July 12, 2010

SUISUN CITY - All three incumbents on the Suisun City Council are running to keep their jobs, saying they have kept city finances stable, brought in new business and improved streets.

Mayor Pete Sanchez and council members Mike Hudson and Jane Day took out candidates papers Monday to run for re-election for the three council seats they hold.

'I am looking forward to getting my report card from the voters of Suisun City,' Sanchez said.

Sanchez cited four years of improvements during his first term as mayor, pointing to drops in crime, new businesses that have come to town 'and the budget almost balances.'

Suisun City is one of the few governments not suffering from any combination of layoffs, furloughs or service reductions, he said.

Hudson and Day are running to keep the city on course, they said.

'That includes developing the waterfront, developing business in the rest of Suisun City, continuing to improve the quality of life for our residents,' Hudson said.

Hudson mentioned helping the current owners of the Marina Center, the city's oldest shopping center, continue their efforts to fix up the center and entice more business there.

He and Day both lauded the year-old Suisun City Library and the Salvation Army's efforts to reopen a community center in central Suisun City, something the incumbents worked to see happen.

Day, who has been on the City Council since 1986, wants to add another term on the council 'because we need to keep the city on track.'

'We have many (business) projects in the works at this point and we are watching our budget very carefully,' she said.

Day described herself as 'a person who understands this city' and has been there throughout it renaissance from a town with a seedy reputation to a place people want to go.

She specifically cited the city's ongoing campaign to repair and renovate its streets.

'Our roads are now in extremely good shape and more money is going into our roads,' Day said.

In Vacaville, former Vacaville City Councilman Steve Hardy has taken out papers to run for the mayor's seat being vacated by Len Augustine, who decided not to run for re-election.

Hardy resigned from the council a little more than three years ago after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him the director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Both Alex Henthorn and Mitch Mashburn took out papers to run for City Council.

Mashburn, a correctional lieutenant with the Solano County Sheriff's Office, ran for council two years ago but didn't win. He was appointed to the Vacaville Planning Commission. Henthorn is a member of the Vacaville Community Services Commission.

City Councilman Curtis Hunt has said he is running to keep his seat. Councilwoman Pauline Clancy wouldn't say whether she will run for re-election.

By Ian Thompson - DAILY REPUBLIC