GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION
GOVERNOR
CAMEJO, PETER MIGUEL - GRN
Financial Investment Advisor
DAVIS, GRAY - DEM
Governor of the State of California
SIMON, BILL - REP
Businessman/Charity Director
If you’ve been in a coma, you won’t know that this is a vote for the least objectionable candidate. With a Democrat majority in both houses of the legislature, we need Gray to sign the progressive legislation coming up. Besides, as Ann Richards once said of George Bush, “he was born with a silver foot in his mouth!”
An interesting protest vote (although after Nader 2000, I question the entire concept of a protest vote) would be Camejo. During the height of the student protest movement a generation ago, former Gov. Ronald Reagan called young Berkeley campus radical Peter Miguel Camejo "one of the 10 most dangerous people in California." He was a fixture at the free speech protests at the University of California Berkeley, from which he was expelled after being arrested for using an "unauthorized microphone."
Camejo espouses a long list of stands that most Democratic office-holders these days would run from: abolish capital punishment; abolish three strikes and you're out; raise the minimum wage to more than $10 an hour; legalize marijuana; legalize gay marriages; allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses; and allow immigrants' children to pay the lower in-state college tuition if they have lived here for a long time.
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
BUSTAMANTE, CRUZ M. - DEM
Lieutenant Governor
MC PHERSON, BRUCE - REP
California State Senator
Mc Pherson is a moderate Republican from Santa Cruz who’s served in the legislature since 1992.
The problem with moderate Republican’s in statewide office is that they: 1) turn conservative; and, 2) want to run for Governor.
Vote Bustamante
SECRETARY OF STATE
OLBERG, KEITH - REP
Businessman
SHELLEY, KEVIN - DEM
State Lawmaker
Olberg is a conservative who will run an under-funded Republican cookie cutter campaign.
When Kevin Shelley was on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, he once said he was a minority – as a white heterosexual male!
He’s from a prominent Democrat family. His father, Jack Shelley was mayor of San Francisco. Shelley has solid roots with the most liberal of Northern California Democrats. He apprenticed with Phil and John Burton before being elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, serving twice as Board president.
Shelly.
CONTROLLER
MCCLINTOCK, TOM - REP
California State Senator
WESTLY, STEVE - DEM
Businessman/Educator
Tom McClintock was first elected to the California Legislature in 1982 at the age of 26. After leaving the Assembly in 1992, McClintock served as Director of the Center for the California Taxpayer, a project of the National Tax Limitation Foundation. He also won the 1992 Republican nomination for California's 24th Congressional seat and narrowly lost the General Election to Congressman Tony Beilenson.
After another close election in the 1994 Controller's race, McClintock was named Director of Economic and Regulatory Affairs for the Claremont Institute's Golden State Center for Policy Studies, a position he held until his return to the Assembly in 1996. In 1996, McClintock was returned to the State Assembly from the 38th Assembly District. He served two terms before his election in 2000 to the State Senate.
McClintock has been referred to as “the foremost spokesman in California on conservative fiscal policy.” McClintock promises to be a fiscal watchdog, but his zeal to oppose just about anything connected to spending money -- a reality of running any large organization -- would probably gum up the orderly workings of state government.
VOTE FOR STEVE WESTLY of Atherton, a dot-com executive who taught at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and led economic development for the city of San Jose.
TREASURER
ANGELIDES, PHIL - DEM
Treasurer of the State of California
CONLON, GREG - REP
2764 SPRING ST # 1A
REDWOOD CITY CA 94063
Businessman/CPA
Day: (650) 474-2688 email: gregconlon@gcforst.com
Greg Conlon was a Governor Pete Wilson appointee to both the California Public Utilities Commission, where he served for two years as president and four years as Commissioner, and to the California Transportation Commission, where he served for three years as Commissioner.
He was a senior partner and CPA in Arthur Andersen … Yes, THAT Arthur Andersen!
California State Treasurer Phil Angelides served from 1975 to 1983 as a staffer in state government. He entered the private sector in 1984 and in 1986 formed his own investment and management business, which quickly made him a millionaire. He served as Chairman of the California Democratic Party through the 1992 election.
If I’m going to trust anyone to invest my tax dollars, I’m going to trust the guy who made himself millions in 4 years.
Angelides.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
ACKERMAN, DICK - REP
17821 E 17TH ST # 180
TUSTIN CA 92780
State Senator/Attorney
Day: (714) 573-1853 Evening: (714) 368-0392
LOCKYER, BILL - DEM
1230 H ST
SACRAMENTO CA 95814
California Attorney General
Day: (916) 444-1755 email: bill@lockyerforag.com
A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Lockyer also received a teaching credential from California State Hayward. He earned his law degree from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento while serving in the State Senate. He served in the Legislature for 25 years and was President Pro Tem of the Senate from 1994 to 1998.
Bill Lockyer was elected as Attorney General in November 1998. He has expanded enforcement of state environmental protection laws and he has established his Civil Rights Section as one of the largest state offices in the nation. As Co-Chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Consumer Protection Committee, Lockyer has undertaken the development of consumer protection initiatives, including gay privacy rights, unfair gasoline pricing practices and identity theft.
Dick Ackerman was born in Long Beach. Ackerman earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1964, his J.D. from the Hastings School of Law. He was a member of the Fullerton City Council for twelve years, is a past Chamber of Commerce President and a member of the Fullerton Rotary Club and the Elks Lodge. Ackerman now represents the 33rd Senate District in Orange County. Ackerman was elected to the Senate in 2000 after serving three terms in the Assembly.
Dick has lived in Orange County for thirty years – HAPPILY!
As my close friend, Elizabeth Lambe, says, they are both “big white men,” a.k.a. business-as-usual, old, white & privileged. However, of the two Golden Bears from Berkeley, I’ll take the one who is not from Orange County.
Lockyer
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
GARAMENDI, JOHN - DEM
PO BOX 5224
FAIR OAKS CA 95628
Rancher
Day: (916) 366-7363 Evening: (916) 776-1492 email: jgaramendi@attglobal.net
MENDOZA, GARY - REP
300 S GRAND AV # 2900
LOS ANGELES CA 90071
Businessman
Day: (213) 229-5065 Evening: (626) 355-9856 email: mendozas@gte.net
John Garamendi was born in 1945, raised on his family's California cattle ranch. He was an outstanding scholar athlete in college, where he was a second team All American offensive guard in football, a two time member of the All Pacific Coast Conference team, and the 1964 West Coast heavy weight wrestling champion. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School with an MBA and the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelors degree in business (Go Bears!)
John’s wife Patti is a power-hungry witch, but she and John began their 25 years of public service as Peace Corps volunteers in Ethiopia. (When war broke out between Ethiopia and its former providence, Eritrea, John organized a team of five returned volunteers who undertook a two year mission to assist in securing peace. The team traveled to both countries, met with the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Foreign Ministers, the country Ambassadors, with President Clinton, and top US officials. The team conducted numerous meetings in America with expatriate groups from both countries)
He served 14 years as a State Senator and two years in the Assembly and was California's first statewide elected Insurance Commissioner. Garamendi was appointed by President Clinton as Deputy Secretary of the Interior, where he was the government's lead negotiator in the effort to save Headwater's, a 7,500 acre ancient redwood forest in California, and bring to an end the decade long battle between the Pacific Lumber Company and the environmental community.
