Why No Competition for City Council Seats?

It's been many years since candidates ran unopposed for El Cerrito City Council. The last time was 1974, when Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States.

Politics were quieter that year in El Cerrito. There were two candidates running for two positions, just like this year.

Incumbent Janet Abelson, who currently sits in the rotating mayor's seat on the five-member council, is running for a fourth term. She's the first woman in El Cerrito history to have served even three terms and would be the first person of either gender to hold four terms since Leo Armstrong, who sat on the council from 1954 to 1970.

Also running, for the seat being vacated by two-term veteran Sandi Potter, is Rebecca Benassini, no stranger to City Hall. She currently sits on two city-appointed citizen panels, the Economic Development Board and the Environmental Quality Committee.

The race is not sewn up, at least not yet. City Clerk Cheryl Morse said write-in candidates can file from September 7 through October 19. The election is November 2.

Asked why they thought no one else has entered the race, neither candidate mentioned the modest salary -- $441 a month, or $5,292 a year, as provided in the city's Municipal Code.

Abelson cited citizen contentment as one possible reason. "People are really pretty happy with what's going on in El Cerrito right now, particularly the changes on San Pablo. I think they're happiest about the streetwork." The city has been engaged in a major street repaving project.

At the same time, would-be candidates could be discouraged by the need to decide on lay-offs of city employees and cuts in public services in the wake of weak economic conditions and battered city revenues, she said.

"It's one thing to be on the council when there's a lot of money to spend," Abelson said. "It's another thing when you have to make difficult choices."

Benassini, who hasn't served on the council, did not venture an assessment of why others chose not to run.

"I do not know," she said. "Your speculation is at least as good as mine!"