City Council Field Forms; Hrabik, McGirr, Acosta Are In

The race is on.

The original deadline to file papers to run for the city council of Rancho Santa Margarita was Friday, and there are currently five candidates in the field for three available seats.

But there's also a few more days to file, an automatic extension brought on by the decision of .

It's expected that the field will grow to six candidates by the time everyone who has expressed an interest in the positions files by the deadline Wednesday, 5 p.m.

Anyone still wishing to become a council member should contact the city's deputy city clerk, Maria Ferris, at 949-635-1800 ext. 6201. 

Incumbents and Carol Gamble have filed for the two four-year seats that are available on the council. Beall has twice won election to the council and has been a visible ambassador for the city as its mayor for the past two years.

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Gamble was last year appointed to replace Gary Thompson after his resignation just a couple months into his term. Like Thompson, Gamble was a member of the city's original city council when it incorporated Jan. 1, 2000, but also resigned before her term ended to focus on the ill health of her parents.

Businessman has applied for the four-year seat and will take on the incumbents. Hrabik is owner of the Dove Canyon Courtyard, a wedding and banquet venue that was involved in a with the city over protests of residential neighbors of his business. In fact, the Dove Canyon Courtyard is largely considered .

and Brad McGirr have applied for the two-year seat left by Gamble's move to win the four-year seat. Acosta is a senior civil engineer in Los Angeles County and board member of the Trabuco Canyon Water District; McGirr is an attorney in the medical field and a city planning commissioner. McGirr has appeared as a blogger on Patch.

A likely sixth candidate, retired businessman Larry McCook, has indicated to the city that he will file his papers next week, though it's not known yet if he will run for the four-year or two-year seat.

Two years ago, McCook campaigned for about six weeks and spent less than $1,000 and got 4,326 votes; his 13.4 percent of the vote was about 8 percent less than the four who finished ahead of him at considerable more expense.

In that election for three seats, newcomers Jesse Petrilla (22.9 percent) and Steve Baric (21.4) were elected 1-2, along with Thompson (21.2). Incumbent Neil Blais (21.1) lost to Thompson by 20 votes and Baric by 93. Only 573 votes separated Blais from Petrilla.