A current and former Lompoc mayor will repeat their battle for the city’s top elected office in November, while three residents will compete for two open seats on the City Council, including two making their first bid for elective office.
Mayor Bob Lingl and former Mayor John Linn — who both announced their campaigns in June — will face off in a race to convince voters to return them to repeat terms as the city’s top elected official.
Lingl, 67, was elected to the City Council in 2008 and 2012, and won his first campaign for mayor in November 2014.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Lingl is a clinical laboratory scientist retired from the Lompoc Valley Medical Center. He is the city’s representative on the Northern California Power Agency and previously served as a city planning commissioner.
He has a degree in business management from Pepperdine University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Golden Gate University, and has lived in Lompoc since 1999.
A small business owner, Linn, 66, is running for a third term as mayor after losing his re-election bid to Lingl in 2014.
Linn served two terms as mayor from 2010 to 2014, and is a co-founder and current chair of the nonprofit Lompoc Valley Parks, Recreation and Pool Foundation. He previously served on the county’s human services commission and is a past president of the Lompoc Chamber of Commerce.
Linn has lived in Lompoc since 1982 and has a degree in political science from Chapman University.
Incumbents DeWayne Holmdahl and Jim Mosby are seeking to return to office for four-year council terms, and will be joined on the ballot by Jenelle Osborne in her first run for elective office.
Holmdahl, 78, was elected to the City Council in 2012 and served three terms on the council from 1996 to 2008.
Elected to the County Board of Supervisors in 1981 and 1985, Holmdahl also served on the Lompoc Unified School District board of trustees.
A retired rancher, Holmdahl hosts a radio program on the Central Coast wine industry, and has lived in Lompoc for more than 50 years.
He was named Man of the Year in 2003 by the Lompoc Chamber of Commerce, and majored in agriculture at Fresno State College and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
A Lompoc native, Mosby, 52, was appointed to the City Council in December 2014 to fill the remaining two years of Lingl’s term, and is seeking to retain the seat in his first run for public office.
A small business owner and biologist, Mosby serves as a county park commissioner appointed by Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam, and previously served on the city’s utility commission.
Mosby is the city’s representative to the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, Air Pollution Control District and the Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness.
He has a degree in biological science from UC Davis.
Jenelle Osborne, 49, is the owner of an event planning and professional organizing service.
She was appointed to the newly formed economic development committee in 2012, serving as vice-chair and chair until early this year. A member of Leadership Lompoc Valley, Osborne was the recipient of the DeWees Leadership Award in 2014, and is development chair of the Lompoc Theatre Project board of directors.
A resident of Lompoc since 2000, Osborne has a degree in history from Texas Woman’s University.
Friday was the deadline to file nomination papers for city offices up for grabs in the Nov. 8 election
The 2016 candidate field for City Council is significantly reduced from recent elections. In the two previous campaigns, seven candidates were on the ballot for two open council seats.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Carol Benham can be reached at cbenham@noozhawk.com.Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.