Candidates Raise Funds, Redwood Corridor Shopping Center Moves Forward and Other Top Stories

We know you’re busy. That’s why every Sunday, we publish a recap of the top stories of the week.

One story that got readers talkin’ is our piece on campaign contributions. Mayor Pat Eklund leads the pack with $22,000 in her war chest, although Councilwoman Denise Athas is close behind with $17,000. 

The other two opponents, Creekside Bakery owner Steve Jordan and community activist Eleanor Sluis, have considerably less (Sluis is not even trying to raise money.) Instead, these political underdogs are presenting themselves as something different from the establishment and make up for the lack of political experience with out of the box thinking.

Yet the biggest issue in the November election may not be who wins, but just getting people to the polls.

Also this week, Patch caught up with the council members who voted to use $370,000 of Measure F, the half-cent sales tax, to market the city. Madeline Kellner, Jeanne MacLeamy, Denise Athas and Eric Lucan all say the money is just a small part of the total the measure will raise and is a needed investment in the city.

But plenty of residents are angry and say the tax was originally promoted as a way to save city services—police, parks, etc.—and should not be used for anything different. Doing so, they say, undermines the public’s trust in City Hall.

On another note, the plans for a new shopping center at North Redwood Corridor North are coming together after the completion of two community workshops. More than 100 people attended and told city planners they didn’t want more big box stores. Instead, they want small and medium-sized stores they can walk to from downtown and “entertainment options,” whether it’s bowling, skating or something else for families or teens to do.

Also this week, the mother-daughter duo who dressed up in Halloween costumes then beat and robbed a Novato marijuana grower were sentenced. The mom, Keren Anne Blake, was sentenced to eight years. Her daughter, Teresa Gollihugh, 21, will serve nine years, because she was the one who held the gun to the victim’s head. The man, Blake’s ex-boyfriend was beaten with a gun, a lamp and pieces of a broken bong and required more than 20 stitches.

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