Mayor among first to begin election process

Road to the office of Mayor of Barstow

The race begins! The present Mayor anxiously races to make sure he was the first to pick up papers and wants to be the first to file, rushing to gather signatures. The following day I decided to also visit our City Clerk and gather the appropiate paper work and will be visiting registered voters. I plan on spending time to answer questions and listen to their concerns before I request a signature, they deserve the attention. The race for Mayor is not to be the first to pick up papers. The race for Mayor is not to see who can raise the most money. The true race for Mayor will be the candidate who get the most votes. JOE

July 14, 2008 - 5:23PM By Andrea Goodwin, special to the Desert Dispatch BARSTOW — Barstow residents wasted no time starting the filing process for candidacy in November’s election. Filing officially opened on July 14 and several people picked up nomination papers on Monday. Incumbent Mayor Lawrence Dale said he was at city hall about five minutes before it opened in order to be the first to pick up his papers, and he intends to be the first to file. The second person to pick up papers was Nathaniel Pickett, an environmental consultant who is also running for mayor. Pickett has run for City Council seats in the past, most recently in 2006. Pickett ran for mayor in 2004, and came in fifth place. Joe Gomez, a member of the Barstow City Council, announced his intention to run for mayor during a city council meeting in April. As of 4:30 on Monday Gomez had not picked up nomination papers from City Clerk JoAnne Cousino. Carmen Hernandez, a member of the Barstow Planning Commission, also picked up papers this morning to run for a seat on City Council. Hernandez unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2006, and for mayor in 2004. The San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters office did not have statistics on who had picked up papers at the San Bernardino office as of 4:30 on Monday. In order to qualify for the Nov. 4 election candidates have to turn in 20 nomination signatures, although Cousino suggests at least 30 signatures. They must also sign required paperwork and return it to the City Clerk’s office before the end of the candidate filing period. There is no filing fee in the City of Barstow, but candidates can choose to buy a candidate statement for $345, said Cousino.