Patti was President Clinton's appointee to Associate Director of the US Peace Corps, and Deputy Administrator in the US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service.
In April of 1998 Garamendi resigned as Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Interior to become a partner in The Yucaipa Companies, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm. He resigned from the firm in December 2001.
The 47-year-old Mendoza is a former CPA at Deloitte & Touche, Former Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles, Chair of the Riordan Commission for Healthy Kids, Former Gov. Pete Wilson Appointee as Commissioner of Corporations, Principal Attorney at Riordan & McKenzie, and Latham & Watkins.
Whoever is elected will replace interim commissioner Harry Low, who took over the office after Republican Chuck Quackenbush got caught with his hand in Insurance industry cookie jar.
The insurance commissioner actually has some power, wielding broad authority over an $87 billion industry. He approves auto, homeowner and commercial coverage rates, along with those relating to traditional health insurance. He also sets policy that determines how the department deals with the public in general, and he responds to specific complaints.
The former CPA, Former Deputy Mayor, Former Chair of the Riordan Commission for Healthy Kids, Former Former-Gov. Pete Wilson Appointee as Commissioner of Corporations, Former Latham & Watkins Attorney, Hispanic Republican Golden Boy Gary Mendoza should be made a former candidate for INSURANCE COMMISSIONER.
Vote Garamendi – maybe this time he’ll do even better.
State School Superintendent
Jack O'Connell (D)
State Senator
Kathy Smith (R)
Anaheim Union Board of Education President
Jack O'Connell received his BA from CSU-Fullerton, and earned his Secondary Teaching Credential from CSU-Long Beach. He then taught high school for several years in Santa Barbara, where he grew up. A former teacher and County School Board Member, he was elected to the 35th State Assembly District in 1982 and was reelected by wide margins thereafter, once garnering both the Republican and Democratic nominations. In 1994, O'Connell was elected to the 18th State Senate District, and easily won reelection in 1998. As Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee's Subcommittee on Education, O'Connell is the author of California's class size reduction program and worked to increase funding for special education and school-to-work programs.
O'Connell is also credited with successfully spearheading the effort to reduce the vote threshold for local school bonds to 55% from 66% through Proposition 39.
Kathy Smith went to Santa Rosa Junior College, University of Nevada at Reno, and finally received her degree in Elementary Education for Cal State Hayward. She boasts about being a volunteer for Barry Goldwater’s Presidential nomination and election campaigns and Ronald Reagan’s California Governor campaign.
She was an elementary school teacher at the private Sherwood Academy, and a substitute teacher for the Magnolia School District (Anaheim) in 1970's. She was a volunteer teacher and tutor and member of the Parent's Board at private Catholic Service High School.
Kathy worked as owner/operator of an interior decorating business, in real estate management, and as a volunteer Docent at the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Birthplace.
She is founder of Group Resolving Anti-Social Problems (GRASP), a nonprofit Corporation that has been successful in the state-wide effort to implement school uniforms.
Kathy was elected to Anaheim Union High School District Board of Trustees in 1996, and served as Board President after election to a second term in 2000
Even if Jack wasn’t a friend, I think this one is a bit obvious.
STATE BOARD EQUALIZATION - 3RD DISTRICT
CHRISTIAN-HEISING, MARY - DEM
PO BOX 524
LA JOLLA CA 92038
Businesswoman/Educator/Journalist
Day: (858) 459-2559 email: marychristianheising@yahoo.com
PARRISH, CLAUDE - REP
PO BOX 2427
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CA 90274
Member, State Board of Equalization
Day: (310) 217-6815 Evening: (213) 304-1999
The Christian Coalition of San Diego says to vote for Parrish, so vote for Christian-Heising.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE - 49TH CONGRESSIONAL DIST
ISSA, DARRELL - REP
PO BOX 760
VISTA CA 92085-0760
United States Representative in Congress
Day: (760) 758-2453 Evening: (949) 496-2343 FAX: (760) 758-0381
Karl Dietrich (Libertarian)
Mechanical Engineer
Why bother?
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE - 50TH CONGRESSIONAL DIST
CUNNINGHAM, RANDY "DUKE" - REP
613 W VALLEY PY #320
ESCONDIDO CA 92025
United States Representative
Day: (760) 737-8438
STEWART, DEL G. - DEM
1651 S JUNIPER ST # 202
ESCONDIDO CA 92025
Hi-Tech Business Owner
Day: (760) 690-4007 #774 Evening: (760) 746-9219 FAX: (760) 690-4005 email: dstewart@ociretail.com
The “Duke” is as dirty and mean as they come – but they like that in Escondido.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE - 51ST CONGRESSIONAL DIST
FILNER, BOB - DEM
PO BOX 127868
SAN DIEGO CA 92112
U.S. Congressman/Educator
Day: (619) 422-6147
GARCIA, MARIA GUADALUPE - REP
302 PINE CT
CHULA VISTA CA 91911
Educator/Nutritionist
Day: (619) 691-0142
Mrs. Maria Guadalupe Garcia’s qualifications:
Party: Republican
Gender: Female
Family: Husband: John Marshall; 5 Children: Joseph, Jessica, Rachel, Sara, John Jr.
Birth Date: 06/21/63
Birth Place: San Diego, CA
Home City: Chula Vista, CA
Religion: Roman Catholic
Educational Experience:
BS, San Diego State University, 1987.
Professional Experience:
Educator.
Mother.
Nutritionist.
Organizational Memberships:
Member, America Dietetic Association, 1988-1989.
Vote for Bob.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE - 52ND CONGRESSIONAL DIST
HUNTER, DUNCAN - REP
9340 FUERTE DR #302
LA MESA CA 91941
United States Representative
Day: (619) 463-3896 FAX: (619) 463-2970
MOORE-KOCHLACS, PETER - DEM
7579 BLUE LAKE DR
SAN DIEGO CA 92119
Clergyperson/Educator
Day: (619) 248-3923 Evening: (619) 465-7951 FAX: (619) 465-7836 email: petereco@aol.com
What’s the use?
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE - 53RD CONGRESSIONAL DIST
DAVIS, SUSAN A. - DEM
PO BOX 84049
SAN DIEGO CA 92138
Member, United States House of Representatives
Day: (619) 233-8913 FAX: (619) 233-8962 email: congsusandavis@earthlink.net
VANDEWEGHE , BILL - REP
PO BOX 81007
SAN DIEGO CA 92138
Attorney
Day: (619) 758-1470 Evening: (619) 224-5010 FAX: (619) 758-1473 email: gwv@vandewegheforuscongress.com
Susan was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up in Richmond, California. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in sociology and then went on to earn a master’s degree in social work from the University of North Carolina.
After graduation, Susan and her husband, Steve, were stationed in Japan with heir two children, Jeffery and Benjamin, while Steve served as a doctor in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.
In 1983, Susan won a seat on the San Diego School Board, where she served as President or Vice-President for five years of her nine-year tenure. After that, Susan was the first Executive Director of the Aaron Price Fellows Program (named after Robert & Alison Price’s deceased son, grandson of Sol Price of Price Club), a program designed to teach leadership and citizenship skills to multi-ethnic high school students.
