Politics & Government

Boulanger Won't Comment Until After Election

Some residents have said City Council candidate Gerard Boulanger should, if elected, step aside because of some questions about his background.

City Council candidate said Monday he would consider a post-election response to residents upset over his answers to a Hercules Patch .

Boulanger, incumbent ’s only challenger in Tuesday's recall election, did not say how, if elected, he would address public concerns that he  some of his professional, political and educational background. He did not say whether he would step aside or accept the position.

, who is running with Boulanger on a slate and is seeking to unseat incumbent Joanne Ward, said in a letter Monday, “The recent article in the Patch regarding ‘Boulanger Revamps Bio’ has left me in a state of disappointment and shock" (see attached PDF for full letter).

Find out what's happening in Pinole-Herculeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Wilkins said it is still important for voters to back the recall and not use him as a write-in for Kuehne’s seat instead of selecting Boulanger, as some Hercules Patch commenters have suggested. “The recall is also alive and well and the fact is that we need to vote ‘yes’ on the recall for Don Kuehne and Joanne Ward,” Wilkins said.

The recall election is a two-parter: Whether to recall Kuehne, and a separate vote on who should replace him. If a majority want to recall Kuehne, the winner of that separate vote would replace him for the duration of Kuehne's term, which expires in December, 2012. Because Boulanger is the only name on the ballot to replace Kuehne, he would be the winner unless a write-in candidate were to get more votes.

Find out what's happening in Pinole-Herculeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Contra Costa County Elections Division said Boulanger cannot pull out of the race. The deadline for candidates to remove their name from the ballot was March 24. If Boulanger or any other candidate chooses not to serve after being elected, it would be up to the City Council to appoint a replacement, call another special election or leave the seat vacant, the Elections Division said.

Some residents, including  ,have asked for Boulanger to step down for the embellishment. “Gerard, you are a good man, and I consider you to be a good friend; but, your continued presence in the campaign and on the Council would be toxic,” Abraham said in an email sent to Hercules Patch (see attached PDF) .

Despite the recent controversy over his background, some residents have said Boulanger should be elected and is still the better choice for Kuehne’s seat.

As of Monday morning, 2,010 absentee ballots from Hercules had been received at the county elections office, according to Gwen Saxon, an elections supervisor. A total of 5,206 ballots were mailed to residents.

Absentee voters have until 5 p.m. Tuesday to get their ballots to the county, or they can drop them off at polling places by 8 p.m. Election Day

According to Hercules City Clerk Doreen Mathews, as of December, 2010, Hercules had 12,459 registered voters.


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