Q&A with Parlier city clerk candidate Lina Martinez

PARLIER – This November, contests for city council races, school board elections and local bond measures will be listed lower on the ballot, but they are not any lower in importance. 

Local elections are often decided by just a handful of votes, highlighting the impact of each individual’s voice in the community. In Parlier, residents who want to see change in their cities, be that improved roads, increased public safety or more commercial and residential development, will have the chance to vote on city council candidates promising to bring something new to the area. 

The Parlier City Council is made up of four residents who are elected by district and one mayor who is elected at-large. Council members and the mayor are elected to four-year staggered terms with no limits. Parlier residents also vote for their city treasurer and city clerk every four years.

Residents Lina Martinez and Maria Jimenez are running for city clerk. In 2020, current city clerk Dorothy Garza ran unopposed. The Mid Valley Times was unable to reach Jimenez by press time; updated Q&As will be posted online.

California voters can use the Secretary of State’s online voter registration tool at registertovote.ca.gov to register to vote or check their status. Voters in Fresno County can use an online district lookup tool through their respective county elections office to enter their address and find what Congressional, state, county and city districts they live in.

Martinez spoke with Mineral King Publishing about her background and her goals for the next four years if she is elected Nov. 5. Interview responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: What is your background?

MARTINEZ: I have an administrative background. I’ve been doing HR coordinating for about 20 years. I also worked in an agricultural background. I did payroll for farm labor contractors for several years, for about 10 years also. 

Q: What do you hope to change or accomplish in the next term, if elected? 

MARTINEZ: My goals for the city clerk position is to organize the agendas and the minutes. Dorthy, who’s the current city clerk, has done a great job. She decided not to run again this year, so I thought it was a great opportunity to give my skills as an administrative person. 

I’m organized and I’ve done a lot of administrative work, a lot of organizing, a lot of filing, a lot of getting things in order, a lot of research. So I think I’m a good person because of my experience, I’m a good person in that field. Because it’s a city clerk position, it’s not a voting person, so it’s a little bit different than running for actual council.

Q: What made you decide to run for the city clerk position?

MARTINEZ: I’m a lifelong Parlier person; I grew up in Parlier, my parents are from Parlier, my family has been in the Parlier area since the ‘50s. I love Parlier, I’m very attached to Parlier. I didn’t volunteer for a lot of stuff when I was younger, but now that I’m older, I thought, my kids are grown, so I want to give back to my community, give back and do something positive for the community. 

I thought this would be a great start to be able to … get the experience of what it is to be a part of the city council. I have volunteered in the past. I coached the Pop Warner cheerleaders for a few years when my children were younger. I was part of the Pop Warner board, so I did those kinds of things when my children were younger. I’ve never done city council, but I’ve gone to a few of the meetings, and I just thought it would be interesting or nice to try it out and see what happens.

Q: How are you running your campaign? Who is supporting/endorsing your campaign, and who are the major funders of your campaign?

MARTINEZ: I do not have any endorsers and I have not fundraised. I’m gonna do it on my own. I’m just gonna do my signs (and) word of mouth; people know me. I grew up in Parlier, so a lot of people do know who I am. (I have) social media, sharing the posts. That’s what I’ve been doing. We’re going to actually be getting our signs up hopefully next week, but I have not done any fundraisers, and nobody has endorsed me.

Q: What does the role of a city clerk look like to you? How would you engage with your duties and the public?

MARTINEZ: I think that the role of the city clerk is admin, … preparing the minutes and the agendas and following what’s going on for the meetings.

The first thing I would do if I’m elected, I would like to get a job description of exactly what the city clerk does, what the responsibilities are and if they offer classes. I’ve actually looked up webinars on how to do the processes of city clerk. So I’d like to do that, and maybe even call other cities and get information for the job duties.

Q: Anything else to add? 

MARTINEZ: No.