HUNTINGTON BEACH : Deadline for Council Candidacy Extended

The filing period for City Council candidates is being extended until Aug. 15 because two incumbents are not seeking reelection, City Clerk Connie Brockway said.

Brockway noted that state law says the filing period must be extended five days if at least one incumbent does not seek another term. The original filing deadline this year for council candidates was Aug. 10.

Two incumbent councilmen, Thomas J. Mays and Wes Bannister, have announced that they will not be seeking reelection to the council because they are running for state offices. Mays is the Republican nominee for a state Assembly seat representing the Long Beach-Huntington Beach area. Bannister is the Republican nominee for state insurance commissioner.

There are four council seats up for election Nov. 6, including the seats currently held by Mays and Bannister. The other two seats are held by Councilwoman Grace Winchell and Councilman John Erskine, both of whom are expected to seek reelection.

Brockway said that the additional five days of filing--Aug. 11 to 15--are, by state law, “only for new people (seeking office), not for incumbents.” She added that after Aug. 10, neither Bannister nor Mays could reconsider and file for the City Council.

To file as a council candidate, a person must be a registered voter and a resident of the city. Each candidate’s application must be accompanied by at least 20 signatures of registered voters in the city.

In addition to filling four City Council seats in the Nov. 6 election, city voters will also be voting on a proposed charter amendment. That proposal, placed on the ballot through the initiative process, would change the City Charter so that park and beach land could not be sold or leased unless approved by a vote of the people.