A three-way race for the District 4 Council seat representing Manteca north of Louise Avenue with the exception of the Diamond Oaks neighborhood could be shaping up.

Rogger Gutierrez is the third person to take out nomination papers.

He joins incumbent Mike Morowit and challenger Dani Bettencourt that have already returned nomination papers with the required signatures.

The deadline to do so is Aug. 7.

If anyone is thinking about running for either the District 3 or 4 seat or the citywide mayor position, waiting for the last minute is not a wise idea.

Lack of valid signatures

kept former council

member off the ballot

Roughly 22 years ago, the late Wayne Flores did just that.

Flores, who served two eight-year terms in the 1990s and was credited with overcoming council opposition to get the skate park built, decided to make a political comeback.

Flores had clearly been through the process but waited two days before the filing deadline.

He turned the nomination papers in the next day with an hour or so to spare

Flores turned in 24 signatures, four more than the legally required number.

There were five problems, however.

Five of the signatures were not of registered voters that resided within the city limits.

Given the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters had to verify signatures — that couldn’t happen until the following Monday — Flores didn’t qualify for the ballot.

Had he turned in his nomination paper with signatures several days earlier, he would have been told he was one valid signature short and could have scrambled to get it.

It should be noted it takes more than just be a legally registered voter with a valid Manteca address given the 95336 and 95337 ZIP Codes include a large number of rural residents that reside outside the city limits.

Deadline is Aug. 7 at 5 p.m.

City Clerk Cassandra Candini will be available at her office until 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, to accept completed nomination papers to qualify for the Nov. 3 ballot.

Those that miss the deadline can still qualify as a write-in candidate that would have votes counted but their name would not be printed on the official ballot.

Incumbent Mayor Gary Singh is being challenged so far by Jacob Naven.

District 3 Council incumbent Dave Breitenbucher has no challenger so far.

His district is roughly the area that was part of the City of Manteca in 1970 and includes downtown and Manteca High.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com