Election is good for giving residents a voice
Yorba Linda’s top political news for 2007 will be the same as the number one story last year--a hotly contested City Council election with the potential for determining future development standards in a community struggling to maintain its low-density heritage.
The forthcoming June 5 ballot will fill the council vacancy created by the resignation of former Mayor Mike Duvall, who voters so wisely dispatched to the state legislature.
Although costly, an election will result in a council member accountable to the citizenry, not indebted to a voting block configuration of the other council members, who tried and failed several times to agree on a replacement to fill the final two years of Duvall’s term.
Such an independent voice is well worth the price of a special vote, which could reach $160,000, especially since council members badly fumbled their attempt to craft a credible appointment process that didn’t smell of back-room political cronyism.
A council committee met behind closed doors to screen applications from 22 individuals, but no selection standards were announced in advance of the single private meeting held by Mayor Allen Castellano and newly elected Councilman John Anderson.
In a public session, council members conducted short question and answer sessions with six of the individuals whose applications were forwarded to the full council by Anderson and Castellano with no mention of the criteria used for evaluation.
Council members lobbed softball questions to some of the contenders, while other candidates were hit with fast-pitched hardballs.
And unfortunately for the poorly defined process, some council members communicated with some applicants in advance, while most candidates were left outside the “buddy system.”
Expected to activate candidacies during next month’s filing period are seven-term council veteran Hank Wedaa and last November’s third-place finisher Doug Dickerson.
If Wedaa runs, his former council ally Mark Schwing isn’t expected to file; and if Dickerson runs, former Councilwoman Keri Wilson probably won’t make the race.
Additional potential candidates include former Parks and Recreation Commissioner Steven Brunette and current Traffic Commissioner Larry Larsen. Others contenders might include some of the December applicants and a few who ran last November.
Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Redevelopment, which supported winners Anderson and Jan Horton in November, is poised to endorse and work for Wedaa.
To date, only two special elections have been held in the city’s nearly 40-year history: in March 2000 Ken Ryan won the council seat vacated by Gene Wisner by 1,169 votes and in June 2006 voters approved the Right-to-Vote initiative by 299 votes.
But both ballots were consolidated with already scheduled primary elections, so voter turnout was higher (20,339 in March 2000 and 13,940 in June 2006) than is anticipated for this stand-alone election. Last November, 23,354 Yorba Lindans cast ballots.
A FINAL NOTE
Five-time Mayor Hank Wedaa, whose two council stints included the years 1970-1994 and 1996-2000 for a 28-year city record, will celebrate his 83rd birthday Feb. 15.
Wedaa says his pledge to not seek another term in 2008 was based on being appointed to the vacant council post. He notes the vow is “off-the-table” if he’s elected in June.
Interestingly, Wedaa could run again in 2008 and 2012, whether or not he wins in June, since the term limit law, which went into effect Dec. 13, 1996, refers to “three full terms” and appointment to “more than one-half” of a term.
The forthcoming June 5 ballot will fill the council vacancy created by the resignation of former Mayor Mike Duvall, who voters so wisely dispatched to the state legislature.
Although costly, an election will result in a council member accountable to the citizenry, not indebted to a voting block configuration of the other council members, who tried and failed several times to agree on a replacement to fill the final two years of Duvall’s term.
Such an independent voice is well worth the price of a special vote, which could reach $160,000, especially since council members badly fumbled their attempt to craft a credible appointment process that didn’t smell of back-room political cronyism.
A council committee met behind closed doors to screen applications from 22 individuals, but no selection standards were announced in advance of the single private meeting held by Mayor Allen Castellano and newly elected Councilman John Anderson.
In a public session, council members conducted short question and answer sessions with six of the individuals whose applications were forwarded to the full council by Anderson and Castellano with no mention of the criteria used for evaluation.
Council members lobbed softball questions to some of the contenders, while other candidates were hit with fast-pitched hardballs.
And unfortunately for the poorly defined process, some council members communicated with some applicants in advance, while most candidates were left outside the “buddy system.”
Expected to activate candidacies during next month’s filing period are seven-term council veteran Hank Wedaa and last November’s third-place finisher Doug Dickerson.
If Wedaa runs, his former council ally Mark Schwing isn’t expected to file; and if Dickerson runs, former Councilwoman Keri Wilson probably won’t make the race.
Additional potential candidates include former Parks and Recreation Commissioner Steven Brunette and current Traffic Commissioner Larry Larsen. Others contenders might include some of the December applicants and a few who ran last November.
Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Redevelopment, which supported winners Anderson and Jan Horton in November, is poised to endorse and work for Wedaa.
To date, only two special elections have been held in the city’s nearly 40-year history: in March 2000 Ken Ryan won the council seat vacated by Gene Wisner by 1,169 votes and in June 2006 voters approved the Right-to-Vote initiative by 299 votes.
But both ballots were consolidated with already scheduled primary elections, so voter turnout was higher (20,339 in March 2000 and 13,940 in June 2006) than is anticipated for this stand-alone election. Last November, 23,354 Yorba Lindans cast ballots.
A FINAL NOTE
Five-time Mayor Hank Wedaa, whose two council stints included the years 1970-1994 and 1996-2000 for a 28-year city record, will celebrate his 83rd birthday Feb. 15.
Wedaa says his pledge to not seek another term in 2008 was based on being appointed to the vacant council post. He notes the vow is “off-the-table” if he’s elected in June.
Interestingly, Wedaa could run again in 2008 and 2012, whether or not he wins in June, since the term limit law, which went into effect Dec. 13, 1996, refers to “three full terms” and appointment to “more than one-half” of a term.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 AM
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