In 1994, Susan was elected to the California State Assembly, where she served quietly for six years. In 2000, Susan was elected to the 49th Congressional District after upsetting three-term incumbent Brian Bilbray. Susan sits on the House Armed Services, the Veteran’s Affairs, and the Education and the Workforce Committees.
Bill VanDeWeghe received his BA from Princeton University in 1983, where he was a member of the R.O.T.C. program. He served as an artillery officer in the Army, attaining the rank of Captain. He received his parachutist wings and graduated from Ranger school at Fort Lee, Virginia, where my dad was a Jump Instructor and Battalion Commander (it’s also where my little brother was born ... but I digress).
After four years of military service, Bill attended the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary where he obtained a law degree in 1990. During a portion of his time in law school, Bill commanded an artillery battery in the Virginia National Guard (which means he served one weekend a month & played military games near Fort Lee).
Bill has been a resident of San Diego for eleven years, currently living in Point Loma. He’s a lawyer with Klinedinst, Fliehman and McKillop.
Poor Bill is a very short-statured man, and all that military stuff was probably an attempt to compensate. That didn’t work, so now he wants to go to congress.
Susan.
STATE SENATE - 36TH DISTRICT
HOLLINGSWORTH, DENNIS - REP
State Legislator/Businessman
WESTALL, ADRIENNE - DEM
Fashion Designer
Dennis Hollingsworth attended Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo and Cornell University where he studied Dairy Science, Agricultural Management and International Relations.
Before joining the California legislature, Dennis Hollingsworth served as the Legislative Director for the Riverside County Farm Bureau. Two years ago, the freshman Republican assemblyman from Murrieta raised and spent almost $350,000 to defeat moderate Assemblywoman Charlene Zettel of Poway in the bitter March primary to replace Ray Haynes. Haynes is termed out of the Senate but is now running for Assembly. Hollingsworth won the primary by 8 percentage points.
The 35-year old is one of the legislature's leading conservatives. Hollingsworth was appointed in 2001 as California Chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the largest national organization of conservative state legislators. In a 1998 newsletter, he wrote about "the militant, anti-family homosexual agenda now being implemented in California" and called homosexuality "a controllable behavior prohibited by God."
23-year-old Democrat Adrienne Westall, a fashion designer from Temecula and senior at SDSU, is Hollingsworth’s opponent has spent less than $1,000 on her campaign
Concede the race to Hollingsworth.
State Senate - 38th District
HANNEMAN, PHILIP G. - DEM
Communications Technician
MORROW, BILL - REP
State Senator
Oceanside resident Bill Morrow attended Mt. San Antonio College and graduated from UCLA, then received his JD from the Pepperdine School of Law. He served eight years as a military judge in the Marine Corps. Morrow left active duty in 1987 and entered the private sector as an attorney. First elected to the Assembly in 1992, Morrow was re-elected in 1994 and 1996. He was elected to the State Senate in 1998. In 1995, the Pro-Life PAC of Orange County also elected Morrow as their Legislator of the Year."
Phil Hanneman is a 40-year district resident Hanneman attended classes at Mira Costa College and Palomar College, no degrees.
He worked 38 years with Pacific Bell as service technician. Currently works as communications technician; installing, troubleshooting digital electronic switching systems.
He’s been involved with Labor (Southern California Council, Communications Workers of America) the Democratic party (member, state executive board, California Democratic Party; secretary, Chicano/Latino Caucus, Democratic Party; member, Labor Caucus, Democratic Party; member of various Democratic clubs) and is a member of the North County NAAPC.
Republican registration = 48.0%
Democratic registration = 29.6%
Any questions?
State Senate - 40th District
DUCHENY, DENISE MORENO - DEM
Attorney/University Lecturer
GIORGINO, MICHAEL S. - REP
Retired Naval Officer
Denise Moreno Ducheny was born in Southern California, where she attended public high school and received a four-year scholarship from Twentieth-Century Fox Film Corporation to attend Pomona College. While in college she studied Spanish in Cuernavaca, Mexico, then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History. She went on to study economic history at the University of Lund, Sweden.
While attending the Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, Denise was student director of the Southwestern Clinical Law Center. She has been practicing law in South San Diego since 1979, when she earned her JD.
Ducheny served as a trustee of the governing board of the San Diego Community College District, as a member of the board of directors of the California Community College Trustees Association, and as Founder and Chair of the Association of Latino Community College Trustees.
Denise was elected to the California State Assembly on April 12, 1994 in a special election over my erstwhile client, former Chula Vista Mayor Tim Nader, by 39 votes. Al Ducheny says that if I hadn’t run Nader’s campaign, it wouldn’t have been that close. Flattery will get you everywhere.
Denise was re-elected in 1994, 1996, and 1998. She served as Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee between 1997 and 2000, and served as Vice-Chair in 1996. As such, she was the first San Diegan, first woman, and first Latino legislator ever to be appointed to this position overseeing the state's $100 billion spending plan.
Following her service in the State Assembly, Denise has served as a Presidential Fellow at San Diego State University, Regent's lecturer at the University of California Riverside, Board Member of the San Diego Natural History Museum, Commissioner for the State Commission on the Californias, Commissioner for the San Diego County Regional Governance Efficiency Commission, Member of the California Border Environmental Co-operation Commission and Trustee of the Anza Borrego Desert Park Foundation.
Giorgino, 48, is a Coronado resident who has never run for office before. He believes his experience commanding ships in the U.S. Navy has prepared him well. Giorgino became a lawyer in 1999, after a 20-year Navy career.
He is a white Republican in a district where registered voters are 47 percent Democrat and 32 percent Republican, with 60% of the population Latino.
Giorgino paints Ducheny as the entrenched special-interest candidate, and said her time as chairwoman of the Assembly budget committee resulted in out-of-control spending in California. He said Ducheny has lost touch with the working class, which he claims to represent. Giorgino is calling for abolishing vehicle registration fees. Now, there’s a new issue for a Republican!
Vote however you want, but Denise walks away with it regardless.
State Assembly - 73rd District
BATES, PATRICIA C. "PAT" - REP
State Assembly member/Businesswoman
CALZADA, KATHLEEN - DEM
Educator/Mother
Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly 2 to 1 in the 73rd Assembly District.
Kathleen Calzada, a 48-year-old from Oceanside who works for an optical frame company, said she is confident her first bid for an Assembly seat will be successful, even though 64 percent of the district's registered voters are Republican. Dream on, Kathleen!
Incumbent Republican Pat Bates, 62, was a social worker in South Central Los Angeles and was the first mayor of Laguna Niguel in 1989 after leading the effort to incorporate the area.
She was elected to the first of two terms in the Assembly in 1998, and will easily win again this year.
State Assembly - 74th District
HERRERA, JOHN - DEM
Retired Disability Analyst
WYLAND, MARK - REP
Assemblyman/Business Owner
O.K., let’s get this out of the way. Incumbent Mark Wyland is a privileged punk who would be out of his depth at the shallow end of any pool. The 55-year-old Escondido native is the former president of the Escondido School Board and inherited a lumber supply company from his daddy.
That said, John Herrera, a 64-year-old retired disability analyst, lost to Wyland in 2000, spending about $9,000. Increase that ten-fold and … Herrera still loses.
