The Visalia City Council will be holding a special meeting to appoint incumbents Greg Collins, District 4, and Steve Nelsen, District 5, for the term ending in November, 2022.
No other resident in Visalia filed to run for the city council in either of these districts for the November 6, 2018 election. The appointments may be made in accordance with California Election Code §10229.
Patrick Lozano pulled his candidacy papers for District 4 but, according to Communication Manger Alison Mackey, he did not qualify to run. His name still appears on the Tulare County Registrar of Voters website as a candidate.
To qualify, a candidate must be 18 years or older, a registered voter, and reside in the district that they desire to be elected to at the time they pick up a Declaration of Candidacy from the Registrar’s Office.
Lozano is a former Farmersville Police officer and now is owner of Accelerated Receivables Group, a debt collection agency.
That only leaves District 3 on the ballot this November, which encompasses West Visalia and is currently held by Mayor Warren Gubler. Candidates had an extended time to file, until August 15, because Gubler decided not to run for a third term.
The three candidates now running for the open seat are Brian Poochigian, Steve Woods and Merritt Wiseman.
The Visalia City council will be holding a special regular session at 4pm, Wednesday, August 22, at the City of Visalia Administration Board Room, 220 N. Santa Fe to vote on finalizing the appointments of Nelsen and Collins.
Collins said in response to his impending appointment, “My passion has always been to make Visalia the finest city in the Central Valley. That goal requires hundreds of decisions a year, some big and some minor. It is the totality of those decisions that determines Visalia’s future. I hope to continue to be a strong voice for preserving Visalia’s ‘quality of life'”.