Who’s pledging not to take developer money?

Jim Drummond - Political Perspectives

Yorba Linda Star - Sept. 28, 2006 - Viewpoints Section

Complete Text - Requires Registration

Excerpts:

For the first time in nearly two decades, most of the leading contenders for City Council positions are pledging not to solicit or accept election-year donations from developers.

Developers and other individuals and businesses associated with the building industry have long played a significant role in Yorba Linda’s municipal balloting by contributing cash to the campaign treasuries of incumbents and challengers supported by incumbents.

But expensive efforts to defeat Measure B, the citizensponsored Right-to-Vote on Land-Use Amendments initiative, and quash petitions seeking a public vote on a pair of hastily adopted Town Center zoning ordinances drew concerned attention from many residents.

Outside-the-city builders and real estate-related interests put up all of the $174,150 that was raised to oppose Measure B, and Michael Dieden’s Creative Housing Associates and Greg Brown’s BH Urban Equities provided $115,000 to fight the Town Center petitions.

The Right-to-Vote initiative secured a narrow 299-vote victory, and the more than 9,000 signatures on each of two zoning petitions convinced council to rescind the new decrees.

This year, Keri Wilson, the lone incumbent seeking a new term, says she will not accept donations from developers as she did in her narrow threevote victory in 2002. Wilson affirms, “I will not be accepting developer money.”

Also nixing developer cash are running mates John Anderson and Jan Horton. Anderson states, “I will not take money from developers,” and Horton says, “I will not accept money from developers that do business in our city.”

However, Doug Dickerson says he welcomes contributions from “individuals, businesses or any group regardless of their affiliation,” if they “understand that I will always vote my conscience and what I believe is best for the citizens and the city.”

Other positions include Walter Bruckner’s “I will accept contributions from developers”; Diana Hudson’s “I have not nor do I intend to solicit funds from developers”; and Alex Mikkelsen’s “I will evaluate any offer to contribute on an individual, case-bycase basis.”

In other election news, the county Republican Central Committee endorsed Wilson in a unanimous vote last month and Dickerson in a 39-14 vote last week, according to member Mark Schwing.

County Democrats endorsed Bruckner and Horton, but there’s little partisan advantage in that decision, since Democrats comprise only 8,904 of the city’s 40,413 registered voters.

In the race to finish the two years remaining on a North Orange County Community College District trustee term, the Democrats endorsed appointed incumbent Mike Matsuda of Yorba Linda and the Republicans endorsed challenger Tim Shaw of La Habra.

Complete Text - Requires Registration