Pleasanton City Council forum set for Monday at community center

Journal staff report

PLEASANTON – Debate at the Pleasanton City Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 29, will likely foreshadow the expected give-and-take at the council candidate forum next Monday, Oct. 6. The forum will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Pleasanton Community Center, 819 Main St., and is sponsored by the city of Pleasanton.

At Monday’s meeting, the police chief took a council member to task for what he said was misinformation about the 2025 police budget. Although the council member countered that the information used was in the proposed budget, the argument referenced the city’s budget for 2026. The tax levy for next year increased 13 mills over 2025, including a sizable increase for the police department.

Candidates are also expected to weigh in on the future of the city’s fire department as well. The council earlier this year decided to spend 12 months working to rebuild the fire department while relying on an automatic aid agreement with the county’s rural fire department to supply supplemental manpower.

On Nov. 4 Pleasanton voters will select representatives to fill three seats. Council seats occupied by former councilwoman Kimberly Herring and current council members Aaron Portmann and Rochelle Schreckhise will be up for grabs. Portmann decided not to run for re-election, however, Schreckhise is hoping to retain her seat.

The unexpected death of Councilwoman Angie Randall last week left another open seat on the council, however, Mayor Mathew Young is expected to make an appointment to fill that seat after the election.

Other candidates for the three open seats include (in alphabetical order)

• Sandy Haynes

• Riley Hines

• Ron Miller

• David Schuermann

• Kenny Stark

• Alex Wills

Dean Johnson, whose name will appear on the ballot has announced publicly that he has withdrawn from the election.

Moderators for the forum will be Jackie Taylor, publisher of the Linn County News and Roger Sims, publisher of the Linn County Journal.