El Cerrito City Council race has already attracted seven possible candidates
The seven are Rahul Iyer, Mary Ann Jawili, Michael McDougall, Wally Nowinski, incumbent Gabe Quinto, Megan Steffen, and Kimberly White.
If all of the people who took out papers return them, it will be an unusually crowded field for El Cerrito. And there is still plenty of time for more people to join the race.
Filing opened just three days earlier, on July 13. It will remain open until at least Aug. 7, with an extension to Aug. 12 if either of the incumbents, Quinto or Carolyn Wysinger, does not complete the process.
In 2024, five people competed for three seats and in 2022, three people competed for two seats.
A crowded field is often a sign of controversy or discontent in a community.
The last time El Cerrito had such a crowded field was in 2020, when eight people competed for three seats. In an Oct. 26 editorial that year, the East Bay Times wrote, "El Cerrito teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. No other Bay Area city has been as irresponsibly managed." The need for better budgeting was a common theme in the statements the 2020 candidates submitted for the voters pamphlet.
This year's council race follows an unusually contentious election in El Cerrito over a library tax measure that failed 70% to 30% despite backing by four of the five city council members and numerous other local politicians.
The committee that opposed the tax measure, Neighbors for a Better El Cerrito - No On Measure C, filed the form July 16 officially terminating the committee.