Ornelas won’t run in 2020
Paul Pitino says he will run, Michael Winkler undecided
Susan Ornelas announced Wednesday she won’t run for reelection to the Arcata City Council in November.
“Yes, I will have served 12 years on the Arcata City Council this fall, November 2020 — and I think that is enough,” Ornelas wrote in a contribution to the Times-Standard’s opinion section. “It has been a worthy venture, a meeting of the minds in Arcata, and the greater region.”
The council member said she will dedicate the final months of her term to finding opportunities to plant trees around the streets of Arcata. The additions, she said, will add “beauty, social responsibility in sequestering carbon, enhanced safety for children walking to school, and equality in neighborhoods.”
Reached Wednesday, Ornelas said she chose to make her announcement in written form, rather than speaking about it at a council meeting, so she could adequately “focus on the positive.”
“I want to reclaim my personal life,” Ornelas said of her reasoning. “In aggregate, it’s a job that takes 30to-50% of your time. It’s OK because you love your community, but I want to move into promoting the arts.”
Ornelas, who also works in economic development for the city of Blue Lake, said she wanted to “go out on a high note” and make sure people feel encouraged to run.
Her announcement comes less than a week after protesters brought a city council meeting to a halt, chanting for justice in the 2017 killing of Humboldt State University student David Josiah Lawson.
Multiple other council members said Wednesday that Ornelas has spoken for some time about not re-running for her council seat. Ornelas makes no mention of Lawson specifically in her Times-Standard piece, but does reference “challenging race relations” that she said still require attention.
“This might just be the best time for a person of color to run,” Ornelas wrote. “You wouldn’t be the first person of color on the Arcata City Council, but you could be an important voice for tomorrow.”
Council members, she said Wednesday, don’t have much power to interfere in the Lawson investigation, which has often been a source of frustration.
But Ornelas added that she empathizes with protesters, saying that dealing with angry people is “part of the job.”
Ornelas would have the opportunity to re-run this
November, alongside fellow council members Michael Winkler and Paul Pitino. There are no term limits for the Arcata City Council.
Winkler, who just began a term as the city’s mayor, said he is undecided on whether he wants to re-run for council, citing a “decrease in civility” since the election of President Donald Trump, whom he criticized.
“Too many people see who they disagree with as enemies,” Winkler said, before clarifying that he was partially referring to last week’s protesters. “There’s been a breakdown of trust and dialogue and civility, and much greater polarization since Donald Trump’s election.”
Vice Mayor Pitino, on the other hand, said he will very likely run for re-election.
“There are some things I need to see through to completion,” Pitino said, adding that the council’s work on Arcata’s wastewater treatment plant cannot go unfinished.
In her piece, Ornelas reflects on building low-income senior housing in Arcata, as well as bike trails, homeless housing and a citycommissioned mural of marbeled murrelets.
“Who makes a good city councilor? It takes a person with a vision for the city and the ability to listen,” Ornelas wrote, adding that emotional intelligence and common sense thrive as well as education.
“I believe it is good to find a way to work well with others, but there are times when you have to stand up for what you believe,” Ornelas said about the work. “It is a challenging and rewarding job.”