State Assembly - 75th District
PLESCIA, GEORGE A. - REP
7035 CHARMANT DR # 167
SAN DIEGO CA 92122
Legislator's District Director
Day: (760) 434-7930 Evening: (858) 638-0543
WITT, CONNIE - DEM
2311 RANCHO DIEGO CT
ESCONDIDO CA 92029
Educator
Day: (760) 432-2439 Evening: (760) 480-0626 FAX: (760) 480-0626 email: cdwitt@juno.com
The newly drawn 75th Assembly District, extending from La Jolla to Poway and including much of Escondido, is nearly 50%percent Republican. Democrats account for 30% percent of the district's voters.
We can thank George Plescia for the Pfeiler-Rady Escondido Mayor’s race because, helped largely by a $70,000 loan to himself, he captured 30% of the GOP vote to Pfeiler’s 27% in the March Republican primary.
Plescia, 36, has never held public office but is District Director for long-time incumbent Republican state Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Oceanside. Plescia was born and raised in Sacramento. He has worked for Morrow for the past six years. He now lives in University City and is engaged to be married.
Democrat Connie Witt, 56, teaches sixth grade at Del Dios Middle School and has lived in the Escondido area for 27 years. She’s a nice lady who chaired Jerry Harmon’s “Chamber of Citizens,” the environmental equivalent to Escondido’s conservative Chamber of Commerce.
Plescia, a self-proclaimed "true fiscal conservative,” and a person who "worked to elect proven conservatives to public office, too," wins in a yawner.
State Assembly - 76th District
DIVINE, BOB - REP
Businessman/Naval Officer
KEHOE, CHRISTINE - DEM
California State Assembly member
The new 76th district is much like the old 78th that my former boss Lucy Killea held from 1982-1989. It falls completely within San Diego city limits, including Pacific Beach, Mission Beach and Point Loma as well as downtown, the airport and continues inland, just east of Interstate 15. Democrats outnumber Republicans about 40% to 34%.
The first openly lesbian candidate to be elected to the City Council and one of four openly gay women in the Legislature, Incumbent Democrat Christine Kehoe, 51, served eight years on the San Diego City Council, dealing with potholes, sidewalks and street lights. She still keeps it local, returning most of her phone calls and signing most of her own letters, and has tried to transfer that community connectedness to Sacramento after being elected in 2000.
Republican candidate Robert Divine, 55, a retired Navy Reserve officer, former high school history teacher and current commercial real estate investor, has run for office three times before, always losing. He has not done any fund raising, phone calling or precinct walking since the primary. He's even leaving town for a month before the election.
Christine for State Senate in 2004. And, oh yes, I guess we should vote for her this year too.
State Assembly - 77th District
LA SUER, JAY - REP
State Assemblyman
LOWERY, SARAH - DEM
Retired Office Manager
Jay La Suer, 62, was born in Hutchinson, Kansas and grew up in San Diego and El Cajon. He attended Grossmont High School and graduated from El Cajon High School in 1957. Jay enlisted in the United States Army in 1958, and served until August 1961.
After returning to El Cajon, he joined the San Diego Police Department. During the six years he served on the S.D.P.D., Jay attended Grossmont Community College. In 1967 he resigned from the police department and attended college full-time at San Diego State. He received his BA in Public Administration in 1969, then joined the San Diego County Sheriff's Department in 1970. He retired in 1994 as Undersheriff, second in command to the Sheriff.
By 1990 Jay ran for election to the La Mesa City Council and was elected, and re-elected in 1994 and 1998. In 1998 Jay was elected to the Republican Central Committee. He was then elected Chairman of the 77th Assembly District Caucus. Jay consulted for the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) before he was elected to the state Assembly in 2000.
Democrat Sarah Lowery, who is a Retired Office Manager, began working in a tuna packing plant and ended up a branch supervisor of a County office. While working, she was an active in HERE & SEIU.
Her endorsements by President & Mrs. Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter; Governor Gray Davis; Steve Westly, Lynn Schenk, Bob Filner, Cruz Bustamante, and Verna King & Evelyn Clarke of the Women's Caucus of Calif. Democratic Party won’t help in the 77th, were Republican voter registration outpaces Democrats 46.29% to 32.11%.
Concede the race to La Suer
State Assembly - 78th District
HALL, VINCE - DEM
Educator/Small Businessman
HORTON, SHIRLEY - REP
Mayor/Businesswoman
This one sure has been fun to watch. The 78th is an open seat, with term limits forcing incumbent Democrat Howard Wayne out of office this year.
The Legislature redrew the 78th Assembly District last year to give Democrats a modest seven-point edge. The old 78th ran from La Jolla to Imperial Beach. The new 78th runs from San Diego's San Carlos community in the north to inland Chula Vista in the south, taking in Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and Bonita. It is among the most racially diverse Assembly districts in Southern California.
Chula Vista Mayor Shirley Horton and Vince Hall, former Chief of (administrative) Staff (let’s not piss off you-know-who) to Gov. Gray Davis both point to experience outside government. Hall has taught at San Diego State and started an Internet company. Horton was a real-estate professional.
I helped get Shirley elected mayor of Chula Vista in 1994 and re-elected in 1998. She likes to say that seeking another office was not her first choice, being quoted, "I did not want to run for Assembly, I wanted to get back into semi-retirement" in Hawaii. Shirley has always played the “dumb blonde” role very well and to her advantage.
Vince worked for Bob Filner while he was on the City Council and in Congress. My friend, Phil LaVelle of the Union Trib observed that Vince “recites sometimes eye-glazing facts and figures with ease, coming off at times like a walking position paper.” That’s our Vince.
Horton has always been uncomfortable in public settings – and now she’s getting hammered for passing on some forums. She doesn’t have much of a political compass and therefore offers few policy specifics, focusing instead on her two terms as mayor of Chula Vista.
Hall calls Horton, who is a moderate, an "extremist" on social issues. Horton says she has balanced growth and quality of life.
Shirley has played up her endorsement by San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy, who cites her "fiscally responsible" record.
Then, there is San Diego City Councilman George Stevens, who narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Hall after being hammered by hit pieces paid by labor unions. Stevens has endorsed Horton and shown her around his ethnically mixed 4th Council District, where she has been endorsed by some community papers.
One of only two or three real toss-ups this year in California, Hall can kill any political future of both Horton & Stevens – so be sure you vote for him if you live in the 78th.
State Assembly - 79th District
FAST, MARK W. - REP
Engineer
VARGAS, JUAN - DEM
State Legislator
Paco has been pissed at me for helping Dwayne Crenshaw run against him in 2000, even through he beat Dwayne easily.
Vargas, 41, is a Golden Hill resident, born in National City. We have all heard about Harvard Law School and the Jesuit seminary. Juan is well-known to South Bay voters. He was on the San Diego City Council for seven years and after losing to Bob Filner in two earlier runs for Congress was elected to the Assembly in 2000 with 77% of the vote.
He reflects the demographics of his district, which is 57 percent Latino and 47 percent Democrat.
Vargas has done little while in Sacramento, but that won’t help Republican Mark Fast, who calls himself a pro-marriage and pro-family candidate, and rails against teaching what he calls "homosexual religion" in schools.
Fast says Vargas has not acted in accord with his Catholic faith to safeguard the institutions of marriage and family. Oops. I think a lot of us lapsed Catholics would answer guilty to that one.
