From the PCPB / Feb. 23, 2021
As with all other officially recognized community planning groups throughout the City of San Diego, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) from holding its annual election in March 2020.
But, under guidelines recently promulgated by the City of San Diego and procedures approved by the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) at its meeting on February 18, 2021, PCPB will be holding an election this March to fill a total of eleven vacancies.
These eleven Board positions to be filled comprise over two-thirds of the Board’s fifteen positions. Board terms are typically three (3) years in length. Because the 2020 election was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the 2021 election will include several positions with shorter terms. Of the eleven PCPB positions to be filled, five will be for three-year terms, five will be for two-year terms and one will fill a current vacancy for the balance of a one-year term.
If no more than eleven applications for candidacy are received from eligible candidates by the deadline for submission of applications, 5:00 p.m., Thursday, March 4, 2021, no election will be held and the eligible candidates will be automatically elected to the PCPB.
Modified Election and Balloting Procedures
The election will be conducted on Thursday, March 18, 2021.
In a departure from past PCPB election practices, however, and in recognition of the need to limit person-to-person contact or the sort of crowded polling places typical of past elections, this year voting will be exclusively by ballots mailed-in by voters or deposited into a monitored ballot drop box located at one or more yet-be-determined locations in the Peninsula area – one of which has been tentatively planned for the parking lot at the Point Loma Hervey Family Library.
Once those drop box locations are finalized, they will be published on the PCPB website along with other voting and election details as they develop and are implemented.
Mailed ballots must be received by 6:00 p.m. on March 18, 2021. Any ballots received after that date and time, regardless of when postmarked, will not be counted. Any voter planning to cast a ballot by mail are encouraged to place their ballot in the mail early enough to allow timely delivery.
It is currently anticipated that the ballot drop box locations will be open and available on March 18, 2021, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. It is possible that they may also be available on March 17, 2021. Further details will be available on the PCPB website when they become available.
Voter Eligibility – Self-Verification
Eligible voters are limited to persons at least 18 years of age who either reside, own property or operate a business within the geographic area subject to the Peninsula Community Plan.
The boundaries of the planning area can be found on the PCPB website.
In a further departure from past PCPB election practices, rather than being required to present physical evidence of eligibility at the time they cast their votes, such as drivers licenses or utility bills, voters will be required to “self-verify” their eligibility to vote. In order to self-verify their eligibility, each voter will be required to submit a separate signed Statement of Voter Eligibility that will be used solely for the purpose of verification of eligibility and will be separate from cast ballots.
Both a voter’s ballot and Statement of Voter Eligibility must be placed in the same envelope, either when mailed or deposited into a ballot drop box. No ballots will be counted that are not accompanied by a completed voter eligibility form.
Once a ballot is tabulated, the accompanying Statement of Voter Eligibility will be separately retained and destroyed once voting is complete and any election challenges have been resolved.
Ballots and voter eligibility forms will be available for download from the PCPB website.
For those voters who are unable to access the internet or print a ballot at home or their place of business, ballots and voter eligibility forms will also be made available at the ballot drop box locations.
Candidate Applications
To be eligible for election to one of the open PCPB member positions, a candidate must be at least 18 years of age and either reside, own property or operate a business within the boundaries of the Peninsula Community Plan.
An eligible candidate must also have attended at least one regular PCPB meeting (including Zoom meetings) within the previous 12 months.
The Application for Candidacy form may be downloaded from the PCPB website under the Regulations and Elections tab.
Completed applications should be submitted via e-mail to PCPB 1st Vice Chair and Election Committee Chair David Dick atdaviddick@cox.net and pcpbsd@gmail.com. The deadline for prospective candidates to submit completed applications is 5:00 p.m., March 4, 2021.
Candidates Forum
The PCPB Election Committee will hold a virtual Candidate’s Forum via Zoom on Thursday, March 4, 2021, from 6:00 – 7:30pm where candidates will be able to present their credentials and qualifications to members of public in attendance. Details of the Candidate’s Forum will be posted on the PCPB website.
Attendance at the Candidate’s Forum will qualify as a regular meeting for candidate eligibility purposes.
Election Results
Tabulation of votes are set to begin at 6:00 p.m. on March 18, 2021. It is anticipated that election results will be announced that evening during the regularly scheduled PCPB meeting.
Terms will be allocated among the eleven candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in order of the number of votes received, with the longest terms being allocated to the candidates receiving the highest number of votes in declining order. The only deviation will be if a candidate is not eligible to serve the entire term for which that candidate would be eligible, in which case that candidate will be allocated a term eligible length.
The Peninsula Community Planning Board is a City of San Diego-sanctioned and recognized volunteer citizen-based Community Planning Group advising the City on land use-based community goals and development proposals within the Peninsula Community Planning Area. Regular meetings of the Board typically occur on the third Thursday of each months. There are a number of regular and ad hoc committees regarding specific issues of Board interest that meet regularly or on occasion.
For additional information about PCPB, please contact Chair Fred Kosmo at fkosmo@wilsonturnerkosmo.com, and about the election, voting procedures or voter or candidate eligibility to
For additional information about PCPB, please contact Chair Fred Kosmo at fkosmo@wilsonturnerkosmo.com, and about the election, voting procedures or voter or candidate eligibility to PCPB 1st Vice Chair and Election Committee Chair David Dick at daviddick@cox.net.
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The PCPB also wanted to state that, because of the unusual nature of how the elections need to be held, the PCPB is discouraging write-in candidates and will not counting any of those that may occur.