With the Tuesday, Nov. 3 election now less than two weeks away, the four Escalon City Council candidates are working to get their individual messages out to the voters.

Three of the candidates are incumbents; all completing a four-year term and looking to return to the dais. They include Mayor Andy Hagan, Mayor Pro Tem Malinda Walker and Councilman Jeremy Engle. The one challenger this year is Jason Perruquet, seeking his first term on the council.

Three four-year terms are available. Escalon has at-large elections, not by district, so the top three vote getters in the Nov. 3 election will win the seats.

Following are brief statements from the candidates regarding their reasons for running and thoughts on how to secure future success for the city.

Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

JEREMY ENGLE

I am a current member of the Escalon City Council. I am running again in hopes to continue to contribute and serve the needs and wants of our community.

Our city council and staff have done well in providing a balanced budget, timely responses to residents, and in staff negotiations. One thing I would spend time on improving is retention incentives for our Police Department.

What a council member means to me is serving our community by listening to what the facts are and what the residents want. It also means that sometimes there are difficult decisions to make and our residents may be split on what they want. I can and will put my biases aside and do my best to be thinking towards the long-term interests of our town.

In my opinion the most pressing issue facing the city is figuring out how to capture the revenue that comes through our town every day instead of just passing through and spending their money in our neighboring cities. Increasing our tax base will allow us to provide more resources for our citizens and fund our local programs and our community’s needs and wants.

ANDY HAGAN

I’m running for City Council to protect faith, family and friends by focusing on decision-making which is based on the Constitution and are decisions based in protecting and building up our local quality of life vs. chasing money. I want to try to improve community bonds and pursue ideas that will create opportunities for our community to know and work with each other.

As a gatekeeper and representative of the people I plan to fill that role by pushing back on big government, like the state, who is actively trying to destroy our local quality of life and safety. I would do this through creative thinking and voting from a well-researched position.

We need to repair our aging infrastructure and inflation is putting a strain on our citizens to pay bills so we need continued focus on food stability and other needs for our seniors and families.

If I am elected, I will continue to show the community, through my actions, improvements designed to make our community stay a community and a concerted focus of driving revenue through sales tax dollars vs. direct taxation.

Also focus on bringing in and supporting current local businesses via grants for our community and bringing a positive footprint for businesses, amenities and jobs.

JASON PERRUQUET

I’m running for Escalon City Council because I believe the people who live here deserve a strong voice in the decisions that affect their families and their community. I’m not running because I’m a career politician. I’m running because I’m a resident, a father, and someone who cares deeply about the future of Escalon. My campaign is about listening to residents, protecting what makes Escalon a great small town, supporting public safety and local businesses, and making sure city government is transparent and accountable to the people it serves. That’s why my campaign message is simple: A Voice for the People.

I think one of the biggest issues facing Escalon is our aging infrastructure, particularly our water and wastewater systems. These are major investments, and ultimately those costs can affect the people who live here. I want to make sure we have a clear long-term plan for those projects, that we’re aggressively pursuing grants and other outside funding, and that we’re doing everything we reasonably can to keep the burden on residents as low as possible. Our streets are another priority. We need to continue repairing and maintaining our roads instead of allowing problems to become more expensive down the road. And with additional local revenue available through Measure P, I believe accountability is extremely important. Residents should be able to clearly see where that money is going and what they’re getting in return—whether that’s public safety, streets, parks, youth programs or other essential services.

I’m here to stand up for what is best for the city of Escalon as a whole and I’m not afraid to speak up and fight for what is right.

MALINDA WALKER

I’m a self-proclaimed Escalon local; I’m a graduate of Dent Elementary School, El Portal Middle School and Escalon High School. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Stanislaus State, as well as both a real estate license and tax preparer’s license. I would be remiss if I didn’t include the fact that I served Escalon High School as a coach for two sports for 17 years and a substitute teacher in the district for 20. I admittedly have spent most of my time and energy working with and for local children and families with the intent to contribute to our community lifestyle in a positive way.

My official volunteer experience includes serving with the Escalon Educational Foundation, helping with Kiwanis and Key Clubs, and I served on the Escalon Recreation Commission from 2014 until I took office with this council in 2023.

My interest in running for this council is simple: continue to lead our community to be safe, efficient and independent while putting the rights of individual and sovereign citizens first. My campaign platform: increase income, decrease debt and liability, create or support an environment where families can safely live, play and grow. And how do we do this? We attract businesses to fill the vacant spaces in our town, we pay down CalPERS and city debt, we support first responders, we support city unification, we update infrastructure for self-sufficiency and increase and maintain recreational spaces and opportunities for both children and families.

The forum, in its entirety, is available to view on the City of Escalon YouTube channel by clicking on the ‘Live’ tab. Serving as moderator for the roughly hour-long forum was former Escalon Mayor and city council member Jeff Laugero, who is currently the Stanislaus County District Attorney.

All candidates had the opportunity to prepare answers to questions they were provided with in advance, as well as handling impromptu questions asked that evening, on topics ranging from city growth to data centers to employee retention.