Recalled Cotati councilman Barich ready to run again

<p>A former Cotati councilman who was recalled last year says he will mount a campaign to reclaim a seat on the City Council.</p><p>George Barich would be one of at least three candidates for two open seats on the council.</p><p>“For many weeks, I have been walking the neighborhoods on Saturdays seeking support for my candidacy,” said Barich, 52. </p><p>“The response has been overwhelming in support of me representing a voice in the community that is currently missing on the City Council,” he said.</p><p>Two current council members also are planning to run, Pat Gilardi, 51, a council member since 2002, and Mark Landman, 56, who was appointed to replace former Mayor John Guardino, who resigned last year.</p><p>Predictably perhaps, they strike a different note than Barich.</p><p>“I have a sense of being a part of a team working to move this city forward,” said Landman, a retired fire captain.</p><p>And while Barich says that the city's revenue projections are too optimistic and its financial footing precarious, Gilardi argues that with the April passage of the half-cent sales tax measure the city has turned a political and fiscal corner.</p><p>“I think that Cotati's on the right track and I really really want to see our budget on a sustainable pathway,” said Gilardi. “I'm not willing to leave until that's done.”</p><p>Barich, who works in video production, has been a lightning rod in Cotati politics, embroiled in controversies involving race, use of city materials and his votes as a councilman.</p><p>He came under fire almost immediately after taking office in December 2009 when he used city letterhead without permission to write to President Barack Obama, criticizing the federal stimulus package.</p><p>He went on to fight with city administrators about using the city's seal on his personal website. He also posted on the website a photograph of himself in blackface and an Afro wig over a version of the seal — igniting the recall effort against him.</p><p>Later, he infuriated opponents by voting against a measure that would have declared the city in fiscal emergency, effectively preventing the council from considering a sales tax measure to raise money, a path it pursued successfully once he was recalled.</p><p>He said this week that he had failed to convince “like-minded individuals” to run in November so he decided to himself.</p><p>A contested election is in the best interests of the city, said Gilardi, who works in advertising sales.</p><p>“It's always best for the public to have a choice,” she said. “One side of me says, ‘Oh if it's not contested we can save some money,' but this is the democratic process and the only way the public can have a choice is if it's a contested race.”</p><p>Landman said the fact that he was appointed is one reason he's running.</p><p>“Frankly, having been appointed, I look forward to saying I've been elected by our citizens,” he said.</p><p>The deadline for candidates to file their nomination papers is Aug. 6.</p>