Election 2024

GEARHART — There will be a contested race for Position 2 on the City Council in November.

David Savinar, who had a decadeslong career in advertising before moving to Gearhart and launching an art gallery, filed as a candidate just before the Aug. 27 deadline.

Savinar will face former Mayor Paulina Cockrum for the open seat. City Councilor Reita Fackerell chose not to run for reelection.

“I have a real love for the town,” he said. “And I just want to get involved.”

If elected, Savinar said he would focus on keeping Gearhart beautiful and trying to diffuse divisions among neighbors.

“This whole thing with the fire station, I would certainly want to focus on that, since it affects everybody,” he said. “I would focus on businesses in town — good businesses, happy businesses.”

Overall, Savinar said he wants to be a neutral voice amid some of the city’s more contentious issues.

“With being on the council, I can enforce what happens, or help enforce,” he said. “I want to be a team player, and I want to listen to everybody’s side of everything.”

Savinar said he has lived in many places, run his own company and served on several boards. “Without sounding snobby, I’m trying to bring my expertise to this great little town that I live in,” he said.

In the November election, Mayor Kerry Smith will face Robert Morey, of Scofi Gearhart LLC.

City Councilor Sharon Kloepfer faces Patricia Roberts, a former Clatsop County commissioner, in Position 4.