So I sent Carol an email and left a message on her cell phone to find out. I checked Bill Clarkson's website and it has "Mayor" all over it. So I wondered if Carol changed her mind and decided to run for Council again after all.
Dave Hudson's wanted to run for Mayor for years, so I phoned him. Well once Dave starts talking he doesn't stop. So two hours later, we agreed that Carol is still running for Mayor, she's tough and nails and no pushover, and Dave is focusing all of his efforts to get her elected. We also discussed the West Dublin BART (It's creepy), the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (It's too powerful), and Contra Costa County redistricting (Gail Uilkema, District II Supervisor, doesn't want to trade her political security in Martinez, Pinole, and Hercules for the riskier prospects of Alamo, Danville, and San Ramon).
Carol called later that night and explained that because she's still on the City Council her literature and website say what she's doing as a Councilmember. The filing period doesn't start for another two weeks, so she won't officially start campaigning for Mayor until after she files.
Carol Lopez, Rowley's Campaign Manager, called me this morning and explained why the ad on the Express says, "Paid for by Carol Rowley for Council." Quite simply it is because that account still has some money in it, so it can be applied to the Mayoral campaign too.
For now the candidates for Mayor are still Bill Clarkson and Carol Rowley. Scott Perkins has publicly announced he is running for reelection to City Council, and Steve O'Brien reported in a recent edition of his "San Ramon Watch" blog, that Phil O'Loane is planning to run for City Council.
I expected Phil to run, but I thought he might try for Mayor. City Council is probably a better choice for him right now and so far Perkins is the only other City Council candidate because Rowley is running for Mayor and not her old City Council seat. If nobody else files for City Council, Phil and Scott will automatically be elected.
Dave Hudson said that won't happen, but he wouldn't say who else he thought would run for City Council. Speculation has it that Abram Wilson wants to stay on the panel and since he's termed out as Mayor he might run for the open Council seat.
Another candidate from the No on Measure W group might run as a slate with Phil. I know Jim Gibbon has been considering running for years, but wants to run in a slate with one or two fellow candidates. At this point I can't guess who a third person might be. Several names come to mind, but I'll hold off on any more speculation for now.
I guess we'll have to wait until July 18 or mid-August, to find out who else, if anyone, will file papers for Council or Mayor.