Fast, 40, has a certificate in aircraft structural repair from Pima Community College in Tucson, and writes technical manuals on aircraft repair for a local engineering company. He has lived in Chula Vista for three years. Fast hopes he will appeal to the same voters who approved Prop. 22 two years ago, which defines marriage as a union between a man and woman, thereby prohibiting same-sex marriages.
The only question here is whether Juan takes a third shot at Bob in two years, or decides to run for something else – perhaps Mayor in ’08?
Superior Court Judge - Office No. 30
CORTES, GEARY D.
Judge of the Superior Court
WHITNEY, RICHARD
Attorney/University Faculty
Why talk about a Judge’s race? Good question.
Judge Geary Cortes was convicted last year of battering his wife. He is opposed by fraud attorney Richard Whitney for the judicial seat Cortes has held for nine years.
Whitney’s message: “there is a sitting judge serving criminal probation.” Cortes contends the conviction is irrelevant to his qualifications to be a judge. That shows how sensitive he is.
Cortes is the only judge facing opposition on the November ballot.
Cortes was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty in November to one misdemeanor count of battery against a spouse. As part of an agreement, three other misdemeanor charges were dismissed. Cortes has remained on the bench, where he handles civil cases. Cortes has said what happened between him and his wife is "ancient history" and has "been put behind us."
Voters who rely only on the official ballot statements for information about candidates will know nothing of Cortes' legal problems. Hours before the voter pamphlets went to the printers this month, a judge struck a phrase from Whitney's proposed statement in which he declared himself to be the only candidate "not serving criminal probation." State law forbids candidates from attacking the character of opponents in official ballot statements. Cortes sued, and the court agreed the phrase was a personal attack.
In the March primary, Cortes took 42 percent of the vote and Whitney took 41 percent. Lawyer David Tiffany took the remainder.
Whitney, 44, has volunteered as a small-claims judge for 10 years. After working for two large firms for 15 years, he established his own practice three years ago and specializes in insurance fraud. He also teaches law to undergraduates at the University of San Diego. This is his second race for a judicial seat.
The San Diego County Bar Association has rated Whitney "qualified," its second-highest rating, while rating Cortes as "lacking qualifications."
By the way, Cortes’ wife recanted on the spousal abuse charge. She told police her husband was jealous and angry because she was at the neighboring house, where four single men lived. But she said Cortes did not strike her and that she acted irrationally.
Vote for Whitney on principle.
District Attorney
DUMANIS, BONNIE
Superior Court Judge
PFINGST, PAUL
District Attorney
Another fun one!
Most of the lawyers who work for two-time incumbent District Attorney Paul Pfingst want their boss to lose in next month's election to Judge Bonnie Dumanis. But the unions that represent the DA investigators and the rest of the county workers in the office support Pfingst.
The two largest local police unions – The San Diego Police Officers Association and the Deputy Sheriffs' Association – have split their support.
Almost a year ago, the presidents of several local police officer associations, including groups representing officers in San Diego, La Mesa, Coronado and National City, gathered to announce their support of Dumanis and their extreme displeasure at the way Pfingst had been leading his prosecutors.
But this summer, the Deputy Sheriffs' Association, the Oceanside Police Officers Association and the union that represents probation officers joined several other police unions in support of Pfingst.
Bill Farrar, president of the San Diego Police Officers Association, says Pfingst "has unacceptable views about police officer rights." He explained in an interview that his board of directors feels Pfingst does not respect certain rights afforded police under the law, such as their right not to testify against themselves.
Sheriff Bill Kolender, who was the San Diego police chief from 1975 to 1988, is friends with both candidates but supports Pfingst's re-election.
Pfingst has said the police associations that have endorsed Dumanis were all persuaded to go against him by attorney Everett Bobbitt. Bobbitt, whose office is inside the San Diego police association's headquarters, represents most of the local police associations that support the judge. Pfingst says Bobbitt has held a grudge against him for years. Bobbitt agrees that he encouraged his clients to support Dumanis but said each officer's association made independent decisions.
Kolender, meanwhile, also insists he did not pressure the deputy's association to endorse Pfingst.
Thanks to the fact that new publisher of the Union Tribune, David Copley, who is gay, the paper has never mentioned that Bonnie Dumanis is gay. When asked why she supported conservative Republican Dumanis for DA, Chris Kehoe said that sexual orientation came before party to her. Since Democrat Mike Aguirre lost in the primary, it’s conservative lesbian Republican Dumanis vs. conservative straight white male Republican Pfingst.
I’ll follow Kehoe’s lead.
Treasurer/Tax Collector
HARTMAN, BART
San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector
MC ALLISTER, DAN
Professional Financial Advisor
Incumbent Bart Hartman thinks he should be judged on the job he has done collecting taxes, managing the county's $3.4 billion investment pool and representing employees on the county retirement board. Hartman was first elected in 1998, with the support of outgoing treasurer Paul Boland, who served 12 years in the job.
Challenger Dan McAllister, a financial adviser for A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., is a former Boy Scout who remains active in the organization and who has built a vast network of supporters. McAllister believes voters should look at how Hartman was found to have sexually harassed a female employee in his office, how he cost taxpayers $100,000 for a settlement of that woman's claims and how he has been criticized for failing to show up for work at his county office.
The treasurer-tax collector oversees an investment pool containing money from the county, school districts and other government agencies. The office is also responsible for collecting about $2 billion a year in taxes.
In 2000, an internal county investigation determined that Hartman sexually harassed his chief deputy tax collector. The county paid $100,000 to the woman to settle her complaint against Hartman. The Board of Supervisors also asked Hartman to resign. He refused and the supervisors couldn't fire him because he is an elected official.
Earlier this year, some county officials complained that Hartman rarely works in his county office. Those critics also point out that Hartman runs two businesses on the side and is active selling computer games on eBay.
Dan McAllister, one of many former Susan Golding Chiefs of Staff, has a sizable list of supporters, many of them Hartman's own colleagues. The list includes Sheriff Bill Kolender, county Assessor Greg Smith, San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy, various county and city labor unions and four of the five county supervisors. The fifth supervisor, Ron Roberts, used a technicality to remain neutral, stating he believes the office should be an appointed position, not elected. That’s showing leadership, Ron!
We can’t vote for the guy who sexually harassed a female employee.
Vote McAllister.
San Diego Community College Board
The board governs operations at City, Mesa and Miramar colleges, and a network of adult education centers.
Members serve four-year terms at a monthly salary of $787.50, meeting about twice a month. Balloting in the three races is open to all voters in the college district, which roughly follows the city's boundaries.
San Diego Comm. College - District A
HART, JOHN J.
College Student
SENOUR, MARIA NIETO
University Professor/Trustee
District A includes La Jolla, University City, Bay Park, Mission Bay, Clairemont and Pacific Beach.
After winning a primary race with three challengers, incumbent Senour, 59, did virtually no campaigning this fall.
Senour's opponent, 18-year-old Mesa College student John Hart, did not raise any money or write a ballot statement. He stated in a candidate questionnaire that he was unable to campaign because he joined the National Guard. "However," he wrote, "I will be out of training in time to take office."
Sure. Vote Maria Nieto Senour
San Diego Comm. College - District C
GROSCH, RICH
Teacher/Career Educator
SCHULMAN, STEVEN B.
