|
Wednesday's Internet Edition, October 08, 2008.
Ten to seek
council seats
Rachael Ackerman
-
With only a few days left to turn in candidacy declaration papers, things are heating up in local races, while seats in most outlying elections remain unclaimed by incumbents or sought after by newcomers.
In the Galt City Council race, the number of interested candidates is up to eight. Seven men and one woman have pulled papers for the two open seats in that race, while none have yet to file.
City council incumbents Tim Raboy and Barbara Payne have both pulled papers.
Some familiar faces will return to the political scene for the 2008 Galt City Council campaign season.
Former Galt City Councilman Randy Shelton, and former Galt City Council candidates Marylou Powers and Kelly Keagy have both pulled papers. Powers is currently seated as a Galt planning commissioner.
Galt High School board candidate in 2006, Tom Santillan, has also pulled papers, this time for the city council race, and Galt Fire Advisory Board member Fred Goethel will take a run at a council seat.
Galt residents Rodney Stanhope, Rick Salton and George Romano have also pulled papers for the city council race.
Incumbent City Treasurer Sean Farrell, and incumbent City Clerk Elizabeth Aguire have both filed papers to keep those positions.
In order to qualify for these races, candidates must be a registered voter who resides within the city limits of Galt. Candidates must also secure 25 signatures of registered voters within the city to serve as a nomination for the seats.
In the Galt Joint Union High School Board race, there are three seats open in 2008. Two are regular four-year terms, and one is a short, or unexpired, term of two years created by the resignation of elected board member Pat Maple in 2006.
Board Member Robert (Gus) Prouty was appointed to fill that seat in 2006, but only until the general election of 2008, at which time the board agreed to open the seat for public consideration of the remaining two years of the original term.
Prouty had pulled papers to continue in that seat. Thus far, former GHS board member Dennis Richardson has filed papers to challenge Prouty for the seat.
In the race for the four-year seats, incumbent Norman Pearson has filed papers to keep his seat. He will be challenged, so far, by former Galt High School vice principal Diann Kitamura, Galt resident Constance Goethel, and former high school board and city council candidate Kathleen Amos.
GHS Board incumbent Sue Roberts has not pulled papers to seek re-election. Should Roberts decide not to seek re-election, the filing period for this race will be extended one week.
It’s shaping up to be a race in the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District. Both incumbents in that two-seat race, Erv Hatzenbuhler and Susan Richardson, have filed papers to seek re-election. Local residents John Gordon and Douglas Vanderkar will challenge them for a seat on that board of directors.
Candidates for these races must be registered voters who reside within the boundaries of Galt’s two school districts.
In the outlying communities, papers have been pulled for only one of six open seats on school district governing boards.
In Herald, William Smith has filed for one of two open seats on the Arcohe Union Elementary School Board. Arcohe feeds students into Galt High School, as do Oak View Elementary in Acampo, and New Hope Elementary in Thornton.
No papers have been pulled for either New Hope or Oak View, where there are two seats open in each district.
As GHS feeder schools, candidates for theses races must also be registered voters who reside within the Galt school district boundaries.
The period to pull and file papers ends on Aug. 8, unless incumbents in any race do not seek re-election. In those races, the filing period will be extended by one week.
The filing period for all races is open until Aug. 8 at 5 p.m., unless any incumbent in any race decides not to seek re-election. In that case, the filing period for those races will be extended to Aug. 13.
Papers for the city council race can be picked up and filed at the Galt City Clerk’s office, located at 380 Civic Drive. There is a $25 filing fee for this race, plus additional fees for publication of a candidate’s statement in the county’s sample ballot. The city clerk can be reached at (209) 366-7130, or online at clerk@ci.galt.ca.us.
Candidates can pull and file papers for the Galt High School and elementary district races, the Oak View Union Elementary School, Arcohe Union, and New Hope school board races in Sacramento at the Sacramento County Voter Registrar’s office, located at 7000 65th Street, Suite A. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Their phone number for questions is (916) 875-6451, and they can be reached online at www.co.sacramento.ca.us/elections.
Papers can also be pulled and filed for these races at the San Joaquin County Voter Registrars Office at 212 North San Joaquin Street in Stockton. Office hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Their phone number for questions is (209) 468-2885, and they can be reached online at www.sjcrov.org.
There are no filing fees for school board races, but there are fees associated with publishing a candidate’s statement in the county’s sample ballot.
|
|
