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Three seats to be filled in November elections

ESCONDIDO– Potential candidates for November’s elections are getting their paperwork in order. The Candidate Nomination and Filing Period began July 14, though only one person has turned in the paperwork as of July 25.

Voters will decide on a mayor and two city council members, one from District 1 and another from District 2.

The only two who have picked up paperwork for the mayoral spot are current Mayor Sam Abed and Councilwoman Olga Diaz, according to Escondido City Clerk Diane Halverson. Abed is a conservative running for a second term, and Diaz is a liberal democrat.

Diaz was originally elected to City Council in 2008 and again in 2012. Her seat is safe this year.

Councilman Ed Gallo picked up papers to defend his seat in District 1. He is an independent Real Estate Contractor. Counsuelo Martinez intends to run against Gallo. She is a legal assistant for The American Civil Liberties Union and criticized Gallo for his attempt to stop landlords from renting to illegal immigrants.

District 2 voters will have a few more options. Current Councilman John Masson intends to file, alongside Nicole Downey, an accountant, Chad “Shad” Hunziker, owner of Our Planet Recycling and Lynda Rose.

Rick Paul, an independent who was a founding member of the Escondido Charitable Foundation, has already filed his paperwork to run in District 2, according to Halverson.

The paperwork is due August 8 at 5 p.m. in order for candidates to get their names on the ballots.

All potential candidates must get 20 signatures from Escondido registered voters, which are then confirmed by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

1 comment

Craig Casey August 23, 2014 at 12:47 am

Steve Siaw announced he’s running for Mayor. He’s a regular guy and a fresh change from team diaz / abed that Escondido has had for the last 4-6 years.

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