Candidates for city council. Chris Lopez, Rob Cullen, Susan Kleber and Jeff Pereira. Photos by Sean Roney.

With the filing deadline having passed, King City now has four candidates for three seats on the city council, to be voted on in the Nov. 4 election. Mayor Jeff Pereira and Mayor Pro Tem Susan Kleber will run again for a return to their seats on the council. Terry Hughes will leave the council, while two newcomers have joined the race, Rob Cullen and Chris Lopez.

Chris Lopez

Newcomer Chris Lopez said he has always been interested in politics. A lifelong resident of King City, Lopez said, "This community has given me a lot," adding that he looks forward to serving the council as part of a strong team to make the strong changes needed in the city.

Lopez will turn 23 on election day. He described his youth as an asset, as it gives him a unique perspective, especially having recently gone through the King City educational system, and having graduated from King City High School.

He currently works as a management analyst for the county, and went to USC and Claremont McKenna, studying international government. His work with the county government, he said, gives him another advantage in his knowledge on how the county works.

Lopez explained he is not a fan of big government, and said he believes it would take a strong city council to decide which direction to take the city in the future. He said he wishes to take steps to return jobs to the city to bring up the local economy

Drugs are another problem Lopez recognized as troubling King City, and said he felt a concern for that, having known people in his past who were affected by drugs. He said the police are doing a great job of working on the problem, and the drug dog will be a great addition.

As a council member, Lopez said he would work more with the county, including working on bring more TAMC tax money to King City for road repairs. In addition, he said he would continue steps to beautify the city.

Rob Cullen

Newcomer Rob Cullen said he wanted to become involved in the community when he first moved to King City last July. He started attending city council meetings, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, and other events in the city. Previously, he had been in Santa Clara before moving to King City with his wife, Allie.

After going to Santa Rosa Junior College and Cal Poly, Cullen worked as a financial analyst for Sun Micro Systems. Currently, he is working for John Buttgereit's Farmer's Insurance Agency.

Cullen said being a newcomer to the city means he can bring a fresh set of eyes to the city council. He said he feels his work and his volunteer history has prepared him for the role. He noted he has had an interest in community involvement for much of his life, starting when he was elected class president in sixth grade, and continuing through involvement in high school clubs and activities in college.

"You have no right to complain unless you try to make a difference," is a statement Cullen said he believes in, which is why he wants to be the person to stand up and make a difference.

A lot of King City's problems are related to economics, Cullen explained, saying that high unemployment and foreclosures are doing a lot to hurt the city, and that turning around those problems is important.

With the city having great highway access and a large work force, Cullen said the city should be working on attracting tourism and light manufacturing as a way of turning around the problem of so few businesses opening in the city.

Gang activity was another problem Cullen recognized, noting that a lot of activity is rooted in drugs. He also said the restrictive dress codes at the schools are helping, as gang problems often begin at young ages.

Susan Kleber

Returning councilwoman Susan Kleber has been on the city council for four years, and before that was on the city's planning commission for six years. She said that people are well aware of the changes she and Mayor Jeff Pereira have made.

Kleber described her first two years on the council as "putting out fires," from the financial and legal trouble it was in five years ago. She went on to say the following two years were working on serious accomplishments for the city. "What I want to do is continue what I've started," she said.

Having lived in King City for 14 years, Kleber came to the city from the Bay Area when her husband's job transfer moved them here. She described herself as a community volunteer, serving on the Salvation Army board, writing a food column for Real Estate and Living, and having chaired the Volunteer Action Network for years.

Kleber said that when the new members of the council were elected, they all had their own ideas on how to resurrect the city, but when they actually took office, they discovered the situation was much worse than they thought. There was low staff morale, the city was facing bankruptcy, and a dozen lawsuits threatened the city.

Today, things have changed. As Kleber describes, the city is in the process of recovery. She praised the city staff's great work, including public works, police and office staff. She credited the city staff for helping to maximize grant money, which was direly needed for capital projects. The First Street bridge repair is in progress, the wastewater treatment plant has received some improvements, and the police will soon get their drug dog.

She noted the big issues facing the next city council are working on the city's general plan, and maintaining a degree of excellence with the staff. Other huge issues in the city are the schools and hospital, but the city can only assist those entities in a periphery fashion, hoping their financial problems can be fixed internally.

Kleber noted that there needs to be more economic development in town, in order to show King City is an attractive place for employers.

Jeff Pereira

Returning councilman Jeff Pereira has been on the council for four years, with the last two being served as mayor. He is the manager at King City Nursery on Lonoak in King City.

About his service on the city council, Pereira said, "We need to keep doing what we're doing. We've accomplished a lot in the last four years, and the momentum is in our favor. I'm dedicated to continuing what we started."

Pereira noted team playing is important and he has the experience to know the needs of the city. He went on to say he feels he has become a part of the city family, having formed a bond with city staff.

Born at Mee Memorial Hospital, Pereira has been a lifelong resident. He said he got on the city council in order to help. Similarly, he joined the hospital board six months ago when he heard it needed to be turned around. Responding to needs he saw in the community, Pereira described himself as a person who was willing to give all he could in order to make things work again.

"I'm proud to do this and humbled by it, and honored to be a city councilman and mayor," said Pereira of his service to the city.

Pereira noted that when he first got on the council, the city was in financial trouble, on the verge of bankruptcy, with many lawsuits threatening with city. Now, the council had worked to balance the budget and has become more proactive rather than reactionary.

Fiscal responsibility is a key element to fixing the city, Pereira explained. He noted public safety is a key issue for him, along with wanting to improve the city's appearance, especially by working on the city's roads and sidewalks.

"We're not just a little town in the south of the county," he said, and added he wants to help create a presence in King City. "It has taken a long time to get back on our feet, but we can now work on turning King City into the gem it once was."