Arriving at East Bay Coffee at 3:30 to interview the new mayor of Pinole was a secret to be unfolded. The excitement of getting my daily dose of caffeine from East Bay Coffee distracted me from the fact that William and I had no idea what Pete Murray looked like. We knew that he was a white male from the outdated pictures, but to our surprise, there were so many people in this cafe that fit the description! That is when operation find Pete Murray became a thing between us two journalists who were eager to get an interview. After a few minutes of feeling like undercover agents who were stealthily trying to find Pete Murray without looking like complete idiots we finally found him, and to our surprise, he had grown a beard! Sooner or later our interview began.

When he’s not fishing in Alaska, he’s governing our city. Meet Pete Murray, our mayor for the next two years.

Here at Spartan Ink, we had the wonderful opportunity to meet him personally at East Bay Coffee, where we got an exclusive interview.

The once electrician, now mayor told us a little about himself before discussing the issues of Pinole. Like many of us, he enjoys quality time with his family and doing things that bring him relaxation and excitement. “I like to play sports such as golf. I enjoy fishing, and watching my grandchildren play”, he said.

When asked about his main goals for his 2-year tenure, he responded with actions that will put Pinole on a firmer financial footing. “ I want to complete projects on board; such as selling the properties that we have left over,” he said.

When the recession hit in 2008, Pinole was struck heavily, and our funds from our city were decimated. In other words, we were broke, and working with borrowed money. “I want to make corrections with decisions and cuts while rectifying our budget situation,” he said. He has been working to create revenue in order to fund the city’s operations.

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Old town Pinole is home to one of the most successful businesses in the city. Pear street bistro, Bear Claw, Pinole Creek Cafe, and Tina’s, to name a few. I was interested in hearing his thoughts on such a booming part of this city, that is very special to our community.

“I think that some of the businesses here have their own clientele that comes and support the businesses, and that is why it is a success.”

We were soon abruptly interrupted by a random guy who had left his thick biker magazine, whom Pete Murray was using as a coaster for his coffee. He promptly removed his cup of joe so the man could take his magazine. We lost our train of thought, not allowing us to elaborate on what he said. However, he did mention that we have a big issue in terms of getting developers interested in an older section of town could be more successful,” he said.

I totally agree I think our big issue is getting developers to come and check this part of town out. It is older and appeals to a different type of age group than what the booming locations are now attracting. However, it will be really interesting to see how this can unfold throughout the years.

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A lot of people run for mayor, and it’s usually those who are truly passionate about where they live and want to contribute to changing the community for the better. We ended the interview by asking him, “what exactly made him become mayor?”

We asked him why he wanted to become mayor and become the lead head of this city. “I’ve been at it for 26 years. I began on the planning commission due to the issue of water treatment. The contractor at the time wasn’t being fair to the city in regards to the extras that were being fair,” he said.

Pete Murray is an interesting guy who will do great things for the city due to his experience and willing drive to improve the situation of Pinole. I hope that he builds a stronger connection to the community members throughout his term, and we here at Spartan Ink wish him nothing but success.