Candidates who will be on the ballot for Nov. 3 election
Two Gavilan College trustees are running unopposed
By Staff Report
With an extension of Aug. 14 because several incumbents did not file, more candidates stepped into the campaign ring for the November general election.
Marie Blankley and Reid Lerner will run for Gilroy mayor. Roland Velasco announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election for that position.
Lerner said he is running with a focus that residents working together can create “a safe, beautiful, and sustainable community.” He is a past president of Gilroy’s Downtown Business Association, and a founding board member of the Gilroy Arts Alliance.
“With my professional experience as an engineer and planner, along with my history of community involvement, I am ready to step into this leadership position for the city of Gilroy,” he said in a statement to Gilroy Life. “I got into this race because our downtown is struggling and Gilroyans deserve a strong, healthy, and prosperous central core. The city of Gilroy needs independent leadership focused on the future of our downtown and our local economy.”
Blankley, a lifelong resident and current city councilmember, has experience running her own business as a certified public accountant for 32 years.
“I’m the right person to lead Gilroy out of this crisis and back to prosperity,” she said in her statement. “As mayor, I’ll return financial stability to Gilroy, ensure city services we all count on and deserve, and promote an aggressive plan to generate new revenue and jobs . . . As mayor, I hope to improve communication between city hall and the community so that the issues we face are handled with transparency and fairness to all.”
The qualified city council candidates are Rebeca Armendariz, Zachary Hilton, Carol Marques (incumbent), Danny Mitchell, and Fred Tovar (incumbent). Cat Tucker, currently a city council member, said she would not seek another term
The school board candidates are BC Doyle (incumbent) and Melissa Nicholson Aguirre for Trustee Area 6 and Mark Good (incumbent) and Nirza Starks for Trustee Area 2. For Trustee Area 3, the qualified candidates are Jonathan Hurtado, Kevin Moller, and Michelle Nelson. Trustee James Pace said he would not seek another term. There are four seats open for GUSD, including an empty seat after Anisha Munshi resigned from the board in June.
Candidates for other races in the South Valley include seats open for the Gavilan Community College board of trustees, the Morgan Hill City Council and the Morgan Hill Unified School District.
For Gavilan’s Trustee Area 2, incumbent Jonathan Brusco, a school administrator and teacher, is the only candidate who qualified. He is a resident of Morgan Hill. For Trustee Area 4, incumbent Mark Dover, a teacher and education administrator, and Patricia Mondragon, an educator, qualified. They are both residents of Gilroy. For Trustee Area 6, Gilroy resident Rachel Perez, is the only candidate qualified on the ballot.
For Morgan Hill mayor, incumbent Rich Constantine is the only candidate qualified on the ballot.
For City Council District A, the candidates are Larry Carr (the incumbent), Gino Borgioli, and Julie Raia. For District C, Rene Spring (the incumbent) and Juan Miguel Munoz-Morris have qualified.
For MHUSD Trustee Area 5, the candidates are Ivan Rosales Montes and Pam Torrisi. For MHUSD Trustee Area 6, the only candidate is Mary Patterson (the incumbent). For MHUSD Trustee Area 7, the only candidate is Adam Escoto (the appointed incumbent).
Constantine said in a statement the ability to work effectively with the county and the state will be critical concerns for him as mayor.
“I am committed to continuing to advocate for our restaurants and businesses to open and operate safely, to listen to the concerns and needs of all of our citizens and to fight for and advocate for you each and every day,” he said.
