3 incumbents are running in Pismo Beach, and not one has a challenger

The trio of Pismo Beach incumbents up for election this November are all running unopposed, so barring any upsets, the City Council will likely continue with its current setup into 2020.

Mayor Ed Waage, who succeeded former mayor Shelly Higginbotham in 2016, said he was looking forward to another term in office on Friday.

“I am delighted that I am unopposed in my second term as mayor and I believe that this represents a vote of confidence in my efforts to lead our city forward,” Waage said in an email to The Tribune on Friday. “There are so many great projects underway that I want to continue as mayor to help guide them to completion.”

Waage said he would like to continue to improve the city through efforts like the Shell Beach Streetscape project (which launches later this month) and the ahead-of-schedule pier renovation project, while also seeing through the ongoing regional wastewater recycling effort.

Without challengers, Councilwoman Sheila Blake will head into her second term in office, while Councilwoman Mary Ann Reiss could potentially go into her fifth non-consecutive term as a council member (she joined the council in 1996, was elected mayor in 2004 and then went back to council member in 2010.)

Their elections aren’t guaranteed, of course.

Pismo Beach City Clerk Erica Inderlied said people who wish to be write-in candidates must retrieve and file their nomination paperwork between Sept. 10 and Oct. 23. She said the nomination process is essentially the same as that for “normal” candidates, except they don’t appear on the ballot.

Inderlied noted that because the number of candidates does not exceed the number of offices to be elected, the council could choose to cancel the November election.

If they do so, the city would not accept write-in candidate paperwork, and the council members would continue into their new terms at the end of the year.

This story was originally published August 10, 2018 at 6:31 PM with the headline "3 incumbents are running in Pismo Beach, and not one has a challenger."