City of Hollister City Council Councilmember Ignacio Velazquez

In his current term, Ignacio Velazquez kicked off his mayoral duties by restructuring the city's finances and taking a conservative approach to taxpayer dollars. His previous positions included county planning commissioner and president of both the Hollister Downtown Association and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. On his strong slow-growth approach, he told BenitoLink, “Our focus has to absolutely shift from new homes to commercial and industrial developments.” The married father of two also has has owned the Vault Banquet Facilities in downtown Hollister since 1998.

First elected: 2012

Alma maters: California State East Bay College of Business & Economics (master’s degree, international business); California State University Monterey Bay (bachelor’s degree, global studies)

Notable quote: “Over the past few years, there has been an effort by a few to approve thousands of new homes, which would once again put the city in a bad financial position and stress our infrastructure.” (Source: Benitolink.com)