Bandon’s city elections may get a bit spicy leading up to the November election. At least three community members will challenge an equal number of incumbents for three council seats.

Mayor Mary Schamehorn’s position remains uncontested. But the last date to file is Aug. 26, so the game isn’t decided yet.

Councilors Joe Briscoe, Geri Procetto and Chris Powell will battle Bandon Library volunteer Claudine Hundhausen, former Bandon Mayor and councilor Brian Vick, and a retired judge turned used bookstore owner, Phil Arlen, to maintain their titles.

On Tuesday, City Recorder Jo Anne Lepley said only Briscoe has completed his paperwork and has filed a petition with the signatures of 25 registered voters. The other candidates are working to collect signatures or have them approved by the county’s elections department.

Joe Briscoe

Briscoe, 73, has sat on the council since January 2005 and also served on the planning commission. He’s lived in Bandon for about 12 years.

He said he is running for his second term because he wants to be involved in a number of projects, including completing the comprehensive plan and the parks and recreation department’s outline for trails, bicycle paths and parks.

“I think there are a lot of items that are not quite finished, so I want to be part of the city leadership while we finish those things,” Briscoe said.

He also hopes to improve communication within the council and believes his leadership experience makes him a worthy candidate.

Geri Procetto

Procetto, 76, who completes her third term this year, joined the council in 1997, about two years after she moved to the area.

She also served as a school board member for more than two years in Merced, Calif.

“I think the city has been doing a good job. And I would like to continue helping improve whatever needs to be improved,” Procetto said.

She said she has no agenda as a councilor and makes her decisions based on what is good for Bandon.

“I just hope that the people of Bandon who voted for me in the last election will vote for me again this year,” Procetto said. “(I hope they) are happy with what I have done to represent them for the last four years.”

Chris Powell

 City councilors appointed Powell to the council in March 2004 and was elected in January 2005. He also served on the city’s Architectural Review Board.

Powell was unavailable for comment.

Mary Schamehorn

Schamehorn, 69, is completing her second two-year term as mayor. In the  late 1970s, she also served on the City Council for about nine years and sat several terms on the city planning commission.

A Bandon native, Schamehorn said she’s proud of what the city has accomplished, including its latest venture — remodeling of The Barn, Bandon’s Conference and Community Center, which is nearing completion.

“There are other things I’d like to see accomplished, including some changes in the city’s zoning ordinance that would require houses to be set back further from the bluff on the west side of Beach Loop, and changes in the size of a home in relation to the lot,” Schamehorn said in an e-mail. “We have seen some huge developments along the bluff in recent years, that have all but destroyed the ambiance of the area, along with the view. I think we need to scale down the development on whatever property we have left, if at all possible.”

She said she also would like the city to consider banning plastic grocery bags in coming years, as many larger cities are doing.

“Once people get used to the idea of carrying a cloth, reusable bag, to the store, it will become second nature,” she said.