Roseville City Council Candidates Prepare for Election Night

Roseville's seven City Council candidates spent Election Day making last-minute calls, stumping, voting and, for some, even relaxing.  

Incumbent Carol Garcia spent the morning with supporters on the corner of Sunrise Avenue and Cirby Way waving signs and smiling at passerby. 

"I'm glad that Election Day is finally here," said Garcia. "My committee has run a great campaign over the past nine months in using various forms of communication to reach the Roseville voters though social media, mailers, walking precincts, 'meet and greets' in residents' homes and campaign forums."

Candidate John Schwartz has spent the day trying to relax. 

"I realized that when I signed up and seven people were running and many were raising hundreds of thousands of dollars that it would be difficult going in," Scwhartz said. "I made appearances everywhere I could. It's all in the hands of other people now. So why stress?"  

Tracy Mendonsa talked with voters at The Fountains during the lunch hour. 

Mendonsa said he enjoys talking to residents, so he decided to do the same on Election Day. "Listening to the concerns, both good and bad has, only further reinforced my decision that running for City Council is important because the people of Roseville need a candidate that will keep an eye to the future of Roseville and focus on what really matters, the people," he said.  

Bonnie Gore predicts a good outcome for her campaign.

"I expect them to be positive but I'm cautiously optimistic," she said. "I'm glad today is finally here. We've been working hard for nine months and I'm looking forward to learning the final results."

Gore wrote thank you notes and prepared for the vote totals. "There have been so many people who have helped me get to this point and I could not have run a successful campaign without their support," she said. 

Scott Alvord said he feels confidant about tonight's results. 

"I have a strange calm on the outside but a lot of excitement underneath," Alvord said. "I'm looking forward to finding out how Roseville voted and for this campaign to finally be over so I can spend more time with my family again."

He spent the day calling voters.

Alvord added, "My supporters have worked amazingly hard on my behalf... My wife, Karen, wins the title of biggest supporter because she has been amazing from the day I mentioned this idea."

Candidate Phil Ozenick said he too is confident about his campaign, despite feeling he has been the victim of a "dirty campaign."

"It's the dirtiest election I have been involved in in 34 years," he said, refering to mailers sent out to residents questioning his qualifications. In the end though, he said he wanted to give his supporters  a "hardy 'Thank You.'"

Mayor Pauline Roccucci spent the day doing normal things, stopping in at work and later picking up her granddaughter after voting with her husband. She said she is interested in how her campaign turns out but also the rest of the country's election.

Roccucci heads to the polls every year with her husband, Rich Roccucci. "We both still like to walk in and vote. It just makes it feel more real," she said. "This is the day, the actual day, we start tallying up all the votes."

For more local election coverage, see our Election Guide 2012 topic page here.