Catching up with the candidates for Hollister’s Mayoral race

The race for the Hollister mayoral seat is inching closer and closer to the end.

Up for re-election is Mia Casey. She's seeking a second term after initially winning the seat back in 2022.

“I've discovered that the wheels of government move slowly, but I've got a lot of initiatives underway. What the council has done in the last two years, we've set four goals for Hollister to help move us forward,” Mayor Casey said.

Roxanne Stephens is running for the seat too. She's a social worker who wants to slow the growth of the city.

“The leadership that we have in place and that we've had for a few years, both at the city level, in the county level is to increase growth,” Stephens said. “My vision is to slow it down and really, really keep what people really love most about Hollister, which is a small town feel.”

Another issue both candidates are passionate about is fixing the roadways and infrastructure.

“If you speak to anybody who lives in Hollister for any amount of time, traffic and roads will almost always come up. If we just look at the horrendous conditions on [Highway] 25, we've had lots of accidents. It's the traffic creates so much stress for families and and increasingly it's becoming more and more dangerous,” Stephens said.

“We had a lot of growth in the nineties and it's kind of continued. But what hasn't kept pace is the infrastructure and there hasn't been a lot of proactive planning. This is an old town. It does need a lot of work,” Casey said.

Another topic close to home is the Hollister motorcycle rally with its return still hanging in the balance.

“We've created a Hollister Motorcycle Rally Ad Hoc committee, and we have engaged the community," Mayor Casey said. "In fact, last night [October 29] we had our first town hall with I think it was between 30 and 40 people came in to give ideas because one of the biggest issues we had is providing adequate security because let's face it, events have challenges.”

"The majority, like an overwhelming majority of Hollister residents, want the bike rally back. The reason is not only does it bring people to our city and it boosts the economy, like the revenues of our small businesses, especially in the downtown area, but it is part of our history. There's a lot of that nostalgia behind it," Stephens said.

Affordable housing is also a concern.

“Affordable housing is really needed here, but we have to work closely with our developers to make sure that they're paying their fair share and that we're not giving a bunch of money away, which has been part of our practice in the past," Stephens said. "That has got to stop. We have to be fair."

“One of the things the council has done is to passionately pass an inclusionary housing ordinance so that in the future all new development, whether it's large housing or multifamily or an apartment, they have to include 15% of their units have to be affordable," Mayor Casey said.

KION also asked both candidates what sets each of them apart from one another.

“I call myself a reluctant politician. I don't like politics. I didn't really want to run, but I saw the need for balance in our community. I'm not about power. I'm not about money. I'm a family and community person. That's my life. And that's what I've been doing as mayor," Mayor Casey said.

"I am a candidate that is supporting slow growth at changing the focus away from housing growth and really focusing more on economic growth and dealing with our our internal problems now the ones that we have now, not adding to it."

Early voting is already underway in San Benito County. Polls will close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5.