Features

The race for Berkeley’s city auditor has gone uncontested for eight years. School Board Director John Selawsky wants to change that. 

Selawsky took out signature in-lieu forms for city auditor last Tuesday, though in a phone interview Friday, he said he has not officially decided to run. 

“Partly why I’m doing this is to raise the visibility of this (office),” he said Friday. “And, I have a democratic instinct against someone running unopposed.”  

City Auditor Ann-Marie Hogan, who will seek reelection, has held the position since 1994. 

The city auditor independently oversees the city’s financial and programmatic operations. Candidates are elected to four-year terms; there are no term limits. The position is paid. Hogan earns a base salary of $131,381. 

Selawsky, a writer and editor by profession, was elected to the Berkeley Board of Education in 2000. He sits on the People’s Park Community Advisory Board and co-chairs the Ashby BART Task Force. He also serves on the school district’s audit committee. From 1995 to 2000, he was a member of the Community Environmental Advisory Commission. 

If he runs, Selawsky must file nomination papers with the city clerk’s office by Aug. 11.