Elections

Current Martinez Unified School District Board member Kathi McLaughlin announced over the weekend that she is entering the race for one of the two City Council seats on the November ballot.more...

Another candidate has tossed her hat in the City Council election ring; Gay Gerlack pulled the necessary papers yesterday and declared her campaign was officially underway.

“It was not an easy decision, because of all the things I’ve involved with,” Gerlack explained, but felt as an “independent-minded candidate who believes Martinez can be a thriving city that supports local businesses, the arts, environment and the unique history of downtown,” it was time for her to run.more...

City Council incumbents Mike Menesini and Lara DeLaney are facing competition in their bid for re-election. 

Scott Alstad and Tim Platt both received the necessary paperwork from the Contra Costa County Elections Division last week to run for City Council in the November general election. While Alstad confirmed he’s officially in the race, Platt said Tuesday he is “seriously considering running,” and has until August 6 to decide.more...

On Tuesday, voter turnout in Martinez hovered around 30 percent throughout the City’s 17 precincts.

Democrat John Fitzgerald made a bid to replace George Miller as the Democratic candidate for the District 7 Congressional seat, but only garnered 4,035 votes from Contra Costa voters, or 14 percent, compared to Miller’s 25,190 (86 percent) according to the latest figures available from the Contra Costa County Elections Division on Wednesday afternoon.more...

All three of the candidates for Contra Costa District Attorney agree on one thing: the D.A.’s office is rife with dysfunction after years of mismanagement and each has vowed that should they win the election, it will no longer be ‘business as usual’ for the 170 staff members that prosecute criminal cases from the County’s 17 police departments and the Office of the Sheriff. 

MARK PETERSONmore...

Treasurer-Tax Collector candidate Karen Thibodeau lists pension reform and increased return on the County’s investments as her two chief goals if elected to the position. 

According to the County’s website, “the mission of the Treasurer - Tax Collector is to bill, collect, invest, borrow, safeguard, and disburse monies and properties.”

After 12 years, Bill Pollacek is retiring and has backed his deputy, Russell Watts, to replace him. But Thibodeau, a Certified Public Accountant, thinks the investment choices made by the current administration is questionable.more...

As Tuesday’s primary election nears, candidates have earnestly stepped up their advertising in an effort to win over voters, as evidenced by the proliferation of television and radio election commercials in the past week.

County Assessor incumbent Gus Kramer was one of the first candidates to authorize friends and family, and a campaign consultant company, to place campaign signs at strategic locations around Martinez, once the 90-day rule kicked into effect.more...

The last profile in our Meet a Candidate series is George Miller; since our readers are most likely well familiar with the 35-year-incumbent and his biography, we asked Miller to specifically respond to some of the statements made by his challengers, with a few policy and voting record questions thrown in. 

In the next week, we welcome Gazette readers to send in their questions for Miller, and we’ll pass them on and publish his answers before the June 8 Primary Election.more...

Although he possesses an eighth degree black belt in karate and mixed martial arts, with a strategy of bipartisanship and a little help from his friends, Vacaville’s Eugene Ray is planning on wresting away California’s 7th Congressional District from incumbent George Miller in November.more...