Small Businessman
District C: Point Loma, Loma Portal, Ocean Beach, Mission Hills, Mission Valley, Hillcrest, Normal Heights, University Heights, Grantville, Serra Mesa and Mission Village.
Rich Grosch bills himself as an educator with years of community involvement, while Schulman is an attorney with expertise in accounting.
Grosch, 56, a computer teacher at Sacred Heart Academy in Ocean Beach, made an unsuccessful bid for the City Council seat held by Ron Roberts in 1991.
Schulman, 41, says nearly all the candidates have backgrounds as educators, and that his legal and accounting background would be more useful. He noted that he would not use the community college board seat as a political steppingstone.
Both Grosch and Schulman said they place high priority in launching a nationwide search to replace Chancellor Augie Gallego, who is leaving after 26 years with the district.
I know Rich, and he’s a nice guy. Having worked with him when he was a Council Representative for Mike Gotch on the San Diego City Council, District Six, I’ll have to say I lean his way.
However, looking at the numbers, it’s a toss-up. So, vote for Rich.
San Diego Comm. College - District E
BRYANT, HATTIE
Business School Owner
ZSCHIESCHE, PETER
Community Educator/Director
District E: Logan Heights, Golden Hill, North Park, City Heights and downtown San Diego.
Television producer Hattie Bryant, 52, describes herself as a “reform candidate.” Her opponent, Peter Zschiesche, 56, plays up his union ties, saying his networking will help him build a coalition to lobby for more state funding.
Zschiesche said his two top goals would be getting the bond issue passed and increasing state funding in San Diego. He disagreed with Bryant on each of her goals. Zschiesche, director of an employee rights center, said the district doesn't have the resources for more job placement services and that life skill courses are as important as job skill courses.
Bryant's goals include increasing the percentage of community college students transferring to four-year colleges, creating better placement services for graduates of the colleges' certificate programs, and focusing on noncredit course offerings on job skills.
Bryant has said that in the wake of state budget cuts, the district can't afford to continue offering its array of exercise and crafts classes for $11 a unit.
Hattie Bryant grew up in Del Cerro and attended Hearst Elementary, Lewis Junior High and graduated from Hoover High School in 1968. She and her husband created "Small Business School," a series that airs on 200 PBS stations. They offer continuing professional education hours for certified public accountants .
Bryant claims to be “the REFORM candidate” and is endorsed by Dr. Jeanne Roesch and Ken Moser, former San Diego Community College District Trustee, and State Assemblyman Jay La Suer.
Translation: back-to-basics, Christian Coalition-type.
Vote for Union Member Peter Z.
San Diego Unified School - District B
LEE, JEFF
Retired Naval Officer/Parent
NAKAMURA, KATHERINE
Parent/University Administrator
Retired Navy officer Jeff Lee often cites his 22 years of military leadership as a qualification for steering California's second-largest school district. On the campaign trail, he frequently wears a Bronze Star awarded to him for valor.
But, while serving as commanding officer of the San Diego-based frigate Lewis B. Puller, Lee was summarily removed from command in December 1996. The allegations against him are spelled out in documents sent anonymously to The San Diego Union-Tribune: two assaults on crew members, fostering an "abusive climate" and leadership failures that led "to a demoralized and intimidated wardroom that is fearful of working with him."
Lee had previously denied rumors about his military record, saying as recently as Wednesday that he did not recall any investigation into his command. After being confronted with documentation, however, he granted an interview on the subject.
A consistent critic of district Superintendent Alan Bersin, Lee is competing against university administrator Katherine Nakamura for the San Diego school board seat being vacated by Sue Braun. The outcome of race could shift the political balance on the board against Bersin and his policies.
Nakamura is an attorney and works part-time as an administrator at the University of San Diego. A resident of Del Cerro, Nakamura has volunteered at schools and helped organize a foundation that recently replaced a dusty field with grass at her local elementary school. Like Lee, Nakamura has two sons attending schools in the district.
For years, a portion of her family income has come from the San Diego school district. Her husband, architect Kotaro Nakamura, is a partner with the firm Roesling, Nakamura Architects Inc., which has designed several school buildings. However, partners in the firm have said they would stop taking district contracts should Nakamura be elected.
After a recent trip to New York City's District 2 schools, where San Diego Chancellor of Instruction Anthony Alvarado conceived many of the reforms now in place here, Nakamura is more hopeful than ever that the district is headed in the right direction. She said she was particularly impressed with the praise she heard for Alvarado from both district officials and union representatives.
Unrest among teachers, she said, must be addressed by the superintendent. For example, Nakamura said teachers are stressed out about complying with the district mandates that call for specific instruction techniques. She said they also worry about the scrutiny that now comes with their job in the way of classroom evaluations.
But even with the stress of the job, Nakamura believes teachers have forged a better connection with their students under the blueprint.
Nakamura has won endorsements from five San Diego City Council members and the Chamber of Commerce.
Lee, who turned 49 this summer, has become a hands-on dad at home, at school and in the Boy Scouts since he left the military. Lee and his wife, Mitz, helped start the Alliance for Quality Education, a parent advocacy organization that promotes standards-based education.
As passionate as he is about education, Lee is equally critical of the reform effort launched by Bersin and Chancellor of Instruction Anthony Alvarado.
Lee has won endorsements from the San Diego Education Association and the school district's Police Officers Association. He has also developed a broad base of support among parents and educators – especially those who question Bersin and his "Blueprint for Student Success."
Lee has made no secret that he would like Alvarado to find employment elsewhere. He would also like to give Bersin new marching orders that call for a strict alignment to state academic standards.
The Teacher’s Union did not endorse Lee in the March primary election. But after their candidate, Johnnie Perkins, lost, the association chose Lee over Nakamura.
Lee’s a mixed bag. On one hand, he’s supported by the more progressive, anti-Bersin bloc. On the other hand, his “Alliance for Quality Education” falls more in line with conservative, Christian Coalition-types. This is a marriage of convenience foe De Beck & Zimmerman. They’re trading their progressive “whole-learning” approach for dumping Bersin.
I’m no Bersin fan, but if he & DeBeck are elected, what happens after they fire Bersin?
San Diego Unified School - District C
DE BECK, JOHN
Retired Classroom Teacher
FULLER JR., CLYDE L.
Retired Law Officer/Parent
Three-term trustee and retired teacher John de Beck is up against former FBI agent Clyde Fuller.
De Beck, along with Frances O'Neill Zimmerman, has voted against most of Bersin's policies. In March, de Beck won 55 percent of the votes cast in the primary election. Fuller captured about 45 percent. On November 5th, the candidates face voters citywide.
Fuller has attacked his 72-year-old opponent on everything from his age to his voting record.
De Beck wants to give the district's 182 campuses more authority to decide the best approach to instruction and teacher training. He wants schools to have flexibility to stray from the reform plan that is rooted, in part, in a unified and district wide approach to teaching. And he wants to give struggling students the help they need after school and not during regular school hours.
De Beck also wants to reassign hundreds of employees whose job it is to work with teachers and principals on instruction. He'd prefer these teaching coaches, curriculum experts and consultants work directly with students.
