Council Race: Who's In, Who's Out So Far

The filing period for the El Cerrito City Council election in November opened just two days ago, Monday, and already two candidates have taken out nomination papers, according to City Clerk Cheryl Morse.

They are incumbent Greg Lyman, the current mayor pro tem who's in his first term, and Jan Bridges, who served a previous four-year term on the council in 2004-08, Morse said.

The other two current council members with seats up grabs this year on the five-member council are Mayor Bill Jones and Councilwoman Ann Cheng.

Jones told Patch he will not seek re-election, and Cheng said she hasn't decided yet. The deadline for filing the nomination papers is Aug. 10.

Jones said part of the reason for his decision was an informal tradition in El Cerrito for council members to serve no more than two four-year terms. He was elected to his first term in 2004 and re-elected to his current term in 2008.

Jones said his age and uncertain future plans also are factors, noting that he's nearing 63. "If you're going to run, that's a commitment for four years. I can't say we'd be around for four years."

"I enjoyed it and wouldn't mind another term if things were different," he said. "Plus I felt it would be good to get some younger blood on the council."

Bridges, a nurse, said, "I feel like I still have something to offer the city, and I felt like there was still some unfinished business from my last time on the council."

She said she didn't seek re-election after her first term expired in 2008 because both of her parents, who lived in the Eastern part of the United States, were ailing, requiring her to make periodic extended trips away from El Cerrito to attend to them.

Both parents are now deceased – her father having died just last Thursday – leaving her more at liberty to devote herself to the council, she said.

Asked if she plans to seek a second term, Cheng said, "I'm still meditating in my mind about it."

The other two incumbents on the council – Janet Abelson, who's in her fourth term, and Rebecca Benassini, who's in her first-term – ran unopposed when two seats were open in 2010. The council elections are staggered every two years.

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