Two-term councilman seeks re-election focusing on improving city
services
Morgan Hill – Greg Sellers knows political office takes a toll. With four young children at home –three of them born since he first took office in 1998 – the 44-year-old two-term Morgan Hill councilman’s decision to bid for another reelection in November didn’t come easy.
But he won the support of his family, most importantly his wife Suzi, and he now hopes to win the votes he’ll need this fall to hold onto his council seat.
In November voters will pick two candidates to fill two vacancies on the council. So far, only Sellers and Alex Kennett have announced their intentions to run. Outgoing Councilman Steve Tate plans to run for mayor against incumbent Dennis Kennedy. The seats are at large and the top vote-getters are decided in the general election.
“It was a difficult decision,” Sellers said. “But there are a number of projects I am determined to see through.”
Topping his agenda:
n Extend the redevelopment agency with a “narrow focus” on economic development and affordable housing.
n Explore affordable ways to expand fire services in the next four years.
n Find ways to make Morgan Hill’s new public facilities, such as the library and aquatics center, financially successful.
“There is an understanding we need to do more to take in taxes,” said Sellers, who is chairman of the city’s Community and Economic Development Subcommittee.
“When things were good,” he said, “at the end of the last decade, we had surplus. And we were prudent. But the reserve is running out. The key in the next few years is to figure out how to expand our tax base and do that in a way that makes sense for Morgan Hill.”
Sellers sees a downtown renaissance as the answer. The idea, he said, would be to build off of the nuanced restaurants and shops already there. And when the new county courthouse is up and running, Sellers expects the lunch crowd to grow. “We’re poised to take downtown to the next level,” he said, adding he envisions filling in “missing teeth” with new development projects on vacant lots.
Routing sales tax from new businesses into the city’s bank accounts is the goal, he said, and he believes Morgan Hill can do this without ushering a box store bonanza that could damage the town’s unique rural character.
However, he added, he may advocate for one or two more auto dealerships next to the successful car lots already in Morgan Hill. “I don’t want an auto mall!” he explained. “But there’s open land next to the dealerships we have – we could fill that and be done with it.”
If reelected Sellers said he would continue his support of services he feels benefit Morgan Hill’s many young families. He’s particularly proud of having helped shepherd in a new library, a new aquatics center and a new community center while in office. “Twenty years from now,” he said, “I’m sure I’ll look back and be proud of helping to bring those facilities to our communities.”
Another goal of his, he said, would be to expand recreational programs for children.
El Toro Youth Center Director Laurie Escobar, a longtime Morgan Hill resident, said she was happy to hear Sellers will seek reelection this fall. “I have always supported Greg because I think he’s a visionary for young people in the community,” Escobar said. “When you look at how many kids we have coming up, you better be youth-oriented in this community.”
