ENCINITAS – Seven people have pulled papers so far to run in the Nov. 4 election for three available seats on the Encinitas City Council.
Councilman James Bond is retiring after 16 years, leaving his seat open. Two incumbents – Jerome Stocks and Maggie Houlihan, both on their second term – are up for re-election, if they choose.
The filing period for municipal candidates began July 14 and ends Aug. 8. The deadline is extended a week if an incumbent does not file, as is expected.
Stocks, an insurance agent who is currently in the council's mayoral rotation, has taken out election papers at the City Clerk's Office. Houlihan would not say whether she plans to run, but said she will be making an announcement soon.
Meanwhile, six challengers have taken out papers: Judge Anthony “Tony” Brandenburg, Rachelle Collier, Doug Long, Robert Nanninga, Harriet Seldin and Joseph Sheffo.
Brandenburg is chief judge of the Intertribal Court of Southern California and a retired Superior Court commissioner. He is a member of the Olivenhain Town Council and a past school trustee.
Collier is an office administrator for a dentist. She is president of the Leucadia Town Council and secretary of the Leucadia 101 Main Street Association.
Long, who owns a plumbing business, campaigned unsuccessfully for a council seat in 2006. He is chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission and president of the Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association.
Nanninga, a partner in the E Street Cafe, also ran unsuccessfully in 2006. He is a past chairman of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission. As a professional actor and poet, he teaches theater classes for children in the public schools.
Seldin, a dentist, is a founding board member of the Encinitas advocacy group People and Dogs Zones, or PADZ. She has served on the Dental Board of California and is a past chairwoman of the county Health Services Advisory Board.
Sheffo is a former editorial writer with the North County Times. Before joining the newspaper, he worked as a policy aide for county Supervisor Pam Slater-Price.
Tanya Mannes: (619) 498-6639; tanya.mannes@uniontrib.com