In addition, de Beck wants to abolish the district's mandatory freshman physics class, which he argues is watered-down science more appropriate for a "merit badge than the University of California." A new graduation requirement, the science course has been accepted by the UC system for admissions over the objections of some parents and teachers.
De Beck has been backed by educators, the San Diego Education Association and the California Teachers Association.
Fuller's campaign has been embraced by developers, businessmen and some of the same people who helped finance an unsuccessful effort to unseat Zimmerman two years ago. Fuller admits he has never met many of the people who have contributed to his campaign.
Fuller is a 27-year veteran of the FBI.
Like de Beck, Fuller also worries that the district reform focuses too heavily on reading. He's concerned that students are being denied a comprehensive education that includes the benefits of art, music and science.
A Pacific Beach resident, Fuller has a fifth-grader and a seventh-grader in district schools. He once filed a lawsuit against the district over his daughter's special-education program. He reached a settlement with San Diego Unified without having to go to court.
Fuller has taken some personal jabs at de Beck, a strategic tactic he said is designed to distinguish him from de Beck. Calling his opponent outdated, Fuller, 55, has taken swipes at de Beck's age.
DeBeck has the interests of families, teachers and students at heart. Fuller is a puppet.
Vote DeBeck.
CITY OF CHULA VISTA - MAYOR
PADILLA, STEVE
1736 HARVARD ST
CHULA VISTA CA 91913
Deputy Mayor/Teacher
Day: (619) 656-2862 Evening: (619) 420-8179
SALAS, MARY
539 TELEGRAPH CANYON RD
CHULA VISTA CA 91910
Councilwoman
Day: (619) 421-0049 Evening: (619) 421-3654
I like Mary, but Steve’s my client.
CITY OF ESCONDIDO - MAYOR
PFEILER, LORI HOLT
201 N BROADWAY
ESCONDIDO CA 92025
Mayor
Day: (760) 741-7236
RADY, JUNE
201 N BROADWAY
ESCONDIDO CA 92025
Mayor Pro Tem
Day: (760) 432-8683 Evening: (760) 746-4713
I like Lori, but June’s my client.
City Of San Diego - City Council-Dist No. 2
FAULCONER, KEVIN
Community Businessman
ZUCCHET, MICHAEL
Firefighter Community Affairs Director
Michael Zucchet is a native San Diegan and a third-generation resident of Council District Two. Mike attended public schools in San Diego and obtained his Bachelor's degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara, with a double major in Business Economics and Environmental Studies. He interned with the non profit Environmental Defense Center in Santa Barbara. Mike earned his Master's in Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University. After graduate school, he was hired by the U.S. Department of Energy, where he worked on renewable energy policy.
Mike returned to San Diego in 1996 and went to work at City Hall as a Council Representative for Valerie Stallings. Since 1998, Mike has worked as Legislative and Community Affairs Director for the San Diego City Fire Fighters.
Mike ran against Byron Wear four years ago. He is again seeking to replace Wear, who is term-limited out of office in 2002.
Kevin Faulconer is a vice president of NCG-Porter-Novelli, a leading public affairs firm.
Kevin holds a bachelor's degree from San Diego State University. While attending SDSU he was elected student body president. He remains an active alumnus, serving on the Aztec Athletic Foundation Board of Directors as well as the Ambassadors for Higher Education.
Kevin was selected as a national fellow for the prestigious Coro Foundation National Fellowship in Public Affairs.
Kevin and his wife, Katherine, a small business owner in the Gaslamp Quarter, are homeowners in Point Loma. Kevin serves on the Board of Directors of the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Downtown Partnership Board of Directors, served on the Peninsula Summer Concert Committee and is a member of the Point Loma Optimist Club. Kevin served as a volunteer on the Citizen's Charter Reform Committee.
I know and I have worked closely with both Kevin and Mike. Both have wanted to run for public office since I first got to know them. Both will be good advocates for the district. Mike will join Toni Atkins, Donna Fry and Ralph Inzunza (with Scott Peters and the 4th District Councilmember occasionally joining in) to move an agenda more progressive than any time since our “Gang of Five” days with Bob Filner, Wes Pratt, John Hartley, Abbe Wolfsheimer, and Linda Bernhardt. We all know how that turned out.
Kevin will side with Mayor Murphy, Jim Madaffer, Brian Mainshiem (with Scott Peters and the 4th District Councilmember occasionally joining in) to chart a more conservative course.
For me, this race comes down to the personalities of the candidates. Without going into specifics, although politically, I’m more closely aligned with Mike, Kevin is more suited to hold the office.
City Of San Diego - City Council-Dist No. 4
CRENSHAW, DWAYNE
Community Development Director/Educator
LEWIS, CHARLES L.
Councilman's Chief of Staff
Dwayne Crenshaw was born and raised in the 4th District. At his father’s (Reverend Booker T. Crenshaw, Sr.) urging, Dwayne began volunteering with World Impact at age 13, Dwayne assisted his father's non-profit organization in bringing the Children's Defense Fund's Summer Freedom School program to San Diego.
Dwayne attended Patrick Henry High School, earned his degree in Education at San Diego State University and taught at Horton Elementary, where he had been a student.
Dwayne worked with State Senator Jack O'Connell and Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante as an Assembly Fellow. Dwayne also worked for Valerie Stallings and County Supervisor Ron Roberts. He is on leave from his job as Director of Government Relations for the Jacobs Center for Nonprofit Innovation, an organization committed to community development in southeastern San Diego.
Charles Lewis was raised in the community. He went to Morse High School, earned is B.A. in Public Administration at San Diego State University and undertook graduate studies in Community Economic Development at State, but didn’t finish his masters program.
Charles is Chief-of-Staff to Councilman George Stevens and has worked in Stevens’ office for almost 10 years. Like all staffers running for their bosses job, Charles has taken credit for everything George Stevens has accomplished, including:
• Building the Malcolm X Library.
• Rebuilding the Elementary Science Institute.
• Expanding Before and After-School Programs
• Establishing 23 Neighborhood Councils
• Implemented Steven’s “Zero Tolerance for Gangs Drug Dealers”
Dwayne and Charles are almost identical on the issues. They even look similar! It’s not surprising that Dwayne and Charles were friends before this campaign. Unfortunately, the race has brought out the worst in each.
Like the 2nd District race, either candidate will ably fill the seat. Neither will live up to Stephens, which may or may not be a good thing, depending upon your point of view. Both will need a capable staff: Dwayne because he tries to do everything himself; Charles because he’s too comfortable behind a desk.
Also with the 2nd District, this councilmember could end up the swing vote on a more progressive Council majority. Dwayne is more likely to push the envelope than Charles, who is too comfortable with the status quo.
Charles (and Juan Vargas) unfortunately are correct when they say that Dwayne is a candidate in search of an office. The same can be said for Faulconer and Zuchett. However, as with Faulconer and Zuchett, once there, he’d probably do a good job.
Given our personal differences (which total between $3,000 and $8,000), and the reservations I have given the way Dwayne’s handled the situation, I have to grudgingly urge support of Dwayne (even though I think 4th District voters will choose Charles) because Charles is a little to comfortable with the way things are, and not with what they ought to be.
CITY OF SAN DIEGO
Proposition A
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO.
Authorizing the potential development, construction, and/or acquisition of up to 5,000 low rent apartments and town homes scattered throughout the City for seniors, families, and persons with disabilities earning lower incomes.
