Curry drops out of District 5 race

By KERANA TODOROV
Register Staff Writer

The five-person race for District 5 Supervisor is down to four.

Pastor Morris Curry Jr. missed the Wednesday deadline to file elections papers for the June 3 ballot.

The district represents an area that stretches from Coombsville to American Canyon.

As Curry drove home in American Canyon from San Quentin, where he is the Protestant chaplain, he said he thought he had until next week to file final election papers, including 20 signatures, and pay a filing fee.

“Well, I’m going to miss it,” Curry said, referring to the deadline.

Earlier this year Curry said he planned not to raise any money for his campaign. In November 2006, Curry, a longtime community activist, ran for the Napa Valley board of trustees but lost to a candidate who had withdrawn from the race too late for his name to be removed from the ballot. The Napa Valley College’s board of trustees later appointed Brenda Knight over Curry’s objections.

The deadline was extended five days because the incumbent, Harold Moskowite, will not run for re-election this year.

With Curry out of the contest, residents will have the choice between two candidates from the Napa area and two candidates from American Canyon, Napa County’s fastest growing community.

Keith Caldwell, American Canyon’s former fire chief, and Cindy Coffey, an American Canyon councilwoman, both, filed election papers Wednesday, according to the elections office.

Gary Simpson, Napa County’s former sheriff, and Rich Jager, a county planning commissioner, filed their papers Feb. 22 and March 10 respectively, according to the elections office.

Any candidate who does not receive 50 percent of the vote in June will be in a runoff in November.

In other local races, Bill Dodd will run in an uncontested race to represent District 4. In District 2, incumbent Mark Luce faces a challenge from Mike Rodrigues, a member of the Napa Valley Land Stewards Alliance, and Harry Martin, a former Napa city councilman and publisher of the Napa Sentinel.

Five Napa County judges will also run unopposed: Ray Guadagni, Stephen Kroyer, Diane Price, Rodney Stone and Francisca Tisher.

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009