The race is on for Calexico City Council

Only four seats available - CBS 13's April Hettinger looks at the candidates

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - Several men and women are fighting for the hot seat on Calexico City Council.

There are four available seats: three four-year seats and one two-year seat.

Jason Jung, Joong Kim, Michael “Chris” Mayne, Javier Moreno, and Gloria Romo are hoping to secure a full-term seat facing off against incumbents Bill Hodge and Lewis Pacheco and appointed incumbent Camilo Garcia.

Appointed incumbent Morris Reisen is going head-to-head with Michael Anthony Jeffers and Raul Ureña for the short-term seat in the council.

Michael Mayne is a community advocate who ran for city council back in 2008. He pushes for expanding development in the city.

"People who don't have the experience don't realize the big mountain or hill you have to climb to actually go from conceptual plans to actual development and opening," Mayne stated.

Hot topics include tele-medicine, a recently popular alternative to in-person doctor's visits. Javier Moreno says it's not compatible for everyone.

"Some of these retirees, these senior citizens don't have access to technology, and if they do, they don't know how to use the computer," Moreno said.

Mayne touched on COVID-19 and the city's response to controlling it.

"There's a lot of people that cross the border and the amount of traffic, I think, I really think we need some more help from the other government agencies within the area to help control and regulate all the COVID-19 issues that are being brought to the forefront right now," Mayne explained.

Moreno says his doctorate in business makes him qualified for the job.

"Calexico has challenges and you have to have a person who understands budgets," Moreno said. "I work with different organizations and I'm familiar with budgets." 

The election is less than 2 weeks away. This vote can make or break the future of Calexico for the next 2 to 4 years.