Politics & Government

San Rafael Plumber, Fed Up with Downtown Grit, to Join Council Race

November's contested San Rafael City Council race is taking shape. Which candidates do you side with? Tell us in the comments!

Five people, including a San Rafael plumber frustrated with San Rafael’s homeless, an affordable housing critic and familiar City Council faces, have pulled papers to run in November’s San Rafael City Council race. The seats of Councilwoman Kate Colin and Councilwoman Barbara Heller will be on the ballot.

The first day candidates could pull papers was July 15. No one has filed the papers yet, according to San Rafael City Clerk Esther C. Beirne.

 

Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The candidates are:


San Rafael Councilwoman Kate Colin

Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Colin served on the San Rafael Planning Commission for eight years before she was unanimously appointed to the City Council in January 2013 to replace Marc Levine after he was elected to the State Assembly.

Colin, a Sun Valley resident, recently told Patch that Assemblyman Levine has formally endorsed her in the November council race.

Brockbank, an attorney, was on the council from 2007 to 2011 and lost a race for San Rafael mayor in November 2011 to Mayor Gary Phillips, who earned 56 percent of the vote.

 

Former San Rafael Planning Commissioner Maribeth Bushey-Lang

Bushey-Lang has lived in San Rafael for 20 years and served on the city’s planning commission for more than 13 years.

Heller, who has served on the San Rafael City Council for 20 years, announced last month she won’t run for re-election this November and has thrown her support behind newcomer Bushey-Lang.

 

Terra Linda resident and high-density housing critic Randy Warren 

Warren, a businessman and San Rafael attorney, has lived in San Rafael for 19 years.

 

Peter Levi, the owner of Peter Levi Plumbing

Levi said after having two trucks stolen and other vehicles rummaged through in his business’ yard, at 1818 Second Street, he decided he wanted to do something to clean up downtown San Rafael. He said he's fed up with the impact the homeless have on downtown. 

“Just walking down Fourth Street is embarrassing. You can’t walk down Fourth Street and not get accosted. I look at all the businesses closing and it’s just a bad environment,” he told Patch. “I see San Rafael going in a direction I don’t like. I have two choices — to change it or leave San Rafael, and I’ve live in San Rafael my whole life.”

He said San Rafael is a “dirty city” now. “The homeless are camping on Fourth Street. You see drug deals out in the open,” Levi said. “I think people have a responsibility, whether they are homeless so not, to be respectful.”

Levi, 51, grew up in Mill Valley and has lived in San Rafael for more than 30 years. He started Peter Levi plumbing roughly 20 years ago, he said. 

He admitted he doesn’t know much about city politics, but said it might be time to “get some fresh blood in there.”

“I think businesses in downtown San Rafael need an advocate,” Levi said.

 

San Rafael Sales Tax, Healthcare District Bond Also on Ballot

In November San Rafael voters will also vote on the renewal and increase of a sales tax that would largely be used to fund fire and police services, according to city officials. 

The half-cent sales tax, which expires in 2016, currently generates more than $6.5 million annually and funds elements of city services including police, fire, public works and library. The city’s annual general fund budget is roughly $58 million.

The San Rafael City Council recently approved putting the sales tax measure, Measure S, on the ballot with an additional quarter cent increase, according to the Marin Independent Journal.

The Marin Healthcare District will have a $394 million general obligation bond measure on the Nov. 5 election ballot, hoping to use the money to pay part of the cost to rebuild and modernize Marin General Hospital.

The district would tax property owners who reside within its boundaries, which encompass all of Marin County except Novato and part of West Marin, to pay for the 30-year bonds. Property owners would pay about $20 per $100,000 of the assessed valuation of their property, according to a district spokesperson. 

In the November election, City of Novato voters will be asked to consider Measure F — a half-cent sales tax to maintain vital city services.

 

What do you think will be the main issues in this year's council race? Tell us in the comments!


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