November candidates off and running in Lodi city, school races

Aug. 22—There will be at least one new face on the Lodi City Council next year, as four residents have filed papers to run for the District 2 seat currently held by Mayor Mark Chandler.

In May, Chandler announced he would not seek re-election this fall after eight years on the council.

Last month, Lisa Craig and Summer Pennino were the first two candidates to pull papers for the seat, followed by Hector Galvan and Sandra Vargas.

Craig currently serves on the Lodi Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee and is president of The Craig Group LLC.

Many residents might recognize Pennino, as her father Phil is a former councilman who served 12 years between 1990 and 2002. Summer Pennino was an intern for President George W. Bush's administration in 2003, and spent five years as a casting coordinator for NBC's hit reality series "The Voice" before serving as former San Joaquin County Supervisor Carlos Villapudua's legislative aide in 2015. She has also been a political affairs consultant for Electric Vehicles International, LLC.

Vargas was recently appointed to the Lodi Improvement Committee, and is a member of the Breakthrough Project for Social Justice, as well as the Lodi Soroptomists. She is also the founder of Central Valley Arts and Culture, a multicultural nonprofit organization focused on arts, music and dance from around the world. Club members have performed at a variety of Lodi events in recent years, including the Peace Walk, the Downtown Lodi Farmers Market, the Lodi Grape Festival and the Lodi Street Faire.

Galvan is a native Lodian who identified himself on the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters' candidate roster as a househusband.

Lodi City Councilman Doug Kuehne — who lost his bid for San Joaquin County Supervisor during the June primary election — will be facing two challengers for his District 3 seat.

Cameron Bregman is an agent with Pacific Advisors and has been involved with local charities such as Rotary Club, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He's also a member of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce's Ambassador Committee.

Rita Mashni listed her occupation as mental health counselor on the ROV's candidate roster.

Elected to the council in 2014, Kuehne owns King's Carpet on Guild Avenue and will be seeking his third term this November. He is a former Lodi planning commissioner who first sought election to the council in 2010.

Longtime councilman Alan Nakanishi is running unopposed for his District 1 seat this November. According to the Lodi City Clerk's elections page at www.lodi.gov, Gary Woehl pulled papers on Aug. 10 for the seat but did not submit them by the Aug. 12 deadline.

This will be Nakanishi's fifth term on the council, tying a record held by former councilman James Pinkerton. Nakanishi was first elected to the council in 1998 before serving in the California State Assembly, representing the 12th District, from 2002 to 2008. He returned to the city council after being elected in 2010.

Two incumbents are seeking re-election to the Lodi Unified School District Board of Education, and two seats will have new faces after Nov. 8.

Current board president Susan Macfarlane is running unopposed for the Area 1 seat that encompasses Ansel Adams, Davis, Live Oak, Lockeford and Victor elementary schools, as well as Turner Academy, Houston School, Joe Serna Charter School and Morada Middle School.

First elected in 2018, Macfarlane has lived in Morada for more than 30 years, is self-employed and has worked as an insurance adjuster in the past.

Board member George Neely will not be seeking re-election to the Area 3 seat that includes Beckman, Nichols and Borchardt elementary schools, as well as Lodi Middle and Tokay High schools.

Parents Samantha Osborne and Katherine King, as well as Stockton Unified School District teacher Erich Myers and retired teacher Sherry Alexander will be vying to replace Neely on the board.

A 1970 graduate of Lodi High School, Neely was elected to the board in 2010 and is a former Creekside Elementary School teacher.

Board Vice President Courtney Porter will face two challengers for his Area 4 seat in local businessman Jeremy Duncan and social services worker Mark Scrivens. Duncan is the co-founder of Rightway Tax Solutions. Scrivens is a truancy outreach specialist at Stockton Unified.

Also elected in 2018, Porter is a former teacher who spent 37 years in the district. He served as science department chair, Lodi education Association board member, aquatics director and head water polo coach at both Lodi and Tokay high schools.

Porter's Area 4 seat represents Henderson and Independence schools, Lakewood, Podesta Ranch and Woodbridge elementary schools, and Millswood Middle School and the Valley Robotics Academy.

Also not seeking another term on the board is Ron Heberle, whose Area 5 includes Needham, Reese, Heritage, Lawrence, Vinewood and Washington elementary schools, as well as Lincoln Techincal Academy and Lodi and Liberty high schools.

Deanne Barth, office manager at Verve Networks, and retired teacher Jeff Stroh will be seeking election to Heberle's seat.

A retired Lodi Fire Department firefighter, Heberle was first elected to the board in 2010, and served as president in 2012.