Candidates interested in running for local offices in the Nov. 8 election have until 5 p.m. today to submit their qualifying paperwork.
Up for grabs in the City of Morgan Hill election are the mayor’s seat, two spots on the city council, city clerk and city treasurer. In the Morgan Hill Unified School District are three seats on the board of education.
According to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office website, four potential candidates—including incumbent Mayor Steve Tate—have picked up the paperwork to qualify to be on the Nov. 8 ballot. Also on the “unofficial list” of candidates are Joseph Carrillo, Tony Figueroa and Kirk R. Bertolet.
The “unofficial list” of candidates on the registrar’s website indicates those who been issued their “declaration of candidacy,” but have not necessarily completed the paperwork to qualify. Some of the candidates have submitted the paperwork, as indicated with a date next to the field “declaration of candidacy filed” under each name on the registrar’s list. The completed paperwork must be submitted to election officials by 5 p.m. Aug. 12 if a candidate wants to appear on the ballot.
For the two city council seats, incumbents Larry Carr and Marilyn Librers along with three challengers have pulled papers from election officials. Challengers listed so far are Rene Spring, Mario Banuelos and Armando Benavides.
The top two vote recipients in the council election will win the two seats that are up for grabs. Council members serve four-year terms, and the mayor serves a two-year term.
Incumbent City Clerk Irma Torrez has pulled paperwork for re-election. She is the only candidate on the unofficial list so far.
No candidates are yet listed in the race for Morgan Hill City Treasurer. Incumbent and long-time City Treasurer Michael Roorda announced last month that he will not be seeking election.
Council members Rich Constantine and Gordon Siebert will remain on the council after the election, as their current terms expire in 2018.
On the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s board of education, three expiring seats are up for grabs with two (Trustees Tom Arnett and Rick Badillo) filing with the registrar’s office and the other (Board President Bob Benevento) pulling papers but not filing as of Friday morning.
Arnett won an abbreviated at-large seat in June, taking over for former trustee Amy Porter-Jensen who resigned in October 2015.
However, MHUSD will hold its first trustee area election in November, after making the change due to the threat of a lawsuit from a Latino advocacy group. Instead of voting in all candidates regardless of address, voters can now only vote in election years that have a candidate within their trustee area. Candidates must also live in that trustee area if they plan to run.
Arnett, who is designated in Trustee Area 5 and is currently running unopposed with no other candidates having pulled papers thus far, moved his family over the Fourth of July weekend to a residence within his trustee area so he could seek a full four-year term. Those maps can be viewed on the district website, mhusd.org, under the “Find Your Trustee Area” tab.
Badillo has already committed to running for re-election and is designated in Trustee Area 6. He will be up against a pair of challengers in Albert Beltran Jr. and nonprofit director Mary Patterson, according to the county’s unofficial candidate list.
Meanwhile, in Trustee Area 7, incumbent Benevento and newcomer Teresa Murillo are listed as having pulled paperwork but have not yet filed to be on the November ballot. If Benevento does not file by the end of the day, the nomination period for his seat will be extended another week.
Board members elected in November will serve four-year terms beginning December 2016.
Vice President Ron Woolf (Trustee Area 2), along with Trustees Donna Ruebusch (Area 1), Gino Borgioli (Area 3) and David Gerard (Area 4), remain on the board and those four seats are set to expire in 2018.
The Nov. 8 election will also feature races for president, U.S. congressional offices, as well as statewide, regional and county ballot contests.
Check back for updates on which candidates officially qualify for the Nov. 8 election.
