CHICO — As the filing period begins to draw to a close, the four Chico City Council districts on the November ballot are shaping up as contested races.

The latest to seek election is business owner and Navy reservist Michael Johnson, who filed his first paperwork Friday afternoon for the open District 1 seat, where he will face former alderman and police chief Mike O’Brien. District 5 also has a second candidate, Chico State student Melissa Lopez-Mora, who joins Chico State student Katie Hawley in the race.

Former Mayor Sean Morgan is not seeking re-election and endorsed O’Brien as his successor. Mayor Andrew Coolidge has not approved a successor for his District 5 seat.

District 3 remains a rematch between incumbent Dale Bennett and City Commissioner Monica McDaniel, and District 7 pits incumbent Deepika Tandon against City Commissioner Bryce Goldstein. The deadline to submit candidate forms to the Town Office is Friday (August 9).

Johnson, who served on the school board in Red Bluff before moving to Chico in 2010, ran for the Chico Unified School District board in 2020, before CUSD moved away from at-large election districts. He’s a Navy veteran from a military family who has served in the reserves since 2011 — and was promoted to rank chairman last year. He owns a computer consulting company.

“I’m 50 and have been an involved citizen in some shape or form my entire adult life,” Johnson said by phone after filing. “I had been brought up with the notion that if you want to be part of the process, you have to at least vote, and it takes something to run. If you’re willing, why not throw your hat in the ring?”

His main issue is one that has dominated Chico for years, homelessness, for personal as well as political reasons.

“I have an adult daughter with special needs who, if it weren’t for a loving and supportive family, would probably be one of those people without a home and without someone to take care of her,” Johnson said. “I used to have a very different view of it; I thought it was people who were lazy, but that’s not the case at all. It’s very much an individualized problem that’s everywhere we go, and there’s no simple answer to it that will appeal to everyone.”

Lopez-Mora, 22, is finishing her degree in project management at Chico State. She and her husband, Preston, who works in accounting, recently moved to District 5, but she is a lifelong Chicoan who grew up on the west side of town, where the district is located.

“It has a place in my heart,” she said by phone Friday. “My desire (to run for the council seat) is that this is an opportunity to give back to the community that raised me, and it was something that felt important. I think Chico is such a unique place, as is District 5 with students and families mixed; I felt like I would be a perfect crossover candidate for that.”

Issues that she has prioritized are business development and road repairs.

“I think little things throughout the day can make a big difference,” Lopez-Mora said. “Especially in District 5, our roads are so bad, so I want to be an advocate for the little things that make people’s lives better.”

Explained candidates

*-sitting

District 1

Michael Johnson

Mike O’Brien

District 3

Dale Bennett*

Monica McDaniel

District 5

Katie Hawley

Melissa Lopez-Mora

District 7

Bryce Goldstein

Deepika Tandon*