Former Antioch Councilman to Run for City Clerk

Former Antioch Councilman Arne Simonsen pulled papers this morning to run for the Antioch City Clerk position. Currently, he would be running unopposed if he submits papers and no one else pulls by August 10.

I caught up with the former councilman this morning to ask why he was running for the position.

“Knowledge is power, and as City Clerk I can assure that the public has access to all the necessary information available from the city to make informed decisions,” explained Simonsen.  “There is a lot more than just ensuring that information is available.”

Some of his goals include moving the Clerk’s Office back down to the first floor of City Hall which is more accessible to the public. He also wants to ensure that annotated minutes are posted within 24-hours of a meeting that shows how the council, board or commission voted.

“The City Clerk is normally the first office someone contacts and I want to make sure that we have the necessary information readily available to the public, particularly in electronic form on the city website. Likewise, it will also give me the opportunity to be involved with the City Clerk’s Department of the League of California Cities and the League’s policy committees,” said Simonsen.

I did ask him the question if he thought this was a step backwards for him considering he was a councilmember prior to losing his race during the last election.

“I consider this a step forward based on my experience as a city council member, past President of the East Bay Division of the League of California Cities, graduate of the Mayors and Council Members Academy and experience on two major League policy committees (in particular, chairing the League’s Revenue & Taxation Policy Committee),” said Simonsen.