SLO Election Campaign Kickoffs At Latest Parties

Photos and Story by Camas Frank ~

The Aaron Gomez for SLO City Council 2016 folks held a party July 20 to officially launch their candidate at Lincoln Market & Deli.

Mayor Jan Marx, who had already unofficially announced she’d run, got her 2016 re-election campaign underway for a fourth and final term on July 21, with a slightly different atmosphere at the Steynberg Gallery on Monterey.

Several local politicos were common to both events with SLO County Supervisor Adam Hill, City Councilwoman Carlyn Christianson and candidate Andy Pease, making appearances.

Both the Marx and Gomez exceeded the number of signatures needed for nomination papers.

The City Clerk asks for 30 just to make sure enough can be verified as local registered voters. Other candidates had collected their nomination signatures among friends or at gatherings when the filing period opened July 18.

Non-incumbents have until Aug. 17 to file. Perpetual candidate Don Hedrick filed a candidate intention statement July 19 to run for mayor again.

The candidate list for Council currently includes Michael Clark, Brett Strickland, Andy Pease, Mila Vujovich-La Barre, and Aaron Gomez.

La Barre attended Marx’s kickoff event, while Strickland and Councilman John Ashbaugh were seen at Gomez’s.

Themes common to both Marx and Gomez’s introductions and Q&A sessions were issues of housing, drought and general development.