As we come closer to the Nov. 8 elections, races for city council are heating up in Belmont and San Carlos.
In Belmont, there are two city council seats up for debate this Nov., held by incumbents David Braunstein and Christine Wozniak, who are being challenged by Paul Brownlee, Michael McGuinness and planning commissioner Eric Reed.
Belmont Council members Braunstein and Wozniak played a key role in developing Belmont’s Fire Department and Library projects.
Braunstien has served on the council since 2007, and is also a teacher at Carlmont High School; furthermore, he is endorsed by Assemblymen Jerry Hill and Jackie Speier.
Wozniak served as the town’s Planning Commissioner before being elected in 2007.
She holds a BA in English literature from UC Berkeley, and is also endorsed by former Representative Anna Eshoo.
Challenger Brownlee, a local blue-collar radio technician, is focusing on stopping California’s new high-speed rail from coming up El Camino, and wants to make the city more traffic friendly and pedestrian accessible.
When asked about Recology’s recent rate increases at a candidate forum at Twin Pines Community Center, he stated that “we should consider putting our trash collection out to bid from other companies.”
Belmont’s recent planning commissioner Eric Reed wants to rebuild Belmont’s relationship with Notre Dame University (the largest landowner in the city) and have a more proactive approach to building a centralized downtown area.
Candidate Micheal McGuinness, who also ran in 2009, is a Software Sales Executive at Microsoft and wants to revitalize the business community, bring more fiscal responsibility to the city council and use green initiatives to make residents adopt a Eco-friendly lifestyle. McGuinness is also endorsed by the San Mateo County Association of Realtors.
The San Carlos City Council created controversy when they voted 4-1 to disband the San Carlos Police Department and hand over duties to the county sheriff office to cut down on the city’s deficit.
While the move was a significant step in cutting down the town’s burgeoning $3.5 million deficit, it divided the local community.
Councilman Randy Royce, the mayor at the time, is running for reelection against San Carlos School trustee member Mark Olbert and the president of the San Carlos Chamber Board Ron Collins.
Olbert is serving his third term on the San Carlos school board, and volunteers in the San Carlos Educational Foundation, where the Mark Olbert award for outstanding generosity was named after him. In addition, he has worked at several large companies, such as biotech leader Amgen and oil giant ARCO.
Collins is the founder and owner of the local Ron Collins Finance & Insurance, is a current member of the town’s Economic Advisory Council and served as San Carlos’s planning commissioner from 1988-1992.
If you want to participate in either of the elections happening in Belmont or San Carlos, be sure to pickup a registration form from your local library or post office (if you are 18 or older) and mail it to the San Mateo County Elections Board by Oct. 24.

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