City Council Election
By Margarita Lacabe
The San Leandro City Council voted on January 22 to hold elections for city council on June 3, 2008. They previously considered adopting instant runoff and moving the elections to November, but the de-certification of electronic voting machines made that difficult. Elections will be held for three council seats: District 2, which includes the southeastern part of town, District 4 in the Washington Manor, and District 6 in the Marina.
Surlene Grant, the current city council member for District 2 and the only person of color on the Council, is termed out this year, so the District 2 election promises to be one of the most contested and interesting ones to watch. While no candidates have filed paper work yet, it is expected that Charles Gilcrest and Ursula Reed will be among the candidates.
Gilcrest is a political consultant, with a long history in local politics. He is a member of the Board of Zoning Adjustments, the Measure B Citizens Oversight Committee, and the Sentinels, a conservative political action committee. He also has a long affiliation with the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce. Reed, a former school teacher and principal, works for the Oakland Unified School district and is on the Library Historical Commission. Other names mentioned as possible candidates are Linda Perry, who is on the San Leandro School Board, and former mayor Shelia Young.
The District 4 seat is currently held by Joyce Starosciak, who will be running again for her seat. Starosciak is an engineer and mother of two; she has previously been on the School Board. She won her seat after a run-off election against Mike Mahoney in 2004, in what must have been one of the most expensive City Council campaigns in San Leandro history – she alone spent almost $80,000. Much of her support came from developers and labor. It’s expected that perennial candidate Lou Filipovich will run against her.
Jim Prola, a retired labor and senior activist, will be defending the District 6 seat to which he was appointed a year ago. At the time, he received overwhelming support from labor, the Democratic party, community groups, and SLCAN. Hermy Almonte, who works for a property management firm, has also withdrawn papers to run for that seat. Another possible candidate is Estelle Clemons, Manager for the City of Oakland’s Community Action Partnership. SLCAN interviewed Estelle when she applied for the District 6 seat last year, and we were extremely impressed by her intelligence and knowledge base.
SLCAN would like to encourage any progressive potential candidate to enter the race. If you need information on what it entails to be in City Council or how to run for office, we invite you to contact us. The filing period for the June election opens on February 11 and ends on March 7.
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