First become mayor of SLO--then take over the world 

Two candidates have thrown their hats into San Luis Obispo's mayoral ring, hoping to secure what Dave Romero calls "the best elected job in California."

Stephan Lamb and Dan Carpenter each announced their plans to run for mayor of San Luis Obispo. Meanwhile, incumbent Dave Romero said he loves his job, and talks like a man who intends to be around for a while. But he hasn't officially announced whether he will be running again in the November election.

Carpenter was unavailable for comment as of press time, but he has a long history of working with the city. Carpenter is a planning commissioner and a native of SLO. He's also a member of the Cultural Heritage Committee, another city advisory body.

Lamb said he's lived in SLO for 30 years, and he's recently been in the news as an opponent of a plan to put a parking lot in Mitchell Park. Lamb said that his two main goals as mayor would be to build a new community center with a state-of-the-art senior center, and to create a new homeless shelter.

The catalyst for his candidacy, though, was the park issue. Lamb said that his involvement with the city on the topic has motivated him to seek more collaboration between citizens and their government.

Lamb is the former director of Arts Space Obispo, Hospice of SLO, and Woods Humane Society. He's also president of the board of directors for the AIDS Support Network and the SLO Hep C Project.

In his "real life," as Lamb put it, he's the associate director of Cal Poly Student Life and Leadership.

Lamb's favorite ice cream is chocolate chip. Romero prefers pecan praline