Calistoga Mayor Donald Williams, whose first two-year term ends in November, pulled papers at City Hall on Monday to run for reelection.
In addition to the mayor’s seat, Vice Mayor Irais Lopez-Ortega’s and Councilmember Lisa Gift’s four-year council terms also expire this year. Lopez-Ortega pulled the required nomination papers Monday and confirmed that she will seek another term on the council. Gift told the Tribune she hadn’t made up her mind yet but is motivated to also seek reelection.
Williams served a term on Calistoga’s City Council from 2018 to 2022 before beating 16-year council veteran and retired Calistoga Fire Chief Gary Kraus by 27 votes in the 2022 mayoral race. He was the only person as of Wednesday afternoon to have pulled nomination papers for the top city’s top elected position.
The biggest triumph in Williams’ term came earlier this year when he worked with Councilmember Scott Cooper to negotiate a deal with the Napa County Board of Supervisors to buy the Fairgrounds property in the heart of town. Per the agreement, which will be finalized on Monday, the city will pay $2 million for the 71-acre parcel, following a decade of neglect of the property and years of failed purchase negotiations.
Williams told the Tribune that one of his main motivations in a second term would be to see through the beginning stages to revitalize the Fairgrounds property.
“I’d like to help it along,” he said. “It’s probably more than a two-year project so it's not going to be finished in my next term if I’m chosen by the people, but I’d like to bring it along with the next steps and start the revitalization, and then it’ll be an ongoing project I think.”
In addition to working on the initial steps to reopen the fairgrounds, Williams said his goals are to continue to connect the public with city councilmembers, to increase economic diversification and to honor Calistoga’s small-town traditions.
“I like to think of Calistoga as a nice place to visit, but it isn't just a place to visit, it's also our community and I try to keep that in mind,” he said.
Like Williams, Lopez-Ortega, who has served on the City Council since being appointed in February 2013 and has served as vice mayor since 2020, said that she pulled papers on Monday, only after thinking long and hard about whether she wanted to serve another term – something she said is a “huge responsibility” as well as a “serious” time commitment.
“Basically, there are a lot of things that need to be continued and need to be finished, one example is the Fairgrounds,” Lopez-Ortega said. “I want to see things we've been working on for all these years get accomplished.”
Also, she said, she wants to work toward creating and maintaining services for Calistoga’s youth, senior and Latino populations.
In addition to the revitalization of the Fairgrounds, she said she is excited to see progress on the $420,000 improvement project at Logvy Park, spearheaded by Adelante, a coalition of Calistoga parents.
“I just want to see the whole city developed into something beautiful for the community,” Lopez-Ortega said.
Gift, who’s finishing up her first four-year term on the council, said she hasn’t yet made up her mind on running for a second term. But, she said this week that she is “certainly thinking about it.”
In addition to enjoying her time in public service, Gift, 42, said a motivating factor to seek another term is to be a voice on the council for those in her age demographic.
“I really think it is very important for the city to have someone of my generation on the city council,” Gift said. “And so far, I don't see anyone else in my generation planning to run. So, I’m putting a lot of thought into it.”
She continued, “The time commitment is a lot to balance, especially as a single mom,” said Gift, who has a 7-year-old son. “I really feel it is important that we have a voice for the working families in our community.”
Cooper and Kevin Eisenberg, elected to the council in November 2022, round out the five-member City Council and are in the middle of their four-year terms.
Calistoga’s nomination period for the Nov. 5 election opened at 8 a.m. Monday morning and will close on Friday, Aug. 9, at 4:30 p.m. If an incumbent does not return their nomination paperwork by Aug. 9, then the filing period would extend to Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 4:30 p.m.
Voting will take place during the General Election, which will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5
