In a popular novel a politician challenging a mentor for the top
of the heap would be attempting a palace coup. In Morgan Hill it’s
just a new wrinkle in the Nov. 2 election. What is unusual here is
that one council member is supporting the move, another supports
both and a third will stay completely out of the fray.
In a popular novel a politician challenging a mentor for the top of the heap would be attempting a palace coup. In Morgan Hill it’s just a new wrinkle in the Nov. 2 election.
What is unusual here is that one council member is supporting the move, another supports both and a third will stay completely out of the fray.
It has been a widely known secret for several weeks that Councilman Greg Sellers would run for Mayor Dennis Kennedy’s position on the dais but he hadn’t wanted to make it official until after the March 2 election.
“I wouldn’t have proceeded without the support of a majority of the council,” Sellers said.
Sellers said he had been thinking of running for more than a year and decided firmly several weeks ago, after talking to colleagues, friends and family. He has two years left in his four-year term.
The mayor’s term of office is two years.
Sellers wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t running against Kennedy so much as running off in a new direction.
He and the current mayor have talked about Sellers’ running for mayor.
“This has nothing to do with the mayor’s past performance,” Sellers said. “It’s a good council and I just want to take it to the next level.”
Morgan Hill’s greatest challenge, as Sellers sees it, is the development of Coyote Valley.
“It will be huge and it’s vital that we engage the City of San Jose more than in the past,” he said. “They’ve been somewhat dismissive of us in the past but the geographical and economic impacts will be far greater on us than on San Jose.”
Economic development – bringing the right kind of new business to town and deciding what that is – is high on his list too.
“It’s important to ask the voters what they want us to do but we must ask the right questions and give them positive choices instead of the lesser of two evils.”
Sellers sees the need for two major changes over the next 10 years.
“We must significantly expand the opportunities for young people – the library, indoor recreation and aquatic center for starters. Secondly, we must develop the business community to allow more folks to live and work here, plus expanding our economic base. We don’t want the biggest bang for the buck but the kinds of businesses good for the city. I think we’ve done a good job balancing that so far.
Both Councilman Larry Carr and Councilman Steve Tate have said they encouraged Sellers to run though both also deny having a problem with Kennedy since he was elected mayor in March 1997.
“It’s time for a change,” Tate said. “I mean no disrespect to Dennis. Some people say, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it but you can get stuck in a rut by going along the same way. I’m very happy Greg’s running.”
Tate admitted that he had been approached to run himself but had declined the honor.
“From a regional perspective, Greg is better connected than I am and the better candidate from that standpoint,” Tate said.
Carr at the moment is actually backing both men for the job.
“I support both of them running,” Carr said. “But I will wait to decide how to vote until they lay out their positions and future plans, which they have not yet done. I think a competitive race is good; it provides us with more opportunity for discussion and can bring in new ideas. I hope the council races are competitive as well.”
“It’s not good enough for an incumbent to say they want to finish what they started. I want to hear what they bring to the position, where Morgan Hill should go, how they will lead.”
Councilwoman Hedy Chang, the fifth member of Morgan Hill’s governing body, said she didn’t want to comment on Sellers’ challenge.
“I’m not in it,” Chang said. “I don’t want to get between the two.”
Kennedy said he is up for the challenge and that a cardiac problem that surfaced at Christmastime would not be a problem.
“I am running for re-election and I will be campaigning vigorously,” Kennedy said Thursday. “I’m in better health than before since the procedure (he had a stent inserted to ease blood flow) fixed an undetected problem. I feel great.”
Kennedy was philosophical about being challenged by a younger member of the council.
“We’ve always worked very closely together,” he said. “Our views are similar and we’re friends. I don’t hold any bad feelings for him wanting to run.”
Kennedy said it was a privilege to serve Morgan Hill. “It’s a wonderful community,” he said.
Asked if he thought it might be time for a change, Kennedy said no. “We’re making a lot of progress but there’s a lot of work still undone: the budget, the state retirement system all present us with a difficult financial challenge.”
Kennedy said he had helped guide the city through difficult times before.
Kennedy was first elected to the council in 1994 during the upheaval over a utility tax that resulted in a recall of four other council members.
“I bring skills that are very helpful to building a new library and finishing the indoor recreation center,” he said. “It’s also time to renew our vision for Morgan Hill.”
Sellers has lived in Morgan Hill since age 11. He graduated from Live Oak High School, went on to study American Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He said he was considered a bit of an oddity because he subscribed to the local newspaper – The Morgan Hill Times.
“There were only 8,000 people here when we moved here,” Sellers said. “Now we are the youngest city in the area and pushing 35,000. I feel like the city’s historian even though I am one of the younger members on the council. Growing up here gives you a different perspective from people who move here as adults.”
Sellers’ day job is political and policy consulting, working from home and from an office in Salinas.
He said he enjoys looking forward to the next decade in Bay Area government.
“There are a whole lot of folks who’ve grown up in their cities and are now serving in local governments – Paul Correa in Gilroy, Cindy Chavez in San Jose, Larry Carr in Morgan Hill. We all have public policy backgrounds. It’s exciting to be working with them because they understand communities and future.”
Before 1997 council members rotated through the mayorship year by year. It was the contentious Councilman Bev Freeman who caused things to change.
As mayor, Freeman would have attended meetings county and statewide and acted as the public face of the city.
Freeman objected to being passed over by fellow council members for the mayoral job and the matter was put to the voters who chose to elect their mayor for two-year terms. Kennedy was elected then and has been re-elected three times since.
Both Carr and Chang’s four-year terms expire this year. Carr and Change have not declared whether or not they will run for a second term.
Sellers said he would make a formal announcement of his candidacy on Monday, beginning the eight month campaign season.
“I look forward to an upbeat, positive campaign,” he said. “I want to set an example of how things should be run; we haven’t had a real election for several years.”
Carr said he was looking forward to the campaign.
“I hold theory that you can tell a lot about how somebody behaves in office by way they campaign,” Carr said. “I’m not necessarily a supporter of change for change’s sake. Dennis has done a good job; the council works well together and will continue to do so but change is helpful.”
If Sellers wins the election, the council would appoint an interim council member to fill his seat until the next scheduled election.
Prospective council and mayoral candidates must file with the county Registrar of Voters for the Nov. 2 election from July 12 through Aug. 6.
