Holloway Says He's Running for City Council

Jerry Holloway already has the hardware that goes with being a retired city councilman. The fake street sign. The key to the city. The monogrammed this-and-that. What he wants now is the leather seat behind the dais.

Holloway, a two-time mayor, has announced he is running for election to the council in 2014, hoping to take his seat once more in a city government he helped guide for a decade. He did not seek reelection in 2012, and his vacated seat was won by Carol Gamble.

The dean of students at Santa Margarita Catholic High, Holloway has proven popular with voters in the past. He held the first- and second-most votes won in an election prior to Tony Beall’s juggernaut showing of 2012.

“I have very much missed working for the residents and businesses of Rancho Santa Margarita, as well as working with a great city staff and city council,” Holloway said. “While serving on the council, I was honored to be a part of helping to make Rancho Santa Margarita the wonderful place it is today. I am going to work very hard to earn the votes of our residents.”

Holloway is a retired lieutenant with the Costa Mesa Police Department who, among other things, played a pivotal role in the hiring of Steve Hayman as city manager. Hayman has since retired, but much of the city’s financial success and standing stops at his desk. He was also on the council that hired Jennifer Cervantez as Hayman’s replacement after his retirement.

• Patch: Free local news
• Follow RSM Patch on Facebook and Twitter.
• Read other stories on RSM Patch.

Even when he announced 15 months ago he was not seeking reelection, Holloway said he would not rule out a return to civic service. He is very interested in the Chiquita Ridge project, which will include a sports park as well as a commercial or residential element.

Three council seats—occupied by Jesse Petrilla, Steve Baric and Brad McGirr—will be up for election in November 2014. McGirr has already stated his intention to seek reelection. 

Petrilla , who told Patch in 2010 that he was committed to serve two four-year terms with the city, is seeking instead to win the 73rd Assembly District seat. Baric ran a short campaign for the same assembly seat before stopping; he said a decision about running for reelection to city council would be determined within a couple of months.

In the last election, Holloway backed Beall, Gamble and Brad McGirr, all of whom won handily.

In addition to his role as an administrator at Santa Margarita, Holloway taught Social Studies, and he has coached lower level high school football for almost 20 years.

Holloway beat Christy Riley in 2002 after she had been appointed the mid-term replacement for Debra Lewis. Holloway received 55.6 percent, a total of 5,203 votes.

He was the leading vote-getter in 2004 with 37.1 percent of the vote (10,809 votes), and in 2008 with 39.4 percent (11,124), finishing immediately ahead of Beall both years.