Belmont Councilman George Metropulos will not run for a second term in office and announced yesterday he is supporting incumbent Coralin Feierbach and Planning Commissioners Bill Dickenson and Rick Frautschi for the council's three available seats.
The three seats are currently held by Metropulos, Feierbach and Dave Bauer. Both Feierbach and Bauer have pulled nomination papers. Feierbach formalized her candidacy by filing the paperwork with the city clerk last week. Bauer has until Friday to file his paperwork.
Dickenson held a small press conference yesterday morning after filing his nomination papers with the city clerk. He was flanked by Frautschi and four of the five council members. Bauer was not invited.
Both Feierbach and Bauer make no secret of their bitter relationship.
The relationship between Feierbach and Bauer took a turn for the worse during a June 2003 special election, in which Bauer supported Feierbach rival George Burgess. Mayor Dave Warden threw his support behind Feierbach.
Since then, Bauer regularly casts the council's minority vote on most issues.
Dickenson said he wanted to build consensus and "not bring a negative attitude and game playing" to the council.
Dickenson, 38, is a hotel and restaurant consultant who was raised in Belmont. He is married and is planning to start a family.
A couple of years ago, Dickenson made a failed bid for City Council. Since then, he has taken smaller leadership roles in the city. He is president of the Sterling Downs Neighborhood Association and serves on the Planning Commission. He also served as the co-chair of the Urban Design Committee and the chair of the Permit Efficiency Task Force.
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Both Dickenson and Frautschi give credit to most of the current council for acting as mentors and helping navigate the two through the often complicated world of city politics.
Frautschi, 53, is a former oncology and trauma nurse at the University of California at San Francisco. He moved to Belmont 11 years ago and lives in the Central Neighborhood. He is currently serving his second term on the Planning Commission.
Initially cagey about whether he would run or not, Frautschi said a two-week vacation gave him time to realize he wanted a seat on the council. It seems like a natural progression, he said.
Mayor Dave Warden and Councilman Phil Mathewson said they fully supported all three candidates. Metropulos said he was "happy and honored" to see Feierbach pursue another term and the two challengers decide to run.
Metropulos isn't planning on going anywhere. Combining council obligations and his job teaching at Central Elementary School demanded too much time.
"When you have it in you, it's hard to stay away," Metropulos said. "But when you do something, you have to give it 100 percent."
Metropulos will continue to work at Central Elementary School and volunteer in the community, he said.
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