Category: Election

19Candidates So Far In the Running

Now that former Councilmember Kevin Faulconer has been sworn in as mayor, the deck is clear for the appointment process to his seat to begin in earnest.

Applicants – or “candidates” – must have their 50 signatures and qualifying statement to the Clerk’s office by March 17. Then on April 14 and 15 the full City Council will pore over the applications with the plan being to narrow down the field to about 6 “finalists”.

OB Rag Poll In an informal poll that the OB Rag ran …

Here’s an update to our late February take on upcoming changes to the Ocean Beach Planning Board in light of their March 11th annual election and anticipated vacancies …

From our own inquiries, from candidates’ statements at a recent forum on the 5th and the latest from Raeanon Hartigan, head of the Board committee on the election, we can now summarize what we know and who is actually running.

By Matthew Wood

If you would have told Gretchen Newsom a year ago that she would be in consideration for the District 2 seat on the City Council, she probably would have sent you home and told you to sleep it off.

After all, it was just this past year that she was elected president of the Ocean Beach Town Council. Now she is officially “campaigning” – for lack of a better word – for the position, holding a signature-gathering meet-&-greet with friends and supporters Thursday night at her home on Santa Cruz Avenue.

“It’s a bit of a whirlwind, but I’m feeling pretty positive,” Newsom said in between introducing herself to supporters on her front stoop and watching her son, Leif, play in the yard.

“I never, ever, ever foresaw this situation happening. It’s a really unique opportunity.”

In case you haven’t been following along, it more or less all started with former Mayor Bob Filner. When Filner stepped down from office in disgrace, his seat was eventually filled by former District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer.

Also on Agenda : 4766 Brighton Project

The OB Planning Board will be hosting a “Candidates’ Forum” at its monthly meeting this Wed., March 5th. This will give candidates for the Board running for the March 11 election a chance to address the community.

The Board meeting will start at 6pm sharp and is held in the meeting room at the OB Rec Center, 4826 Santa Monica Ave. on this Wednesday. Scheduled for 7pm, the Candidates Forum may be especially important as a number of people are running as “write-in” candidates, individuals not on the official ballot.

In our continuing series of looking at each of the seven planning districts in Ocean Beach, we come to District 5 in southwestern OB. (Here is a map of all these districts within the Ocean Beach Planning Area. )

The OB Rag is performing this public education service as the OB Planning Board is having its annual election on March 11th. (Here are our views of District 1, District 2 , District 3, District 4. Here’s why it’s important.)

District 5 – the Cliffs at Ocean Beach

The fifth district within OB is the smallest district geographically, but because it hugs the gorgeous Sunset Cliffs, it has some of the most stunning views of sunsets, the coast, the surf, and provides an aura of solitude at those cliffs.

Editor: As we continue in our series looking at the different districts within the Ocean Beach Planning Area, today we settle in District 4 – the Hub of OB. (Here’s a look at District 1, District 2 and District 3. Here’s why it’s important.)

District 4 – The Center of the Village – the Hub of OB

It’s easy to see why District 4 is indeed the center and hub of the community of Ocean Beach. Just look at a map and you’ll see that the business district and the main beach are both in this district.

Downtown OB – the 3 commercial blocks of Newport Avenue and the adjacent side streets – is certainly the center of the community, no matter how you measure it. Traffic, pedestrians, events, happenings, music, food – and of course drink – it all happens right there.

It is official. Gretchen Newsom, the president of the Ocean Beach Town Council, is in the race to be appointed the interim councilperson for the San Diego City Council seat being vacated by Mayor-elect Kevin Faulconer.

After receiving encouragement from a number of community leaders and resources, including the OB Rag, Gretchen decided to throw her proverbial hat in the ring for the appointment. She already has the endorsement of the advocacy group Run Women Run and she told the OB Rag that she anticipates the endorsement of the Point Loma Democratic Club.

This was as predictable as the change of the tides.

In the special mayoral election just held, Ocean Beach voted for Councilmember David Alvarez and Point Loma voted for Councilmember Kevin Faulconer – who won.

So, here’s a blow-up – inside – of the black and white maps provided by the U-T San Diego on the break-down of the vote.

Here is the replacement process to select whomever will fill Kevin Faulconer’s District 2 seat on the City Council:

From Chet Barfield / Office of Interim Mayor Todd Gloria

1. A 30-day clock starts on the day Kevin is sworn in as Mayor, which we think will be around March 3. The county Registrar of Voters has 28 days (from Feb. 11) to count the ballots and certify the results. Because the election wasn’t that close, it could take less than 28 days. Upon receiving registrar certification, the Clerk will ask the Council President to docket acceptance of those findings at the next possible meeting.

2. Council approves the election results and Kevin is sworn in as Mayor. This begins a 14-day application period (calendar days) for candidates wanting to fill the interim D2 vacancy. They must reside in the old District Two – as the boundaries existed before being redrawn last year – because that’s the pool from which Kevin was elected.

By Jim Miller

Nobody thought this was going to be easy.

Back in July, at the height of the Filner debacle, I predicted a dire outcome, noting that “in a recall or special election in an off year, the electorate is guaranteed to be more conservative and definitely not favorable” for a progressive replacing Bob Filner because, “Faulconer would have a huge fundraising advantage garnering support from all the usual suspects downtown and benefit from an energized base geared up to hand it to the liberals, unions, minorities, and other foul ‘special interest groups’ that they’ll blame for bringing us the evil that was Bob Filner. With the Democrats dispirited, humiliated and divided, it might not even be much of a fight.”

As it turned out, David Alvarez stepped up and offered progressives hope, and the labor movement surprised everyone by actually being able to raise more money than the Faulconer forces. Sadly, on Tuesday, many of us were crying in our beer instead.

Interim Council Member to be Appointed by City Council 30 Days After Faulconer Leaves

Now that Kevin Faulconer has been elected mayor, the big question for OB, Point Loma, and the rest of District 2 is:

Who will now replace Faulconer on the Council?

The tentative date for Faulconer’s inauguration is March 3rd. The full Council – minus Faulconer but with David Alvarez – then has 30 business days in which to appoint an interim replacement for the District 2 seat to complete Faulconer’s term, which ends in December 2014. The Council will then be 5 to 3 Democrats to Republicans when the appointment is made.

And don’t forget, there’s an election to actually democratically fill the District 2 seat this year; the Primary is in June and the General Election is in November. So, the City Council will appoint someone. Who will it be?

As San Diegans vote in the third mayoral election in two years, the outcome looks as foggy as the air in Ocean Beach this morning.

Heading around the neighborhood, most polling places are reporting slower than normal turnout.

“It’s been pretty slow,” said Destiny Paz, a Point Loma High School senior who is an election volunteer at the Beardsley Mitchell Funeral

Home polling place on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. “I don’t know how else to describe it. Very quiet.”

Things have been a bit livelier at the Ocean Beach Rec Center, where Rose Novales volunteers with her daughter, Eleanor.

“We’ve been busy. People have been flowing in, which is nice. I don’t want to fall asleep,” she said.