August 20, 2010

 

 

A Microsoft executive and a small business owner will face off against the incumbents for the two open seats on the City Council this November.

 

Jim Diaz has lived in Clayton for 30 years and owns a small security and investigations business. He is a member of the Clayton Business and Community Association. He made an unsuccessful bid for the council in 2008.

 

Ted Meriam, a 2001 graduate of Clayton Valley High School, moved back to Clayton in 2008 after graduating from the University of Puget Sound and is an executive with Microsoft. He sits on the Clayton Planning Commission and holds memberships in the CBCA, Clayton Garden Club and the Historical Society. Meriam is co-founder with Joe Medrano of Passport to Clayton (P2C), a local fundraising organization. Diaz and Meriam will face off against incumbents Hank Stratford and Dave Shuey.

 

Stratford, a CPA and owner of Diablo View Cleaning in Clayton, was elected for his first term in 2006. He currently serves as mayor. Shuey, an attorney with an Oakland law firm, will be running for a third term this fall. As Clayton’s vice mayor, he will be next in line to serve as mayor if he wins the November election.

 

Council members Julie Pierce, Howard Geller and Medrano won’t be up for reelection until 2012. Members are elected for four-year terms and elect a new mayor each year from among themselves – typically in rotation and based on seniority.

 

All four candidates will have an opportunity to address questions from each other and the public in the October issues of the Pioneer. Send your questions for the candidates to tamara@claytonpioneer.com by Sept. 15. The Pioneer will compile a list from those submitted.

<< Read more news stories