Photos courtesy of each candidate's campaign and/or The Cloverdale Connect.
Shown here clockwise from top left is Hannah Gart,
Todd Lands, Mark Laskey, Andres Marquez and Trevor Ambrosini.

Cloverdale voters are being asked to select two from a field of five candidates seeking a seat on Cloverdale's city council.

It's one of a few California cities remaining that haven't switched, often under threat of a lawsuit, to district elections.

The city council race also appears a bit less contentious, with messaging mainly focused on positivity, and community building.

Two seats are open---one being vacated by Melanie Bagby, who is not seeking re-election,

Another is a seat held by Mayor Todd Lands, who is.

Four others have thrown their hats in the ring.

Among them, entrepreneur, event coordinator and archery instructor Hannah Gart. Recently, Gart helped host a five-kilometer run that started from the city's new street pedestrian bridge.

Gart said she wants to make the city a little more vibrant.

"I feel like Cloverdale doesn't have a whole lot going on and it needs, it has a lot of potential and needs some push in the effort of getting people from other areas to come enjoy what we have to offer here and I think that I'm a good person to do that," Gart said.

She said she was recruited to run for office while managing a popular local restaurant and bar. That's despite being a newcomer---she says she took up residence in Cloverdale two years ago.

That's similar to the experience of general contractor and painting company owner Andres Marquez. He and his wife relocated only last year, joining the local Kiwanis Club and already becoming officers at the local Chamber of Commerce.

 "I was encouraged to run and I thought about the opportunity, looked like something I could add some value to, and be an extra set of eyes working on all the things we want to get done here in town," Marquez said.

Although hailing most recently from Millbrae, Marquez stresses that he's not pushing big changes.

"My impression of this town is like, 'I'm so happy with the way that things are,'" Marquez said.

Like Gart, he feels both locals and local government would be more prosperous if only Cloverdale were better known. The solution: Marquez said he'd like to "work with the existing businesses and help them get better exposure county-wide, also within the city, that helps money stay in our town," Marquez said.

Gart said she is likewise convinced that getting the word out to potential visitors will pay dividends.

"We're not going to hopefully ever be like Healdsburg as far as tourism goes, but there is, we also have so many wineries and things like that around the area that, as a whole, I think, people, who would want to go on a day trip, and come up this way, I think that we do have things that they could enjoy here," Gart said.

Where Gart says she diverges from the rest of the field is her belief that a measure on the ballot that would increase the city's sales tax isn't such a great idea.

"Well, I don't know if you could call it a big mistake, but the Measure DD, I am the only one who has publicly said that I do not agree with it," Gart said.

Mayor Lands cites his record on homelessness and public safety and delivering infrastructure, and parks and open spaces. In his candidate statement in the official voter guide he says if re-elected, he'd focus energy on water security, economic stability and fire resilience.

Candidate Mark Laskey did not respond to multiple interview requests from KRCB News. Laskey, in the county voter guide, vows to pursue "thoughtful and measured growth."

And he cites experience in the US Navy and in the trades as propelling his sense of responsibility.

A fifth candidate, Trevor Ambrosini, did not respond to multiple interview requests. Ambrosini also declined to provide a statement for publication in the county voter's guide.

Click here to see what all five candidates told the Cloverdale Connect publication.