Call is open for new city leaders

November 14, 2003

If you've been one of those people sitting on the fence and looking in on the Oakley City Council from time to time and thinking you could do a better job, now is your chance to prove it. Earlier this week City Clerk Linda Todd began handing out candidate forms for people who want to run for one of three council seats up for election next year.

On March 2, voters will head to the polls and pick three candidates for the seats currently held by Pat Anderson, Brad Nix and Tinker Vanek. All have sat on the council since Oakley became a city in July 1999. While these people have done well in office the whole point of a democracy is to have a choice when you pick your council members, so this is your opportunity to come out and show the people of Oakley what you can do for them.

With the city elections taking place away from the more recognized November general election date most voters are familiar with, many people who might be interested in running for office may miss the Dec. 5 filing deadline and not even realize it. If at least one of the incumbents does not file for re-election as of that date then the deadline will be extended an extra five days.

It isn't required that you go all the way to Martinez to have your papers drawn either. Oakley's downtown offices on Main Street have all the paperwork you will need. Todd said that candidates must reside in Oakley and must be full-time residents, not someone who merely owns property here but rents it out and lives somewhere else.

Todd said that a packet with information about becoming a candidate will come complete with a handbook that will tell you all you need to know. When it really comes down to it, though, to be the perfect candidate for the Oakley City Council is to have a love for your community, the time to spare to get involved.

Without talking about outside engagements that one may or may not want to attend, the council has at least two council meetings a month. There is also a considerable amount of reading involved in the job to keep up with all of the important details, and council members need to be involved in city activities.

One of the important things to remember is that when it really comes down to it, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to be on the council. Our founding fathers and mothers, meaning the first Oakley City Council, put together an informed team of city employees who work to run the day-to-day operations of the city. Mike Oliver, Oakley's city manager, and his staff are very experienced in city government and run most of the city's everyday functions.

Not to be too simplistic about the job of a council person, but much of the job is an advisory position. The hope is that the council member will be in touch with his or her community and available to answer questions and bring concerns to the other members of the council and the city team.

While many may feel that the current council members have done an excellent job getting Oakley started and on track, one of the nice things about being our own city as opposed to county-run is that we have the opportunity to make our own choices. The five members of the council have done a great job getting us off the ground, but that doesn't preclude that they have to stay in office forever. It is everyone's civic duty to do something good for their community. Some people are born leaders and can do a great deal to help this city grow into what it needs to be in the future.

I don't suspect that any of the council members who are up for re-election will fade away into the woodwork because they may end up off the council in March. They will always go down in history as the pioneers of our community, but don't let that stop you from putting your name on the list of people who want to help shape this community. That is what democracy is all about and that is one of the biggest reasons why Oakley became a city.

If you've been sitting on the sidelines looking in and thinking you would like to do your part, now is the time to jump off the bench and get involved. Remember that the deadline is just around the corner. Don't miss your chance.

Roni Gehlke's column on life in Oakley appears each week in the Brentwood News.

Distributed by the Contra Costa Times

Return to Oakley in the News