SAN CLEMENTE : 7 Candidates to Seek 2 Open Council Seats

In a last-minute rush of City Council candidacy filings, seven residents, including incumbents Candace Haggard and Scott Diehl, met a deadline Friday to become official candidates for two open seats in the November election.

Until Thursday, only three of 11 residents who picked up nomination forms had filed their candidacy papers.

Haggard and Diehl were the first to pick up their nomination papers July 13, saying they expected to face plenty of challengers in November.

Haggard, 41, an intergovernmental relations analyst in the Orange County Administrative Office, will be seeking her second consecutive four-year term, while Diehl, 42, a veterinarian, will be seeking his third term. Diehl served on the council from 1982 to 1986, when he was defeated in a reelection bid. He ran successfully in 1988.

Haggard and Diehl will be challenged by Daniel R. Huard, 39, a self-employed computer consultant; Jay Durkin, 56, an installer for a San Clemente interior design store; David T. Leland, 40, an accountant; Mark T. Blencowe, 36, an attorney; and longtime resident Glenn Edward Roy, who declined to leave biographical information with the city clerk’s office.

In the race for city clerk, John Koch, a semi-retired independent marketing consultant, will challenge incumbent Myrna Erway. City Treasurer Kenneth E. Carr is not facing any challengers for his position.