Large field competes for Ceres City Council; many newcomers, one incumbent in field
Ceres voters will have a full slate of candidates to consider when casting their ballots for city council this year.
Eight candidates are running for two available seats, making the race for District 3 and District 4 highly competitive this year. The crowded field includes one incumbent, one scion from a Central Valley political dynasty and many newcomers to the political process.
In District 3, which long-serving Ceres Councilman Bret Durossette is vacating to run for mayor, four challengers from varying backgrounds are vying for the open seat. They are: Mohinder Kanda, Brandy Meyer, Bret Silveira and Juan Pablo Vazquez.
Kanda, 54, is a first-time candidate who has owned a business in Ceres for two decades and has been active in the local Sikh community. Meyer, 52, is also a business owner who runs a CPR and first-aid instruction service and ran for city council once before in 2003.
Silveira, 56, has been a deputy for the Stanislaus Sheriff’s Department for 29 years and served as deputy director for the Stanislaus County Police Activities League since 2006. Rounding out the field is Vazquez, 34, a delivery driver with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture studies and masters in business administration from California State University, Stanislaus.
Kanda, in his Bee candidate survey, said he has been active on the Sikh Temple Modesto-Ceres Advisory Committee, and also volunteered to help first responders and medical staff during the pandemic. He said his priorities will be public safety, job development and creating more youth activities.
Silveira has served on the board of directors of SAFE Kids Stanislaus and the Ceres Planning Commission, as well as been active in youth sports in both coaching and administration. With his background in law enforcement, he said on his candidate survey that public safety is a priority for him as well as youth outreach and community growth.
Meyer has a similarly long history in the city from being a Ceres Chamber of Commerce board member to involvement in groups including Soroptimist International of Ceres and the Tuolumne River Regional Parks Citizen Advisory Committee and several other committees as well as previous work in youth sports and scouting. She also listed public safety as a prime concern on her survey, and as a small business owner said she wanted to work to make Ceres a magnet for industry and new business.
Vazquez in his candidate survey said he previously ran for the Stanislaus County Office of Education Board. He said he decided to run because of how hard Ceres was hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, and what he believes were missteps by local officials. He listed community reinvestment as his most pressing concern if elected.
Ceres District 4 has three candidates taking on incumbent
In District 4, incumbent Mike Kline is challenged by Couper Condit, Eric Angel Gonzalez and Daniel Martinez. Kline has served on the council for nine years, first elected in 2011 and reelected in 2015. In March he ran in the primary to replace retiring Stanislaus County Supervisor Jim DeMartini for the county board’s District 5 seat. But he lost out in the race for the November general election to his fellow Ceres Councilman Channce Condit and Ceres City Attorney Tom Hallinan.
Couper Condit, 24, is the grandson of former Ceres Mayor and longtime valley Congressman Gary Condit and brother of Ceres Councilman and Board of Supervisors candidate Channce Condit.
Gonzalez, 22, is a political science major at Modesto Junior College and his past experience includes interning for State Sen. Anthony Cannella and volunteering with Love Ceres. Martinez, 32, works as a quality auditor at SunOpta Aseptic and has previously been a youth basketball coach and volunteer at Relay for Life and park cleanups.
For all four men running, the economy and recovering from the pandemic are priorities if elected according to their candidate surveys. Couper Condit, in an email with The Modesto Bee, has also made being accessible with regular office hours and opposing both raises for city administrators and free health insurance for council members a key part of his campaign.
Martinez, in his Bee candidate survey, emphasized his faith and how it will lead him to serve the people of Ceres as what sets him apart from other candidates in the race. Gonzalez, in his Bee survey, said he was appalled that small businesses in Ceres were forced to close during the shelter-in-place, while large corporate chains profited instead.
Kline, meanwhile, said in his candidate survey that his two terms of experience make him the best candidate and his priorities will be economic growth and public safety if given another term.
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
