Tomlinson, Gandara square off as shakeup looms for council

By REBECCA BARRETT

Corvallis Gazette-Times

The race to succeed Corvallis Mayor Helen Berg remains a two-person contest. But there's been a recent change in the lineup of known candidates for the unpaid, non-partisan position.

City Council President Charlie Tomlinson, who lost to Berg in 2002 in a race so close ballots had to be recounted and the outcome was uncertain for weeks, registered a political action committee, Tomlinson for Mayor, in June 2005.

And last December, Ward 5 Councilor Rob Gandara and businessman and developer Rich Carone created another political action committee, Citizens for a Progressive Corvallis, with Carone as mayoral hopeful and Gandara recruiting candidates for the November 2006 City Council election.

Fast-forward six months, and Carone has announced that he no longer intends to run for mayor.

"I just don't have enough time," said Carone, the CEO of Korvis Automation, 2006 Celebrate Corvallis Business Person of the Year and co-developer of the luxury "Renaissance on the Riverfront" condominiums being built on First Street.

Last week Gandara, a three-term city councilor and former Hewlett-Packard Co. employee, registered a new political action committee, Rob 4 Mayor, and announced his intention to run.

And Councilor Betty Griffiths, who many had speculated would make a bid for mayor, announced last week that she is not seeking re-election after 14 years on the council and is not running for mayor.

"I am not ruling out any future elective office, but it is time to take a break," Griffiths said in a press release sent Tuesday. "I am looking forward to having more time to travel and to pursue other interests."

Succeeding Helen Berg

With the filing deadline for the November election still a month away, one thing is certain: Corvallis will have a new mayor for the first time in a dozen years next January.

Berg, 74, who has served three terms, is not running again. As president of the League of Oregon Cities, she spent the last legislative session lobbying in Salem on behalf of municipal governments, as well as chairing all Corvallis City Council meetings, making appearances at parades, festivals and other events and appointing dozens of people to the city's advisory boards and commissions.

The two men hoping to succeed her have both been council president and share many of the same goals for the city; however, they offer different ideas for how to accomplish them.

Tomlinson, 59, runs the Harrison House Bed & Breakfast with his wife, Maria.

"I'm not doing this because I don't have something better to do at noon on Mondays," Tomlinson said.

City officials need to be able to reach out, connect and listen, he said. In campaign literature, Tomlinson cites the Corvallis Vision 2020 statement as his platform.

"The job of mayor can be almost full time. It's not that they're doing the work, but facilitating it, bringing people together," Tomlinson said.

Gandara, 43, just completed the microenterprise program through Corvallis Neighborhood Housing Services and has started a new business, Pipe Makers Union LLC, building custom carbon fiber bagpipes. Gandara's top three priorities are what he calls "representative equality," downtown revitalization and setting forth an economic vision.

In a fund-raising letter, Gandara said the city's goal of honoring diversity is a first step.

In a phone interview last week, Gandara said his goal is for everyone, no matter which race, religion or economic status, to be protected from and represented in government.

"My vision is that everyone has the opportunity to realize their dreams," he said.

City Council shakeup

In addition to picking a new mayor, Corvallis voters will also be deciding who will fill the nine City Council seats for the next two years.

With Gandara and Tomlinson running for mayor and three other incumbents deciding not to seek re-

election, there will be at least five open seats, so there will be a majority of new councilors next term.

In addition to Griffiths, first-term councilors Jerry Davis in Ward 1, which includes southwest Corvallis, and Emily Hagen in Ward 6 in north Corvallis have also decided not to run.

Among the open seats, there are known candidates in four wards: College Hill Neighborhood Association President Dan Brown says he intends to run in Ward 4, including the neighborhoods around Oregon State University; former one-term councilor Mike Beilstein is running in Ward 5, including the central part of the city; former councilor Stewart Wershow is running in Ward 6 in north-central Corvallis; and Griffiths' campaign treasurer from 2004, David Hamby, is running in Ward 8, including northwest Corvallis.

Incumbents Patricia Daniels of Ward 2, including downtown; Scott Zimbrick in Ward 7, including northwest Corvallis; and Hal Brauner in Ward 9, including north Corvallis, have said they'll run again. Incumbent George Grosch of Ward 3, including south Corvallis, said he's leaning toward running.

City Recorder Kathy Louie said that candidate filing packets for mayor and City Council will be available at City Hall starting July 5. The filing period for both offices is from July 28 through Aug. 18. Tomlinson for Mayor and Rob 4 Mayor are the only two political action committees registered to date.

The City Council this term has made a number of controversial moves. They include implementing a transportation maintenance fee that people will see as an increase in their city utility bills starting next month, renaming Walnut Park for Martin Luther King, adopting the so-called Earth Charter and other sustainability measures, passing a resolution calling on the federal government to begin planning to bring U.S. military personnel home from Iraq, and enacting a phone tax that prompted a repeal effort that just qualified as the first referendum in the city in 15 years.

Louie said she hasn't seen any greater interest in city elections than usual, or political fallout other than the referendum.

Rebecca Barrett

can be reached at rebecca.barrett@lee.net

or 758-9510.