GILROY
– Councilman Al Pinheiro’s run for Gilroy mayor will not go
unopposed.
GILROY – Councilman Al Pinheiro’s run for Gilroy mayor will not go unopposed.
The political veteran’s challenger will be newcomer Mary Hohenbrink, not Councilman Peter Arellano, who many thought would covet the city’s top seat after Tom Springer announced he’d be stepping down come November.
“When I read that Mayor Springer would be stepping down, I didn’t want Al to be running unopposed,” Hohenbrink said. “I’m passionate about a lot of things, and I’m ready to do something about it.”
As for Arellano, the fiery doctor announced Tuesday he will not seek mayorhood, but instead will vie for re-election to the Council seat he has held the past four years.
“I considered running for mayor, and I think it would have been a close race. It was a tough decision, but it’s just too late in the game if I wanted to make a good effort and run,” Arellano said. “I really needed to make this decision two months ago so I could start organizing a (mayoral) campaign.”
As of early Wednesday morning, the November race stood as follows: Pinheiro and Hohenbrink will face off for mayor. Arellano, Incumbent Roland Velasco, Planning Commission Chairman Russ Valiquette, Planning Commissioner Paul Correa and Parks and Recreation Commissioner Shawn Weymouth are battling it out for three open Council seats.
If Springer sticks with his decision to not run for mayor in November, the deadline for candidates to file for mayor will be extended from Aug. 8 to Aug. 13. The City Council filing deadline will also be extended to Aug. 13.
Under city policy, extensions are triggered when an incumbent does not seek re-election.
The surprise announcements this week fall in line with an already unorthodox election picture. Another seat could open up if Councilman Charlie Morales decides to resign.
Morales has been under pressure to resign his seat in light of his June 29 drunken driving arrest, when his blood alcohol tested at .23 – nearly three times the legal limit. Morales’ trial begins in September. He faces up to a year in jail for what is his second DUI in four years. His seat expires in 2005.
If Morales resigns before the Aug. 13 deadline, a fourth Council seat will be open in the November election. If he resigns after Aug. 13 but before the November election, City Council will appoint the fourth-highest vote getter to his vacant seat. And if he resigns after the November election, City Council will appoint a replacement of its choosing.
Morales has remained silent regarding his intentions.
As for the mayoral race, a classic David versus Goliath could unfold.
Hohenbrink, a Southern California transplant since 1998, has never sat on a city panel of any kind and has no formal campaign backing.
Although the formality should be accomplished in the next two days, as of Tuesday afternoon the systems engineer manager still hadn’t garnered the 30 petition signatures required to run for office.
And she said it was only days ago Hohenbrink registered to vote in Santa Clara County. She explained that because she owned properties in Redondo Beach in southern California, she wanted to vote absentee on issues there.
“I was the president of the PTA for South Valley (Middle School). And I had to do battle with the school board (when its neighborhood schools policy meant two Hohenbrink children would have to attend two separate elementary schools),” Hohenbrink said of her limited political experience.
Hohenbrink says working for high-tech Silicon Valley companies has given her the business experience needed to understand city finances. Her knowledge of real estate laws – she is studying for her real estate license – will help her navigate complex land-use issues, she said.
But Hohenbrink believes her ability to think like “a regular person” is her number one qualification for the mayor’s job.
“These people (current elected city officials) are in the box and do things from a City Council perspective,” Hohenbrink said. “I’m a regular person who could look outside the box to solve problems.”
Hohenbrink’s perspective leads to some intriguing stances on certain barometer issues of Gilroy politics.
Regarding the proposed health care clinic that will replace the Garlic Festival Store, Hohenbrink says the downtown core is an ideal spot.
“About 52 percent of our population is Hispanic and 80 percent of that 52 percent make less than $50,000 a year,” Hohenbrink said. “Gardner (Family Health Network) caters to that.”
Hohenbrink’s view on this issue breaks from the traditional businessperson’s perspective that retail shops and restaurants need to fill the key central locations if revitalization ever comes to Gilroy’s downtown. But on the matter of big box stores, Hohenbrink sounds more like the business establishment.
“I believe competition is good for the consumer and good for business all around,” she said.
The two opinions are not contradictory for Hohenbrink, although she may be the only candidate that would both approve a health care clinic downtown and support the development of a Wal-Mart super center east of U.S. 101.
Pinheiro voted for a ban on the health care clinic for the core downtown area on Monterey Street between Fourth and Eighth streets. He has also supported the development of box store retailers since they are a vital sales tax engine for the city.
“I think like a mother and a wife,” Hohenbrink said. “I want the option of buying a piece of meat at Arteaga’s and then getting bulk cleaning supplies at a Super Wal-Mart. I want to see gasoline prices go down (referring to Costco’s ability to undercut the high prices at regular gas stations).”
Pinheiro said Hohenbrink’s candidacy puts him in a different campaign mode and he will meet with his campaign committee in the next few days.
“It’s not a surprise someone is running against me, I expected two to four challengers,” Pinheiro said. “I’m not taking her challenge lightly, but this will be different than running against someone with a long history in town. Until I know who this person is and what she stands for I still don’t know who I’m running against.”
