Tulare Co. hopefuls get on path to elections: Incumbents, others take out papers for open seats.

Byline: Tim Sheehan

Jul. 29--VISALIA -- Fall election battles in Tulare County are beginning to take shape as would-be candidates line up signatures to get on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Since July 16, when nominating papers were made available by the Tulare County Elections Division, incumbents and hopeful challengers have been taking out papers to run for 176 seats that will be up for election in districts both large and small.

From the Visalia City Council and Visalia Unified School District, each of which has tens of thousands of registered voters, to the tiny Ponderosa Community Services District, where only 29 votes were reported in the last election two years ago, 63 people have dipped their toes into the political waters and taken out papers to run.

But with an Aug. 10 filing deadline, there's still time for others to jump into the political arena.

Two races that offer plenty of promise for interest are the Visalia City Council and the Visalia Unified School District board.

Council members Greg Kirkpatrick and Bob Link are both up for election. Kirkpatrick, a farmer and community planner, serves as the vice mayor. He's wrapping up his first four-year term on the council.