Six people have now expressed an interest in running for Mayor of Santa Maria, with incumbent Larry Lavignino deciding not to run for re-election. The Information Station checked in with the City's Clerks Office late Monday afternoon and learned that Gilbert Rivera has now taken out papers to run for Mayor, while current Councilman Mike Cordero filed his papers on Monday.
Will Smith, who is currently a member of the Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board of Education and is the subject for a recall attempt, has taken out papers but has not yet filed. Those that have filed their papers and are qualified to run for Mayor include Dan Gebhardt, Marty Mariscal, and current Council Member Alice Patino.
Crrent City Councilman Bob Orach, Etta Waterfield, and Terri Zuniga have all qualified to run for City Council in November. Since not all incumbents ran for re-election, the deadline to file for these races is Wednesday at 5:00 pm.
At the close of the deadline Friday, City Clerk Patti Rodriguez ran unopposed in the November election, while for City Treasurer, incumbent Teresa Hall is being callenged by Toru Miyoshi.