Eight file for city seats

Two of the three longest-serving Pittsburg city commissioners will not seek re-election this spring.

The longest tenured city commissioner, Marty Beezley, who was first elected as city commissioner in 2001, will not be seeking re-election. Beezley also served out most of a two-year term from 1995-1997 after being appointed to the position.

“I have been here for 14 years. I’ve enjoyed it and learned a lot. I’ve served with some great commissioners. I’d like to see what the next 14 years have for me. I plan to stay active in the community,” Beezley said.

Rudy Draper, who was elected in 2007, also declined to seek re-election.

“I have other priorities in my life to deal with,” Draper said. “I have a possible deployment coming up. I got divorced, and I’ve got two kids, and I’d like to be a bigger part of their lives. I’ve got to reprioritize on more personal things.”

Michael Gray, who occupies the only other commission seat up for re-election in April, did file for re-election. He was elected to a two-year term in 2011, edging out the late Bill Rushton by a handful of votes.

“I think I still have stuff to offer,” Gray said. “I think I can still offer my effort and thoughts and ideas to the City of Pittsburg. If the citizens choose to give me that opportunity, I’ll work just as hard as I have been. This is my community service. It’s a volunteer opportunity for me. I’ve said my goal is to make Pittsburg a better community. If the citizens choose to have me be a bart of that, I’ll be grateful.”

Besides Gray, seven others filed for city commission before Tuesday’s noon deadline. They include, in no particular order, Ralph McGeorge, Cheryl Mayo, Monica Murnan, Chuck Munsell, Leatha Bolinger, William “Bill” Wilper and Dave Holloman.

The reasons for filing depended on the individual.

Chuck Munsell said it had to do with serving the city.

“The reason I’m running is I worked for the city fire department for 25 years. I worked for the citizens for those years, and if I am fortunate, it would be a continuation of working for the citizens of Pittsburg as commissioner,” Munsell said. “With the college, and that all going on, that’s a positive for the city. My main concern is economic development. Jobs are my No. 1 concern. I’m there to support the citizens of Pittsburg. The ones that have something to say, I’ll be their voice.”

Leatha Bolinger said she believes her experience as a teacher and small business owner have prepared her for a run at city commission.

“As a small business person, I think in the last few years, the direction of this country has been a real concern,” Bolinger said. “I’ve done a lot of reading, and I have an interest in politics for that reason. I think the city commission is a great way to get my feet wet. I’m logical, and a problem solver, and I thought would be a good environment for that.”

Cheryl Mayo said that she has always had an interest in running for election.

“It just seemed the time to do that now. I feel very strong for the city to be a safe and healthy place for citizens to be in. I know a lot of senior citizens that can’t get around because the curbs and sidewalks are in bad condition,” Mayo said.  

Mayo also spoke about supporting animal friends in the community, such as supporting a dog park.

“I want to serve people. I’ve lived in Pittsburg for 18 years. I feel like it’s my home. I’d love to be of service to the people of my home. I would love to serve,” Mayo said.

Many of the candidates attended Tuesday’s city commission, and Bill Wilper was among them.

“I just want to make sure all the residents in the city need to be represented by the city commission,” Wilper said. “All the people need to be looked after, not just certain groups. Time to time, a group is represented better than others. I feel I can represent all the groups.”

Dave Holloman said he did not believe the city was going in the right direction.

“Over the last few months, our city commission has focused a tremendous amount of time on things like trash service, updating city codes and biking trails,” Holloman said in an e-mail. “The breaking point for me was when they outsourced our economic development to the local chamber of commerce. I believe we received a taste of what Pittsburg will receive from this costly venture when the chamber hosted the Legislative sendoff breakfast that focused on the topics of gambling, gun laws, and transportation funding. What is missing from all of this? Jobs!

“Bringing jobs to Pittsburg will fix most of the issues the Commission currently wastes time on and that will be my primary focus. I guess it may not help with bike trails, but I’m betting the working class citizens are willing to trade pedals for paychecks.”

Monica Murnan could not be reached by press time for comment. For the interest of equality, Ralph McGeorge has been quoted in a previous story.

Andrew Nash can be reached at andrew.nash@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 ext. 140.