A few moments ago, Eureka Mayor Frank Jager told the Journal the subcommittee that has been interviewing applicants to fill the vacant Fourth Ward seat on the City Council has narrowed the field to two: Rex Bohn and Melinda Ciarabellini.
Jager said that he will announce his choice Monday, after which the City Council should schedule the appointment for a vote at its regular Jan. 4 meeting.
Bohn (top), a longtime fixture on the Eureka political scene, campaigned for the same seat back in 2004 against then-incumbent Chris Kerrigan, but ended up losing by a wide margin.
Ciarabellini recently retired from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at the rank of captain. Last week she told the Times-Standard that her priorities were the budget, education and economic development.
Eureka’s Fourth Ward seat represents the tony areas around St. Joseph Hospital and Sequoia Park, with ultra-tony Lundbar Hills attached incongruously to its rear. (PDF map here.) The seat became vacant when Jager was elected Mayor in November.
In related news: The Journal has been receiving reports that someone has been conducting telephone polls asking for residents’ perceptions of the four candidates who stepped forward to be considered for the Fourth Ward vacancy, among other things. Jager said that he’s heard the same thing, but otherwise has no knowledge of it.
“It’s a bit odd,” he said. “Somebody out there is interested in it. You could have your suspicions, but I don’t know for sure.”
Jager declined to speculate, but reiterated that he had no part in the polling and did not expect to be shown the results.
This article appears in Top 10 Stories.
It’ll be Bohn. The good ol’ boys have been trying to get him a council seat for years.
Developer tested, Arkley approved
ultra-toni? those crappy houses?gimme a break!
Whaaaaat?
Ultra-pricy, anyway. Ultra-secluded.
Ultra-tony?
These are all good candidates. Eureka is fortunate.
In McKinleyville, I don’t have a beat on any of these folks, but I know of Bohn because he has been generous in his volunteering at our annual school fundraiser. Because most elected positions on our local level are, in essence, volunteer work, I do take into account a candidate’s volunteer history because it speaks to his or her character. Because local politics tend to be polarizing (thank you blogosphere), we do need adults filling leadership roles.
“Choice”? What a farce. Just like the “elections” in the USSR in the bad ol’ days. Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, all had “competition” even tho it was a done deal from the outset.
Just give Bohn the seat and be done with the myth that there was ever any question, so the CONservatives can enrich the local elites even further, and maybe just maybe, the “progressives” will get genuinely progressive for a change rather than be just slightly-watered-down “we too”s, grow a backbone, get their act together, and for once provide a genuine alternative.
But I’m not holding my breath on the “progressives”.
Why are they even considering putting Bohn into the position that the voters clearly didn’t want him in? Something smells bad here.
Rex Bohn has been extremly generous with his time for at least the last 20 years. I cannot believe his energy!
Melinda is also a good person & if Rex wasn’t the other candidate I would have been happy supporting her. But Rex is special.
Rex would make a terrific council-member. His youth-centric values, tendency to do what’s right instead of what others want him to do, incredible record of over $6 million raised for local charities/nonprofits from all sides of the political landscape and tireless energy win him well-deserved praise.
Rex was alot more fun when he owned the 4th Street Connection. The drinking loosened him up a bit.
I have nothing against Rex Bohn but he’s embroiled in to much politics and has been denied positions in the past by vote of the people.
Ciarabellini is dedicated, knowledgable and knows the needs of the citizens of Eureka without all the politics. It’s about time we had a council person that would not have their own self interest as a guide. You’ll find no one better suited for the position.
I know them both and each bring something different to the table.
Rex has name recognition and the reputation for supporting a lot of community projects and causes. I applaud him for that.
Melinda has worked quietly behind the scenes for a long time and has accomplished a lot without much glory. I think she had to make unpopular decisions in the Sheriff’s dept. and understands “process.”
I think we need someone who understands how government works. It’s slow, it can be ugly and I think Melinda understands that. And she knows how to get around the ugly.