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| Friday, Mar 7 2008 6:35 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Mar 7 2008 10:08 PM
Three men have lined up to challenge Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall in June, setting up his toughest election since winning his first term from a field of 10 candidates in 2000.
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Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall announcing his re-election bid.
Dennis Martinez, running for mayor of Bakersfield
Joseph Caporali is running for mayor of Bakersfield.
Marc DeLeon, Bakersfield mayor candidate
Ray Watson
Taft Mayor Cliff Thompson
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In Kern County, meanwhile, Taft City Councilman Cliff Thompson will try to unseat 4th District Supervisor Ray Watson in the only contested supervisor’s race. Both declared their candidacies months ago; nobody else has joined in.
The filing deadline to run for mayor, supervisor and a slew of other races passed Friday.
Hall’s challengers are a construction contractor, film producer and owner of a downtown tattoo parlor.
“It’s going to be fun,” Hall said. “I think it’s good, it’s the American way. People have the right to be part of something positive.”
Lined up against Hall are:
• Marc DeLeon, owner of Mad Dog Tattoo and Body Piercing. DeLeon, 39, said he wants to focus on local businesses.
“I see a lot of my beautiful town that I really love disappearing,” he said. Local businesses are being replaced by chain stores, he said.
He said he’s been thinking about running for 12 years.
• Joseph Caporali, 76, a filmmaker. He moved to Bakersfield last year to work on a movie and ended up married.
“I realized now I’m going to be here for at least seven years,” he said, because now he has stepsons here.
“I’m very serious about running for mayor,” he said. “I can do the people a lot of good.”
He said veterans’ issues are a major factor in his race.
• Dennis Martinez, 48, a building contractor.
Martinez said he has no elected experience but as a contractor, he’s been exposed to local government by attending meetings and following regulations.
“There’s always politics behind it,” he said.
Martinez said his focus would be on the local economy. He said he realizes the mayor doesn’t have much power, but he can “plant a seed” for residents to bring to fruition.
“Bakersfield is construction,” he said. “But now we’ve overgrown ourselves.”
The state lists Martinez’s contractor license as suspended. He said his ex-wife was his business’ secretary, and since his divorce he often doesn’t see bills before his contractor’s bond is billed.
Hall, 67, said he welcomes the competition.
“If someone thinks they can bring something positive to the city, that’s good,” he said. “I think that I’ve done a good job as mayor, and I hope the people will recognize that, which in turn will provide for me to be re-elected.”
The mayoral primary is June 3. If nobody wins a majority, the top two candidates will face off in the November general election.
Kern County Board of Supervisors
Thompson, backed by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, is expected to try to rally the outlying areas of the 4th District to unseat the Bakersfield-based Watson.
No challengers emerged for the two other open Board of Supervisors seats so 1st District Supervisor Jon McQuiston and 5th District incumbent Michael Rubio will retain their seats.
— Staff writer James Burger contributed to this report.