Local business owner and public accountant John Fullerton stood in front of the Old Town gazebo today, fountains spraying behind him, and announced that he is running for Eureka City Council’s Ward Three seat.

“I am running because I love Eureka,” Fullerton said. “Eureka is my forever home. Like most of you I have become alarmed at the direction Eureka has been going in, especially these last four years.”

This is Fullerton’s second time running for Eureka City Council, after an unsuccessful campaign for the Fourth Ward seat in 2016. This will be the first election following the passage of Measure P, which imposed a true ward system on Eureka, meaning residents only get to vote in the election for their own representative. (Perviously, all city residents could vote in all City Council races.) The City also redrew and renumbered the ward boundaries, placing Fullerton in the new Third Ward.

Fullerton is running against opponents Jeannie Breslin and current councilmember Natalie Arroyo, who currently represents the Fifth ward but also, thanks to Measure P, got re-categorized into the Third Ward.

During his speech Fullerton discussed his view of his opponents, stating he rarely sees them at community events or cleanups.

“They are remote and disengaged with the Eureka community,” he said.

Fullerton mentioned his own involvement with nonprofit groups including three-and-a-half years as an advocate for CASA. Fullerton also said he supports many other local organizations, including the Betty Chinn Foundation and the Eureka Rescue Mission.

Of course, Fullerton also mentioned some things he does not support, such as illegal camping and syringe litter in Eureka.

“We need to make sure the needle exchange program continues, but only as a true one-for-one program,” he said to the crowd. Critics of the Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR) have recently called for stricter exchange procedures from the controversial group.

Fullerton said that he has almost 200 people endorsing him, including former Sheriff Mike Downey and five former city council members. Current Councilmember Marian Brady also endorses Fullerton and was there today, along with mayoral candidate Michelle Costantine, to show support.

You can find out more about Fullerton’s campaign on the John Fullerton for Eureka City Council Facebook page. Or, if you live in the Third Ward, you don’t have to do anything.  Because, like it or not, Fullerton will be coming to you!

“I have already started going door to door and I will personally make it to every voter’s household in the Third Ward to listen to your concerns and hear your suggestions,” Fullerton said at the end of his speech.

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A PREVIOUS FULLERTON CAMPAIGN LAUNCH:

• John Fullerton Launches 2016 Campaign for Eureka City Council