On November 7, 1950, the voters of the State of California adopted Article 34 of the California Constitution, entitled the Public Housing Project Law, which requires approval by a majority of City electors for the development, construction, or acquisition of low rent housing in the City by a state or local public agency. Article 34 defines “low rent housing” as any development composed of urban or rural dwellings, apartments, or other living accommodations for persons of low income, which is financed in whole or part by public funds or which receives another form of assistance from a public agency, such as labor. The voter approval requirement of Article 34 does not apply to projects designed, planned, financed, constructed and owned by a private entity. The California Supreme Court has held that the voter approval required by Article 34 can be satisfied by a vote granting authority for a designated maximum number of housing units, without having voters approve each specific project.
The City Council has authorized the placement on the ballot of a proposition seeking voter approval pursuant to Article 34 for the development, construction or acquisition of up to 5,000 low rent housing units in the City for persons of low income. A vote in favor of the measure will not have any fiscal impact and will not grant approval for any specific project. Specific low rent housing projects in the City would be subject to further approval and a public review process. This ballot measure will take effect if passed by a majority of the City’s voters.
Fiscal Impact Statement:
Approval of this measure has no fiscal impact, nor does it grant approval for any specific project, as each would go through the public review process.
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION A
There is a shortage of affordable housing in San Diego. This ballot measure, if approved, will help provide housing for low income seniors, families and persons with disabilities.
Here are the facts:
This proposition is presented to the voters because of Article 34 of the California Constitution, which requires that local voters authorize the “development, construction, or acquisition of low rent housing” prior to it being produced.
The voters approved Article 34 ballot measures in 1972, 1976, and 1981, for a total of 5,500 units.
The city is nearing that limit after 21 years. Its population has grown significantly, and up to 5,000 more apartments and town homes may be needed for lower income seniors, persons with disabilities, and families. In serving those needs, the entire housing shortage is reduced, so San Diegans at all economic levels benefit.
It is important to know:
• Passage of this measure will not require the use of local tax dollars.
• All developments that fall within Article 34 standards will still have to go through the permit process with full environmental and community review.
• Passage will allow the City to apply for and use state and federal funds for housing programs.
• Without voter approval, San Diego’s housing problem may worsen. The City may lose the ability to take advantage of any state and local housing funds that may become available, thereby giving up its fair share of that funding.
Please vote YES on Proposition A.
BERYL FLOM, Co-President President League of Women Voters
MARY E. BALL, San Diego County San Diego Taxpayers Association
JESSIE KNIGHT, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
SAL SALAS, Chairman of the Board, San Diego Housing Commission
DICK MURPHY, Mayor, City of San Diego
ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION A
No argument against the proposition was filed in the office of the City Clerk.
Prop. A is an affordable-housing measure that would allow the city to buy, build or acquire up to 5,000 apartments and town houses for the elderly, disabled and low-income families.
Proposition A would authorize the potential housing development over an unspecified period of time.
It doesn't mean we have to build 5,000 affordable housing units, it means we can.
Proposition A gives general approval that allows the city to review individual projects as they arise.
Approval of the ballot measure would allow San Diego to get its fair share of a proposed $2.1 billion state housing bond. The state housing bond is also up for voter approval as Proposition 46 on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Typically money spent on projects that qualify as affordable under Proposition A would be used to offering low-interest loans to private developers who agree to set aside 49 percent of the units for low-income tenants. To be considered low income, a family of four currently must have an annual income of no more than $48,000. The median income in San Diego for a family of four is about $60,000.
Among those supporting Proposition A are Mayor Dick Murphy; San Diego Housing Authority Chairman Sal Salas; Jessie Knight, chief executive officer of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce; Beryl Flom, co-president of the League of Women Voters of San Diego; and Mary Ball, president of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association.
Vote yes on A.
SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
Proposition S
City, Mesa and Miramar Colleges Classroom Repair and Public Safety Education Measure.
To: Repair leaking roofs, worn wiring/plumbing; Renovate aging/deteriorating classrooms and libraries; Repair/acquire/construct/equip college buildings, sites and computer labs; Prepare students for 4-year colleges and jobs; Train nurses/firefighters/paramedics/police; Improve campus safety; shall San Diego Community College District issue $685,000,000 in bonds at legal interest rates, appoint Citizens Oversight Committee, perform annual audits, with no bond money for administrators’ salaries.
An election will be held in San Diego Community College District (the “District”) on November 5, 2002, for the purpose of submitting to the electors of the District the question of incurring a bonded indebtedness of the District in a principal amount of $685 million.
1. The best estimate of the tax which would be required to be levied to fund the bond issue during the first fiscal year after the sale of the first series of bonds based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement is $22.46 per $100,000 of assessed valuation for the year 2003-04.
2. The best estimate from official sources of the tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund the bond issue during the first fiscal year after the last sale of the bonds and an estimate of the year in which that rate will apply based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is $23.77 per $100,000 of assessed valuation for the year 2019-20.
3. The best estimate of the highest tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund the bond issue and an estimate of the year in which that rate will apply, based on estimated assessed valuation available at the time of filing of this statement is $23.90 per $100,000 of assessed valuation for the year 2027-28.
The actual times of sales of said bonds and the amount sold at any given time will be governed by the needs of the District and other factors. The actual interest rates at which the bonds will be sold, which in any event will not exceed the maximum permitted by law, will depend upon the bond market at the time of sales. The actual assessed values in the future years will depend upon the value of property within the District as determined in the assessment and the equalization process. Hence, the actual tax rates and the years in which such rates are applicable may vary from those presently estimated as above stated.
This proposition, if approved by at least 55% of the voters voting on the proposition, would authorize the San Diego Community College District to have issued and sold $685,000,000 in general obligation bonds on its behalf. The issuance and sale of a bond by a school district is for the purpose of raising money for the district and represents a debt of the district. In exchange for
the money received from the holder of the bond, the district promises to pay the holder a set amount of interest for a certain period of time, and to repay the loan on the expiration date.
The interest rate on any bond, which is established at the time of bond issuance, could not exceed 12% per annum. The final maturity date of any bond could be no later than 25 years after the date of bonds issued pursuant to the Education Code or not later than 40 years after the date of bonds issued pursuant to the Government Code. Principal and interest on the bonds would be paid by revenue derived from an annual tax levied upon the taxable property within the San Diego Community College District in an amount sufficient to pay the interest as it becomes due and to provide a sinking fund for payment of the principal on or before maturity.
Article XIII A of the California Constitution exempts from the one percent property tax rate limitation ad valorem taxes to pay the interest and redemption charges on any bonded indebtedness for the acquisition or improvement of real property, including the furnishing and equipping of school facilities, approved by at least 55% of the voters voting on the proposition if (a) the proceeds from the sale of the bonds are used only for the purposes specified, (b) the district, by evaluating safety, class size reduction, and information technology, has approved a list of specific projects to be funded, (c) the district will conduct an annual, independent performance audit, and (d) the district will conduct an annual, independent financial audit. State law further requires the governing board to establish an independent citizens’ oversight committee. The District has made the ballot proposition subject to these requirements.
Vote “yes” in favor of authorizing the San Diego Community College District to issue bonds for the purposes stated.
