Six Apply For City Council Candidacy – August 10, 2012
Deputy City Clerk Bridget Dory finishes up paperwork details with candidate applicants Mark Sailors and Jolian Kangas at 4:59 p.m. in the City Manager’s Conference Room. Photo by KLH | Eye
Kevin L. Hoover
Eye Editor
CITY HALL – Six potential candidates have applied for the three open seats on the Arcata City Council – four men and two women. Actual candidacy will depend on the verification of the 20 signatures on their candidacy petitions. Only the signatures of registered Arcata voters are valid, a detail which has tripped up some in the past.
Two incumbent councilmembers – Mayor Michael Winkler and Councilmember Susan Ornelas – have already had their paperwork verified, and will be on the November ballot. Vice Mayor Shane Brinton turned his petition in yesterday, and as a seasoned candidate and political strategist, it’s unlikely (but not impossible) that there will be problems with his petition.
Update: Brinton’s nominating petition was found sufficient, and he will be on the November ballot. – Ed.
Valerie Rose-Campbell
Also turning in her signatures today was Valerie Rose-Campbell. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to voice my love and my concerns for our great Arcata community,” Rose-Campbell writes on her Facebook page. “We live in such an amazing part of the country with an equally amazing group of people. Together, we can continue to move our community into the the future of sustainability and hospitality.”
Last to turn their papers in to Deputy City Clerk Bridget Dory as the clock struck the 5 p.m. deadline at City Hall were Arcata Kineticab proprietor Mark Sailors and computer refurbisher Jolian Kangas.
Sailors, who unsuccessfully ran for council in 2010, has decried Arcata’s cannabis laws, stating that they are invasive and open to court challenge. Has has also expressed frustration with small business regulation, which complicated the initial establishment of his pedal-powered taxi service.
Kangas lists five bullet points on a handout flyer, including “values constitutional protections on freedom of assembly,” a need for a City-wide minimum wage at least $1 more than that set by the state, tax incentives for alternative energy and green business, a trash amnesty program to stem illegal dumping and “a common sense, integrative and holistic approach to social problems.”
Former council candidate Geronimo Garcia had taken out papers and promised to again run for council along with an unspecified number of ducks, but was a no-show on deadline day and will not be on the ballot. He may be marshaling his energies for a future run for District Attorney, having stated interest in that office due to dissatisfaction with incumbent DA Paul Gallegos.
It’s not clear when the county Elections Division will certify the four three remaining three candidates’ petitions. Dory said that depends on the division’s workload.
