Clock starts ticking for City Council, Blanchard Library candidates

The clock has started ticking towards the filing deadline for Santa Paula City Council, although it’s beginning to look likely that one incumbent won’t run for reelection.

Mayor Rick Cook has not yet pulled papers to join the field of seven potential candidates for one of three council seats up for grabs. 

So far, two-term council incumbents Ralph Fernandez and Bob Gonzales, former Mayor John Procter (who in 2008 declined to run for a third term), former Mayor Fred Robinson (defeated in 2012 in his bid for reelection to a second term), and political newcomers Jenny Crosswhite, Ginger Gherardi and John Demers have pulled nomination papers.

The filing deadline is Friday, August 8 at 5 p.m. but if Cook - or for that matter Fernandez or Gonzales - decide not to file, the deadline will be extended five days, to Wednesday, August 13.

Council candidates must gather the signatures of 20 verifiable registered voters on nomination forms and at the time they file they can also submit a sample ballot statement and the deposit for same. 

Each council term is four years; council members receive a $300 a month stipend plus approximately $1,000 for the city’s cafeteria healthcare plan, a payment that can be pocketed if the council member has health insurance. The council also receives a small expense account.

There is no doubt Blanchard Community Library will extend its filing period as longtime Trustee Brenda DeJamaer has already stated she will not run for reelection.

Incumbent Laura Phillips was appointed to the board on a 3-1 vote in December to replace the late Trustee Suzi Skutley, who passed away in November; Phillips has pulled papers for her seat.