School board members return to their posts
A spirited Yorba Linda City Council race that featured convincing wins by two political newcomers was a factor in a closer-than-expected contest for two trustee positions in the Placentia-Yorba Linda school district.
Although Karin Freeman and Jan Wagner won re-election to the school board, challenger Eric Padget gave the popular pair a good run by accumulating 30 percent of the vote against Freeman’s 32.9 percent and Wagner’s 37.1 percent.
Padget needed only 1,725 more votes to match Freeman’s total, out of 60,418 votes marked on the 46,504 ballots cast. Many voters didn’t mark any name in the race or voted for one candidate instead of the allotted two.
Wagner topped the field with 22,387 votes, while Freeman and Padget totaled 19,878 and 18,153. Turnout was 53.4 percent of 87,046 registered voters.
Four years ago, Wagner and Freeman defeated a lone opponent by much larger margins, with Wagner scoring 44.4 and Freeman 42 percent of the vote. Richard French finished with only 13.7 percent.
This year, Wagner, Freeman and Superintendent Dennis Smith endorsed Doug Dickerson and Keri Wilson, the third and fourth-place finishers in the council contest. Trustees Carol Downey, Judy (Miner) Miller and Craig Olson also endorsed Wilson.
The school officials’ support for Dickerson and Wilson was heavily publicized in the contenders’ campaign mailers and on their Web sites and often mentioned during the cable TV airings of the Chamber of Commerce’s candidates’ forum.
Many supporters of council winners Jan Horton and John Anderson, who ran 2,390 and 781 votes ahead of Dickerson’s third-place finish and 3,065 and 1,456 votes ahead of Wilson’s fourth-place finish, voted for Padget in the school race.
Of course, Padget’s vote total also was influenced by strong financial support from the political action committee sponsored by the Association of Placentia-Linda Educators, the union representing 1,175 district teachers.
The Community for Better Schools PAC paid for Padget’s signs, campaign mailers, voter guide endorsements and full-page ads in the Yorba Linda and Placentia newspapers.
The union also offered to endorse Freeman, but the four-term incumbent didn’t accept because the union wasn’t endorsing two-term incumbent Wagner, said Linda Manion, APLE president who was involved in interviews with all three candidates.
Padget is now on full-time release from his Garden Grove teaching position to serve as president of that district’s teachers’ union. He noted, “With the support the community has shown along with the name recognition I have received from this election, you most probably will see my name on the ballot again in two years.”
The terms of Downey, Miller and Olson, unopposed in 2000 and 2004, expire in 2008. Downey took office in 2000, while Miller was first elected in 1988 and Olson in 1992.
A FINAL NOTE
Town Center Blue Ribbon Committee members finally selected officers at the group’s fifth monthly meeting in November. Sunrise Rotary Club and ex-county Grand Jury member Herb Trumpoldt is chair and Traffic Commissioner Larry Larsen vice chair.
Larsen replaces former commissioner and new Councilman John Anderson, while Pat Nelson steps in for Jim Horton, husband of new Councilwoman Jan Horton, as the representative from Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Redevelopment.
The blue ribbon body is stepping up the pace, with plans to survey residents about what they want and don’t want in the Town Center and to host meetings for community input.
After taking this month off, the 24-member group will meet twice in January.
Although Karin Freeman and Jan Wagner won re-election to the school board, challenger Eric Padget gave the popular pair a good run by accumulating 30 percent of the vote against Freeman’s 32.9 percent and Wagner’s 37.1 percent.
Padget needed only 1,725 more votes to match Freeman’s total, out of 60,418 votes marked on the 46,504 ballots cast. Many voters didn’t mark any name in the race or voted for one candidate instead of the allotted two.
Wagner topped the field with 22,387 votes, while Freeman and Padget totaled 19,878 and 18,153. Turnout was 53.4 percent of 87,046 registered voters.
Four years ago, Wagner and Freeman defeated a lone opponent by much larger margins, with Wagner scoring 44.4 and Freeman 42 percent of the vote. Richard French finished with only 13.7 percent.
This year, Wagner, Freeman and Superintendent Dennis Smith endorsed Doug Dickerson and Keri Wilson, the third and fourth-place finishers in the council contest. Trustees Carol Downey, Judy (Miner) Miller and Craig Olson also endorsed Wilson.
The school officials’ support for Dickerson and Wilson was heavily publicized in the contenders’ campaign mailers and on their Web sites and often mentioned during the cable TV airings of the Chamber of Commerce’s candidates’ forum.
Many supporters of council winners Jan Horton and John Anderson, who ran 2,390 and 781 votes ahead of Dickerson’s third-place finish and 3,065 and 1,456 votes ahead of Wilson’s fourth-place finish, voted for Padget in the school race.
Of course, Padget’s vote total also was influenced by strong financial support from the political action committee sponsored by the Association of Placentia-Linda Educators, the union representing 1,175 district teachers.
The Community for Better Schools PAC paid for Padget’s signs, campaign mailers, voter guide endorsements and full-page ads in the Yorba Linda and Placentia newspapers.
The union also offered to endorse Freeman, but the four-term incumbent didn’t accept because the union wasn’t endorsing two-term incumbent Wagner, said Linda Manion, APLE president who was involved in interviews with all three candidates.
Padget is now on full-time release from his Garden Grove teaching position to serve as president of that district’s teachers’ union. He noted, “With the support the community has shown along with the name recognition I have received from this election, you most probably will see my name on the ballot again in two years.”
The terms of Downey, Miller and Olson, unopposed in 2000 and 2004, expire in 2008. Downey took office in 2000, while Miller was first elected in 1988 and Olson in 1992.
A FINAL NOTE
Town Center Blue Ribbon Committee members finally selected officers at the group’s fifth monthly meeting in November. Sunrise Rotary Club and ex-county Grand Jury member Herb Trumpoldt is chair and Traffic Commissioner Larry Larsen vice chair.
Larsen replaces former commissioner and new Councilman John Anderson, while Pat Nelson steps in for Jim Horton, husband of new Councilwoman Jan Horton, as the representative from Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Redevelopment.
The blue ribbon body is stepping up the pace, with plans to survey residents about what they want and don’t want in the Town Center and to host meetings for community input.
After taking this month off, the 24-member group will meet twice in January.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 AM
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