OCEANSIDE – The first candidate to sign up to run for Oceanside City Council in the Nov. 4 election has bowed out of the race.

Rick Kratcoski announced his withdrawal in an e-mail yesterday, too late to remove his name from the ballot.

Thursday, he had participated in a forum of council candidates at the Oceana senior community, giving no indication of his intention to drop out.

“It has become apparent,” Kratcoski said in his e-mail to the media, “that working two jobs would be too much of a burden on me and my family.” Kratcoski, 53, is the grounds supervisor at Palomar College.

Kratcoski, who has run for council four times, could not be reached for further comment yesterday.

He was one of eight candidates for two council seats. The remaining candidates are incumbents Jack Feller and Esther Sanchez and challengers Zack Beck, Jim Gibson, Charles Lowery, Michael Lucas and Rex Martin.

In his e-mail, Kratcoski said he entered the race because he was upset that the council's like-minded majority of Feller, Jerry Kern and Rocky Chavez had voted in favor of a proposed concrete plant near Oceanside Boulevard. Kratcoski had served on a city task force charged with creating a vision for future development along that boulevard's corridor.

Kratcoski urged voters to elect Sanchez and Lowery. Sanchez did not vote with the majority to approve the plant, and Lowery headed up some of the extensive neighborhood opposition.

“A majority bloc of Chavez, Feller, Kern and Gibson will be detrimental to our neighborhoods' quality of life, stop rent control for those in need, threaten the jobs of fire, police and other city employees and ensure that special interests control the election process,” Kratcoski wrote in his e-mail.

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Lola Sherman: (760) 476-8241; lola.sherman@uniontrib.com