With a sizeable lead after election night, including being the top two votegetter, Scott Beesley and Bob Branstrom are optimistic about joining the Grass Valley City Council in December. They would replace Haven Caravelli and Hilary Hodge, who did not seek re-election. Beesely and Branstrom led by over 400 votes over Ed Peevey, who was third among the three candidates. Beesley told us that there’s the potential for a pretty tight city budget next year, while he heard many residents ask for a greater presence from the police and more assurances about wildfire protection, during his campaign…

 

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But Beesley also noted that most of the business community he talked to felt generally positive about the economic climate downtown, saying revenue was up, compared to pre-pandemic. Meanwhile, Branstrom appears poised to return to the Council, after being unseated by Joe Bonomolo in 2024. And he says reducing the wildfire risk will be his top priority…

 

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Branstrom says he’d like to see more neighborhoods join firewise communities. He also would like the council try to reduce permitting red tape as much as possible for new residential development projects on the way that, he hopes, will result in around 100 more affordable homes and apartments to be built.