Ballot
booths could be crowded with election options
Jim Drummond - Political Perspectives
Yorba Linda Star - September 1, 2005 - Viewpoints
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Yorba Lindans face a busy campaign season during the next
year and a half, with residents casting ballots on important
local issues in as many as six elections.
Here’s a rundown of actual and potential ballots
for the rest of this year and next year:
The November special election includes a vote on Proposition
77, designed to eliminate the weirdly shaped legislative
districts politicians draw up to preserve their political
status.
Yorba Linda’s state Assembly, state Senate and Congressional districts
could become more compact and competitive if the measure passes. The city might
be reunited into one Assembly district, instead of the current arbitrary division
into the 60th and 72nd districts.
Another special election, possibly in January, will decide
the fate of a local initiative giving Yorba Linda residents
the right to vote on major land use decisions within the
city.
Sadly, the initiative campaign already has taken a nasty
turn, with council members and initiative supporters trading
accusations about the truthfulness of each other’s statements.
And in a bizarre incident at the last council meeting,
Mayor Keri Wilson deftly redirected the comments of one speaker,
whose mean-spirited mimicking of a council member’s speech patterns set a new low for unwarranted personal attacks.
A third special election might occur if the council approves
a high-density Town Center zoning ordinance later this year.
Low-density advocates say they’re
ready to gather enough signatures to force a referendum vote on the unwanted
measure.
The June 2006 primary election will determine if Mike Duvall
becomes the first council member to win higher political
office. A GOP primary win in his state Assembly race would
virtually guarantee him a November victory in the safely
Republican district.
The November 2006 general election will fill the council
seats held by Ken Ryan, who will be completing his second
term, and Keri Wilson, who will have finished a first term.
A special election is possible if Duvall wins his Assembly
contest. The council could call for a special ballot or,
more probably, appoint someone to serve out his council term.
Residents could overturn an appointment by again gathering
enough signatures to force an election.
But if Duvall wins the primary, he could resign in time
for his post to be put on the November ballot, along with
the council positions now held by Ryan and Wilson.
A FINAL NOTE – Developer Michael Dieden has hired veteran political consultant
Dennis DeSnoo to work on the Town Center project. DeSnoo told me he doesn’t
give interviews and warned me he acts aggressively to keep his name out of the
newspapers.
DeSnoo’s firms have worked on the campaigns of all five sitting City Council
members, collecting more than $90,000 in fees and expenses. He aided Ken Ryan
and Jim Winder in 2000, Ryan and Keri Wilson in 2002 and Allen Castellano and
Mike Duvall in 2004.
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