Turlock mayor faces reelection challenge; fields of newcomers contend for council seats
In the most crowded field since Turlock started district-based elections for City Council in 2016, eight candidates are vying for three seats.
Turlock voters will elect their mayor and pick two of six candidates to fill seats for Districts 1 and 3, where incumbents Nicole Larson and Andrew Nosrati are not running for reelection.
In the Turlock mayoral race, incumbent Amy Bublak, 57, faces off with former Councilman Gil Esquer, 72.
Bublak, a retired Modesto police officer, was first elected to the position in 2018, after serving 10 years on the council. Esquer, who works as a mobile notary public, was first elected in District 2 in 2016 but lost his reelection four years later to sitting Councilwoman Rebecka Monez.
If reelected, Bublak said her priorities are hiring more police officers and firefighters, implementing a roads initiative using local, state and federal funds and continuing to provide “prudent” fiscal management of the city budget.
“(I’m running) to continue the progress we have made in my first term, including putting more firefighters and police officers on our streets to protect our residents and visitors, fixing roads, balancing the budget and delivering city services to our residents in the most efficient economical manner and providing water to our residents in the safest, most economical manner,” Bublak said in a candidate questionnaire for The Modesto Bee.
Esquer said his most important priority if elected would be to “build a team that will be proud to call Turlock home.” In his candidate questionnaire, he spoke of building confidence back for a city government that has been plagued by high-level administrative turnover, which has included eight people serving as city manager in some capacity over the past seven years.
“(I’m running to) bring integrity and ethical behavior back to Turlock city government and restore employee confidence and eliminate a hostile work environment,” he told The Bee. “I am willing to listen to staff and the community to do what is best for the city of Turlock without self-glorifying motives.”
Bublak’s campaign war chest vastly eclipses Esquer’s. She plans to spend some $75,000 on her reelection campaign, while Esquer has some $25,000. Bublak’s top donors include Joe Mullinax, a plant scientist and Valley rancher, and Modesto attorney Naresh Channaveerappa. Esquer’s top contributors include United Samaritans Foundation Executive Director Linda Murphy-Julien and area farmer and philanthropist John Ferrari.
Turlock City Council District 1
The Turlock City Council District 1 seat is being vacated by Larson, and two men are vying to fill her spot. Physician assistant Kevin Bixel, 64, and real estate broker Chris Nichols, 42, are newcomers to running for office.
Bixel, a Modesto Junior College and Pacific Union College alum who completed his PA studies at the University of California, Davis, is a 25-year volunteer with the National Ski Patrol and served on the Turlock Country Club executive board.
If elected, his priorities would include repairing roads, improving public safety and strengthening the local economy. But his top priority would be to address homelessness and partner with agencies and organizations to clean up area streets. He said he plans to evaluate contracts for ambulance, fire and police services to “ensure we are doing everything in our power to prioritize our residents’ health and safety,” he wrote in his questionnaire.
Stanislaus State University and Merced College graduate Nichols’s past civic engagement includes serving as vice president and president of the Turlock Rotary Club and on city of Turlock citizens boards. He coached Turlock Christian Junior High basketball for close to a decade until 2019 and also serves as the concert pianist for Covenant Care facilities and church.
His priorities if elected will be public safety and homelessness. He said he is running because he felt called to give back to the city after being “blessed with success” in business. He believes he’ll be able to make an impact on the council as an advocate for “leadership, vision and direction for our city.”
Nichols plans to spend about $20,000 on his race, which includes some self-funding and money from the American Realty Association. Bixel, who is also partially self-funded and received contributions from Jim Theis of Theis Realty Group, plans to spend $8,000 to $10,000.
Turlock City Council District 3
Four first-time candidates who range in age from 20 to 53 are running to replace departing Councilman Nosrati. They include Turlock optometrist Cassandra Abram, 33; real estate agent Kelly Higgins, 52; adviser Ramin Odisho, 53; and independent contractor/student Ryan Taylor, 20.
Higgins and Taylor listed addressing the city’s homeless population as a top priority. Higgins, a University of Phoenix alum, has experience volunteering with the Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and Turlock Christian School, where she also substitute teaches. Taylor is a student at MJC and was a volunteer coordinator for the First Street Festival.
Taylor said if elected, he would develop a housing plan and work to provide more access to mental health and drug/alcohol addiction services. Higgins said her other priorities would be “helping grow emergency staff” and “cleaning up our community.”
Higgins said her “compassion for others” and integrity separate her from other candidates. Taylor, the youngest person in the race, said that regularly attending council meetings for the past two years has given him a “different perspective” and that he is a “problem solver and a solution finder.”
Abram and Odisho said public safety would be their top priority. Abram, who graduated from the University of the Pacific and Southern California College of Optometry, has been a mentor with the Stanislaus County Office of Education 6 Cups to College program, serves as treasurer of the Modesto Parent Participation Preschool Inc. and was on the board of Advancing Children of Turlock.
Besides hiring more firefighters, police officers and emergency dispatchers, Abram said ensuring public safety means also addressing road safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, sidewalk access and supporting youth crime prevention programs.
She said her professional experience and leadership track record show she is a “problem-solver and dedicated to service” and she would take her experience as a healthcare professional with her into the position to be a “collaborative, thoughtful, and dedicated leader.”
Odisho, an MJC alum, is the former president of the Assyrian American Civic Club of Turlock and of the Assyrian United Organization of California and eight-term Western regional director of the Assyrian American National Federation. He works as a consultant, adviser and activist. Besides public safety, he said homelessness, road repair and water issues are his other priorities.
Odisho said he is dedicated to a “safe and secure environment” for Turlock families and ensuring the kind of quality of life that is “no longer available in the big overgrown metropolis to the west of us” and will draw on his “years of experience in planning and organizing” to accomplish his goals.
Most of the District 3 candidates are self-funding. Abram plans to spend $10,000, Higgins $5,000 to $6,500 and Taylor around $2,000. Odisho does not plan to spend any money on his campaign and will rely on social media.
