Holmes, a former finance director in the corporate and non-profit sectors, seeks his second term, stressing his experience. He has lived in Pittsburg for 25 years.
In the council race, three incumbents are asking voters to let them finish what they started.
"I don't feel changing the team is in the best interest of the city. We're on top of what we're doing, we know what we are doing and we are making excellent progress. Bringing in new people doesn't help the situation," Vice Mayor William Glynn said of his decision to seek a second term.
Glynn, a retired naval officer and educator, has lived in Pittsburg for 16 years. He cited his campaign Web site, www.billglynn.com, where he outlines his positions and declares his goals if re-elected. Among those goals are improving the jobs-housing balance, continuing to entice businesses to Pittsburg to create local jobs and working with others seeking to develop a seaport in the city.
Mayor Michael Kee, a Pittsburg architect and 12-year Pittsburg resident, also seeks his second term on the council. Kee's campaign Web site is www.michaelkee.net.
"We've had a lot of positive change over the last four years," said Kee. "We're not quite done yet and we need to complete things that are in progress. The most obvious things are the Black Diamond project from Fifth to Eighth streets along Railroad Avenue in Old Town, the Gateway project at 10th and Railroad, and the promenade under construction at the marina. We need to complete work on our hillside development ordinance so we can define how construction will occur in the hills and we are just beginning things around e-Bart and the Civic Center at Highway 4 where we hope to incorporate a new library."
Nancy Parent seeks her fourth term, which would also be her third consecutive term. After serving one term and stepping down, she said she was asked to come back to the council "because things were not going well.
"We've got it on the right track now, but we're not all the way there. There are things I wanted to do that are not complete, such as the hillside ordinance. I'm retired now and I have lots of time to devote to it," she said.
Parent, whose community service includes tenure on the Community Advisory Commission, the Pittsburg Unified School District board and two terms as mayor (Pittsburg council members take turns serving as mayor), added that when she retired from active practice as an attorney, she resigned from the bar "so I wouldn't be tempted" to go back to work.
Challenging the incumbents is Salvatore N. Evola, an employee of Discovery Builders, and Larry Wirick, a retired Internal Revenue Service employee.
Evola, a fourth-generation Pittsburg native whose great-grandfather and grandfather served on the City Council, said he is running because he wants to take the city from "good to great."
Evola is a member of the Los Medanos College Foundation, the college's fund-raising arm and a member of the executive board of the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce.
"I plan to one day get married and raise a family in Pittsburg," said Evola.
He said he believes his political science degree and his experience in dealing with 24 other cities during his six-year career with Discovery Homes qualifies him to be a council member.
"I think the city is doing a fantastic job. I want to take it from good to great. I want to make it one step better and follow in the footsteps of my great-grandfather and grandfather," he said.
Wirick, whose campaign Web site is www.larrydwirick.com, is a 17-year Pittsburg resident who has served on the Tri-Delta Transit Authority's board and as a city representative to the Contra Costa Transportation Authority. He also has served on a Mt. Diablo school district committee.
"I think we need to press forward with the Buchanan bypass and continue to push for extending BART or e-BART to get people moving faster between work and home," Wirick said. "I want to continue to push for the Black Diamond project in Old Town and for the seaport."
Wirick, who ran for the council unsuccessfully in 2004, was asked how he differed from the incumbents. "I've got no quarrel with what they've accomplished. Certainly we are on the same page. They are for the improvement of Pittsburg. I don't see myself as different. I'd just like to give Pittsburg voters another option," he said.
In the City Clerk's race, incumbent Lillian Pride is not seeking re-election. Her deputy, Alice Evenson, and retired federal employee Jess Centeno are seeking to replace her.
Evenson started her civil service career as a stenographer in the Alameda County Probation Department and came to work for Pittsburg in 1997. She has served as deputy city clerk for the past five years.
"I hold a certified municipal clerk's certificate from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. That takes about four years of work to receive," the 27-year Pittsburg resident said.
Of the clerk's duties, Evenson said: "You really have to be aware of all the laws. It is truly an apolitical position because you are the gatekeeper in a lot of ways, keeping the council on track for the Brown Act (the state's open meeting law). You take care of the all the city records, conflict of interest and campaign filings and oversee the election process."
Centeno, a three-year Pittsburg resident, said he has served on the San Francisco grand jury as well as various federal and state commissions including the Selective Service board.
"I thought I might be able to do a good service for the community as well as investigate and make recommendations and follow up many subjects that relates to improvement of the city. I know what the city clerk's duties are from my research. But being the city clerk, I might be able to research things that are not only the job of the clerk but I might find other things that could be funded or improved," he said.
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