalizing the downtown is more important as an issue.”
The November election has had its share of peripheral issues, too.
A get-out-the-vote group, Gilroy First!, was taken to task by local conservatives and Wal-Mart for not openly reporting its strong union ties. As an educational group Gilroy First! said it would not endorse candidates. However, the South Bay AFL-CIO endorsed three candidates who were members of Gilroy First!
Lupe Arellano kicked off her campaign apologizing for failing to close out her past City Council and mayoral campaigns correctly. The city charged Arellano $700 for filing financial disclosure documents two years too late.
Just last week, Arellano was the victim of multiple campaign sign takings. She reported 35 stolen and one was run over by a motorist in the dark at the corner of Santa Teresa Boulevard and First Street.
Other candidates – Hohenbrink, Pinheiro and Valiquette – also reported signage losses to The Dispatch. Hohenbrink, who lost 40 signs, also reported the information to police after her son’s car got egged.
Even the city attorney was pulled into the campaign fray recently. Mayor Tom Springer, who is retiring from politics, directed the attorney to issue an opinion regarding Dover’s candidacy.
Dover is a Gavilan College trustee and may have to vacate that seat if he wins the City Council election. Dover has steadfastly claimed he is within legal rights to sit on both seats since Gavilan answers to the state and Gilroy is its own municipality. Dover has noted that a Hollister city councilman and a fellow Gavilan trustee currently hold two elected positions each.
For more election information or to find where your nearest polling place is, call the county Registrar’s Office at 299-VOTE or toll free at (866) 430-VOTE, or visit online at www.sccvote.org.