Filing period for elected offices opens next week
Published:  July 09, 2014

With three open seats on the City Council the race will be on next week with the official opening of the filing period.

There are also two openings on the Blanchard Community Library Board with one Trustee already stating they will not run.

Being a member of the five person City Council is a position that pays a $300 month stipend but offers a much healthier $1,000-plus monthly payment that can be applied to the city’s cafeteria health insurance plan or pocketed. The Council also receives an annual expense account of $2,000-plus for city-related business.

Those interested in running for council can pick up nomination forms at City Hall starting July 14.

Three of the five council positions are opening: Ralph Fernandez and Bob Gonzales have each served two four-year council terms and Rick Cook -who had served on the council in priors - was again elected in 2000.

Several people have been mentioned as potential candidates and the closer it comes to the filing period more are stepping up.

Former Mayor and Councilman John Procter, who declined to seek a third council term in 2008, has indicated he will again seek the office while others have also expressed strong interest. 

Longtime Blanchard Community Library Trustee Brenda DeJamaer said that due to family responsibilities she will not run for a seat on the board she first joined in 2002. 

Newcomer Laura Phillips, appointed to the board on a 3-1 vote in December to replace late Trustee Suzi Skutley, who passed away in November, said she will run for the seat.

Candidates seeking elected city and other offices will be able to pull nomination papers until Friday, August 8 at 5 p.m. when filing closes, but they would have to hustle: the filing must include the signatures of at least 20 registered voters that will have to pass the muster of the Ventura County Elections Division through a careful vetting process. 

If an incumbent declines to seek reelection, candidates will have an extra five days to return nomination forms and the deadline will be moved to August 13 at 5 p.m.

Candidates for public office also have the option of filing a deposit to cover the cost of the Candidate’s Statement that appears in the sample ballots mailed to registered voters.

The deposit for the Candidate’s Statement is based on the number of registered voters who will be receiving the ballot...  and since candidates for the BCL Board do their filing through the county, the deposit has already been published by the Ventura County Recorder/Election’s Division. 

Library board candidates seeking to publish a Candidate’s Statement will need to pay a $650 deposit to reach the estimated 12,851 registered voters in the BCL district, which includes those living outside city limits.

For more information about filing for the Santa Paula City Council race, call Deputy City Clerk Lucy Blanco at 805-933-4208.




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