Today, Sergio Alvarado announced his intention to run for Turlock City Council in the November 2014 General Election.
Alvarado, a 35-year-old U.S. Postal Service worker, currently serves as a member of the Turlock Parks, Arts, and Recreation Commission. He has been a resident of Turlock for the last six years.
“It would be a great honor to serve and represent all the people of Turlock,” said Alvarado in a release today. “One of the many things I like about Turlock is the small town atmosphere, despite having a population of nearly 70,000 people, you can go to a business and people know your name. Another is the many businesses, both national and local, that reduce the chance of needing to go to Modesto.”
Alvarado has previously attended Council meetings, sharing opposition to super centers such as Super Walmart, being critical of the hiring of current City Manager Roy Wasden, and showing support for placing “In God We Trust” on the Council Chamber’s wall.
Referring to himself as a “relative outsider,” Alvarado believes that he will have the ability to make unbiased decisions.
“You will not see me abstain from a vote due to conflicts of interest,” said Alvarez. “Rest assured you will have voted for someone who is working for you.”
Joining Alvarado in the Turlock City Council race are current Councilmembers Forrest White and Bill DeHart, who are both up for reelection, and Matthew Jacob, a Turlock native who runs a small business and sits on the City of Turlock Mayor’s Economic Development Task Force.
Alvarado previously ran for Turlock City Council in 2012, where he received 12.6 percent of the votes (2,971 votes) and lost the election to current Councilmembers Amy Bublak and Steven Nascimento.
I am just curious how Mr Alvarado gets around Federal Hatch Act laws prohibiting Federal Workers from running for a partisan political office. Are these council seats strictly Non-Partisan? There was recently a news story about a Postal Worker that was even warned about the violation and still continued his campaign. Cost him his Postal Job.
RandyF, I’ll be happy to answer that question. Turlock, like many other communities, have non-partisan City Council seats. In very few cities, usually larger ones, City Council seats are partisan. The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from running for partisan offices, usually statewide offices like Governor, Secretary of State, and so forth. There are other components to the Hatch Act but this should answer your question. I look forward to the campaign trail this election season just like I did in 2012. Thank you for your question.
Sergio
I don’t see anywhere in the article where it states what party Alvarado represents