As the Monterey Peninsula's most populous city, it's perhaps fitting that Seaside has one of the most crowded field of candidates in the region.
Three candidates are running for mayor, none of whom are incumbent Ralph Rubio. Rubio is retiring after serving as either mayor or a council member for the better part of the last two decades.
The only currently-serving elected official among the mayoral candidates is Kayla Jones, a young progressive who was elected to City Council in 2016 after unseating Ian Oglesby, a fellow Democrat.
Now Oglesby, who has since begun serving on the Planning Commission, is also running for mayor.
Among the more notable contrasts between the two candidates in the 2016 election was that Oglesby supported the now-failed mega-development Monterey Downs, which after years of planning and growing activist opposition, went down in flames after the 2016 election.
Also running for mayor is political newcomer Lisa Anne Sawhney, who has been vocal at council meetings over the past several months on the subject of parks.
The field for City Council is also crowded, with five candidates for two open seats.
Among those five candidates is incumbent Jason Campbell, who was elected in 2014; incumbent Dennis Alexander, also elected in 2014, is not seeking re-election.
Other candidates include Jon Wizard, who has been attending council meetings, Fort Ord Reuse Authority board meetings and many other public events over the past several months. He also serves on the Monterey County Planning Commission and Seaside's Environmental Committee.
Also vying for council is Regina Mason, co-founder of the nonprofit The Village Project, and current president (and long-time member) of the local chapter of NAACP.
Dennis Volk, owner of Mal's Market in Seaside, is throwing his hat in the ring. Rounding out the field is Sam Gaskins, longtime pastor of Christian Memorial Tabernacle, a church on the former Fort Ord that feeds and clothes the needy, but that is also facing a legal battle with Seaside because it sits on city-owned land and slated for demolition.
Jones still has two more years in her term, so if she is elected mayor her council seat will also open up, and the council will have discretion as to how to fill it.
(2) comments
anyone who was present at the 9/6/18 city council meeting and witnessed her childish outburst should now know that kayla jones is far too immature to hold the position of mayor and probably should be removed from her seat on the council. it should also be noted that ms. jones has spent thousands of dollars of the city's money to provide childcare while she attends meetings. who is providing the childcare? mostly kayla's mother and/or sister. you can see the documents yourself by looking through the white binder that is available for public viewing at city hall. there are a few other irregularities in that binder as well. like a trip to hawaii and another trip to washington dc.
Apparently reality bytes doesn't do IT'S homework. Don't play keep away with the facts, tell everyone what the trips to Hawaii an D.C. were for. And I suppose Reality Bytes would prefer strangers watching their kids, most mother's I know would much rather have family watching their kids, and thanks to Mrs. Jones efforts they can be a part of the process should they want a voice in city politics. And finally why not tell what the immature outburst were, instead of using your adjective, use your words. Fact is, reality bytes, but the truth hurts.
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