Atherton: Marsala declares intent to run for City Council Atherton: Marsala declares intent to run for City Council (April 03, 2002)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

It's only April, but already the November Atherton City Council election has two declared candidates. Atherton Commissioner Charles Marsala announced last week that he intends to run for one of the three seats on the five-member council that are up for election.

Four-term Councilman Bill Conwell said that he intends to run again, and Mayor Alan Carlson said recently that he has not yet decided. Councilwoman Dianne "DiDi" Fisher announced last month in the Almanac that she would not seek election to a fourth term.

An Atherton resident since 1998, Mr. Marsala is the vice-chair of the Atherton Arts Committee and a member of the town's Park and Recreation, and Waste Reduction committees. He ran for Atherton City Council in the November 2000 election, appearing to win a seat on election night only to lose after the absentee ballots were tallied. He said he thinks he would have won if he had started his campaign earlier.

Since then, Mr. Marsala spearheaded a citizens committee to pass the town's special parcel tax in June 2001, when it passed after failing in previous elections. He was also a member of the residents' panel for interviewing the final candidates for the position of Atherton city manager in May 2001.

Mr. Marsala is the regional sales manager for Lista International Corp. which makes industrial workstations, and co-founder of two companies: Profitable Dining LLC, which owns restaurants in Florida and North Carolina, and Resources Management Services LLC, the exclusive agent for Dun & Bradstreet Receivable Management Services in six western states.