It’s Official: Seven Council Candidates – August 13, 2010
CITY HALL – Deputy City Clerk Bridget Dory confirmed today that all seven citizens who applied for City Council candidacy have qualified and will appear on the November ballot.
Among the mix of candidates filing for the two open council seats this fall are incumbents, returning candidates, some new to public office and just one woman.
Mayor Alex Stillman is re-running, as is City Councilmember Mark Wheetley.
Re-entering the political fray is former Councilmember Dave Meserve, who served from 2002 to 2006. Meserve’s candidate statement lists some previous goals, such as a public restroom, affordable housing and bicycle trails, as well as new ones, including a graduated utility tax discouraging “large indoor grows.”
Other candidates are:
Robert Benson, a “sovereign rights advocate” who recently filed four claims against Mayor Stillman and three APD officers claiming a total of $6 million in damages. Benson accused Stillman of conspiring to “oppress the poor” and of interfering with his freedom of speech for financial gain.
Geronimo Garcia, an advocate for homeless rights and alternative transportation. He recently stopped by the Eye office and said that he lives in Manila with a member of its Community Services District, but that he planned to return in Arcata.
Joshua Mohland, a software engineer. Mohland’s candidate statement lists economic sustainability as one of his major concerns. A member of the Humboldt Medical Marijuana Panel, Mohland advocates for “a safe and sustainable Medical Cannabis Industry, providing both tax revenue and living wage jobs.”
Mark Sailors, operator of Arcata Kineticab, said that “Arcata is a lovely town, but we’re letting it fall apart by concentrating on global issues outside the scope of the City Council.” He mentioned several areas of public safety neglect, including abuse of parks and lack of public facilities for homeless individuals, but traffic and pedestrian safety in particular. Sailors wants more widened sidewalks and traffic calming measures implemented.
Below, the legal notice which will appear in next week’s print edition of the Arcata Eye:
NOTICE OF ELECTION
NOMINEES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE
Notice is hereby given that the following seven (7) persons have been nominated for the three City Council seats that will become vacant in November 2010. Each vacancy is for a full four-year term, to be filled at the general municipal election to be held in the City of Arcata on Tuesday, November 2, 2010.
How the names appear on the ballot is decided by a randomized alphabet drawing conducted at the office of the California Secretary of State in Sacramento. The drawing was completed on August 12, 2010. The following list of candidates, certified to be nominees for the Arcata City Council, are shown in the order they will appear on the general municipal election ballot in November.
Mark Wheetley
Geronimo Jerry Garcia
Robert Benson
Alex Stillman
Mark Sailors
Josh Mohland
David Meserve
