Barring some surprise write-in candidates, the Nov. 6 election in Marin is looking like a bit of a snooze-fest.
Despite what promises to be a contentious battle for the U.S. presidency between Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, Marin has a light slate of candidate races in the fall, and most of them feature few challengers to the incumbents.
The candidate filing period closed last Friday, though it is extended to Wednesday for the two local races where an incumbent didn’t file: the board and the Marin Resource Conservation board.
The Marin Municipal Water District board has two open seats this fall. Incumbents Larry Russell and Armando Quintero were the only ones to file for their seats, meaning that they will likely go unchallenged for another four-year term unless a competitive write-in candidate emerges.
Russell, who lives in Tiburon, represents Division 5, which includes Larkspur Landing, San Quentin, Strawberry, Tiburon, Belvedere, Sausalito and parts of Corte Madera and Marin City. San Rafael resident Quintero, meanwhile, represents Division 2, which includes San Rafael, East San Rafael, Bret Harte, Sun Valley, Dominican Area, Bayside Acres, Country Club, Pt. San Pedro, Loch Lomond, Glenwood, Peacock Gap and China Camp. Quintero was appointed to the MMWD board in September 2009 after the death of board member Alex Forman.
The Marin Healthcare District board has two seats open, and incumbents Hank Simmonds, a retired physician, and Ann Sparkman, who was appointed to the board in 2011 after the resignation of Sharon Jackson, both seeking new terms. San Rafael attorney Joe Salama, who , has filed to run again.
The Marin County Resource Conservation board has three seats open, and incumbents Hank Corda and Steve Doughty filed for re-election, while incumbent Richard Plant did not. West Marin resident Joseph Hamilton Mendoza. Since Plant did not file, the deadline to file has been extended to Wednesday.
For the Strawberry Recreation District board, regular-term members Peter Teese and Julie Zener did not file for re-election to those terms, though Teese filed for one of the board’s short-term seats. Short-term member Pamela Bohner filed for a long-term seat, and Zener didn’t file at all. Strawberry resident Barrett Nichols also filed for a long-term seat.
Those interested in filing for seats for which the incumbent hasn't filed have until Wednesday to do so at the Marin County registrar of voters office in the Marin Civic Center, Room 121, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
