VENTURA : 8 More Join Council Race; Total Now 19

Eight people added their names to the list of candidates running for three seats on the Ventura City Council during an extended filing period that ended Wednesday.

The filing deadline was extended from Friday to Wednesday because Mayor Richard Francis and Councilman John McWherter are not seeking reelection. Deputy Mayor Donald Villeneuve, a Ventura College biology instructor, is seeking reelection.

The new candidates bring to 19 the number of hopefuls in the race.

The candidates who filed during the extended period were: Andrew Hicks, food clerk; S.R. Wyatt, contractor; Jamie Steward-Bentley, psychologist and educator; Alan Berk, photographer; Alan Decotes, musician; Michael Dykes, carpenter; Greg Carson, nursery owner, and Donald Boyd, maintenance mechanic.

Like the previous election in 1989, this race is expected to focus on development and on whether the city needs to take steps to attract and keep businesses. How the city can better cope with the state’s five-year drought is also likely to be debated.