First term Turlock City Councilmember Forrest White has officially announced that he will seek reelection this November.

“I think we’ve done a lot in the last three-and-a-half years,” White said. “My feeling is, I just want to continue what we started.”

White pointed to the growth of the Turlock Regional Industrial Park and the openings of the Turlock Public Safety Facility, the Turlock Gospel Mission’s Homeless Assistance Ministry day-center, and the Avena Bella low-income housing project as successesses of his first term.

But more work awaits, with a second phase planned for Avena Bella, Turlock Gospel Mission working to build a year-round shelter, and additional infrastructure work discussed for the Turlock Regional Industrial Park.

“My goal, my hope is if I get reelected, I can spend the next four years trying to finish those things,” White said.

Other big issues face Turlock too, White noted, predominantly roads and water.

“You can’t have a real quality city unless you’ve got adequate water and a way to commute,” White said.

White has served as the city’s representative on the Stanislaus County Council of Governments, the local transportation authority. He is an advocate of putting a road tax before voters on the November ballot, and in programs which would empower communities to form benefit assessment districts and pay for their own road maintenance.

White, a retired CEO of the San Joaquin County Fair, was first elected to office in 2010. He finished second with 4,552 votes, just behind fellow councilmember Bill DeHart’s 4,555 votes. Both narrowly defeated former Turlock Unified School District Trustee Timm LaVelle, who had 4,356 votes, and TurlockCityNews.com Owner and Publisher David “DJ” Fransen, with 4,034 votes, in a tightly-contested race.

White has called Turlock home for roughly 30 years. He previously worked as a recreation supervisor for the City of Turlock.