Four candidates have the cash to compete
Normally, candidates with large campaign kitties and long lists of endorsements from local elected and appointed officials win Yorba Linda’s spirited City Council contests.
Based on those criteria, incumbent Keri Wilson and retired Brea police captain Doug Dickerson are odds-on favorites to triumph in Nov. 7 balloting for two available seats.
Both are on-track to spend more than $40,000 each in the race, and they’ve lined up support from nearly every elected and appointed official representing Yorba Linda.
Wilson has endorsements from federal, state and county office-holders, all of her council colleagues, 19 of 20 council-appointed commissioners, the Placentia-Yorba Linda school trustees and two water board directors.
Dickerson lists support from all council incumbents, two planning commissioners, two school trustees and school superintendent Dennis Smith, who has made his first-ever council endorsement in any of the five cities served by the Placentia-Yorba Linda district.
But Yorba Linda’s 20th municipal election might not follow a normal pattern—that’s an observation based on two recent political events.
Campaigns against the petition drive to overturn the council’s Town Center zoning rules and Measure B, the citizen-sponsored Right-to-Vote initiative, were financed by special interests and supported by many of the officials now endorsing Dickerson and Wilson.
Developers contributed $115,000 to oppose the petition drive, while building and real estate interests raised $174,150 to combat Measure B. But importantly, the literature they mailed to residents listed endorsements from the city’s currently established leadership.
However, this year residents ignored recommendations from the political names, as they signed the petitions against the Town Center zone changes and voted to pass Measure B.
That’s why two of this year’s contenders have better-than-usual chances at the polls. They are the pair endorsed by the grassroots Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Redevelopment group, which organized the petition drive and pro-Measure B effort.
Jan Horton gathered signatures for the Right-to-Vote initiative last summer and for the Old Town zoning petitions in December and January. Horton opposed the city’s since-rescinded eminent domain ordinance, but she supports a revitalized downtown.
John Anderson is a member of the city Traffic Commission--the only commissioner not to endorse incumbent Wilson--and serves on the Town Center Blue Ribbon Committee.
The county prosecutor is endorsed by three other traffic commissioners.
Both candidates have enough citizen contributions to finance campaign mailers and pay for endorsements on voter guides, and they’ve motivated precinct-walking foot soldiers.
Of course, lightening could strike, and voters might look kindly at third-time candidate Mike Burns, second-time candidates Walter Bruckner and Diana Hudson and first-time contenders Alex Mikkelsen and Mel Woodward.
But unfortunately, the days of successful low-budget campaigns are long gone, as voter registration has risen from 4,878 in 1970 to 40,517 today. A couple of mailings of those expensive, colorful brochures are essential elements for winning a seat at the council dais.
A FINAL NOTE
As predicted, the misguided effort to recall council members Allen Castellano, Ken Ryan, Keri Wilson and Jim Winder died quietly after some early hullabaloo.
Proponents never mounted a serious campaign, and the Stop YL Recall group officially disbanded Sept. 30, after spending $3,810, including $2,000 donated by Faubel Public Affairs, a Lake Forest-based company that also works for the toll road board formerly chaired by Ryan.
Based on those criteria, incumbent Keri Wilson and retired Brea police captain Doug Dickerson are odds-on favorites to triumph in Nov. 7 balloting for two available seats.
Both are on-track to spend more than $40,000 each in the race, and they’ve lined up support from nearly every elected and appointed official representing Yorba Linda.
Wilson has endorsements from federal, state and county office-holders, all of her council colleagues, 19 of 20 council-appointed commissioners, the Placentia-Yorba Linda school trustees and two water board directors.
Dickerson lists support from all council incumbents, two planning commissioners, two school trustees and school superintendent Dennis Smith, who has made his first-ever council endorsement in any of the five cities served by the Placentia-Yorba Linda district.
But Yorba Linda’s 20th municipal election might not follow a normal pattern—that’s an observation based on two recent political events.
Campaigns against the petition drive to overturn the council’s Town Center zoning rules and Measure B, the citizen-sponsored Right-to-Vote initiative, were financed by special interests and supported by many of the officials now endorsing Dickerson and Wilson.
Developers contributed $115,000 to oppose the petition drive, while building and real estate interests raised $174,150 to combat Measure B. But importantly, the literature they mailed to residents listed endorsements from the city’s currently established leadership.
However, this year residents ignored recommendations from the political names, as they signed the petitions against the Town Center zone changes and voted to pass Measure B.
That’s why two of this year’s contenders have better-than-usual chances at the polls. They are the pair endorsed by the grassroots Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Redevelopment group, which organized the petition drive and pro-Measure B effort.
Jan Horton gathered signatures for the Right-to-Vote initiative last summer and for the Old Town zoning petitions in December and January. Horton opposed the city’s since-rescinded eminent domain ordinance, but she supports a revitalized downtown.
John Anderson is a member of the city Traffic Commission--the only commissioner not to endorse incumbent Wilson--and serves on the Town Center Blue Ribbon Committee.
The county prosecutor is endorsed by three other traffic commissioners.
Both candidates have enough citizen contributions to finance campaign mailers and pay for endorsements on voter guides, and they’ve motivated precinct-walking foot soldiers.
Of course, lightening could strike, and voters might look kindly at third-time candidate Mike Burns, second-time candidates Walter Bruckner and Diana Hudson and first-time contenders Alex Mikkelsen and Mel Woodward.
But unfortunately, the days of successful low-budget campaigns are long gone, as voter registration has risen from 4,878 in 1970 to 40,517 today. A couple of mailings of those expensive, colorful brochures are essential elements for winning a seat at the council dais.
A FINAL NOTE
As predicted, the misguided effort to recall council members Allen Castellano, Ken Ryan, Keri Wilson and Jim Winder died quietly after some early hullabaloo.
Proponents never mounted a serious campaign, and the Stop YL Recall group officially disbanded Sept. 30, after spending $3,810, including $2,000 donated by Faubel Public Affairs, a Lake Forest-based company that also works for the toll road board formerly chaired by Ryan.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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