A clear view of a small field
Two former City Council members--who were in opposite camps during the hard-fought municipal election last November--are the best-known contenders in the special election to fill a council seat left vacant four months ago by state Assemblyman Mike Duvall.
The June 5 ballot will be Yorba Linda’s second-ever “stand alone” special election, and the first to ask residents to mark one vote for the single position appearing on the ballot.
Past special elections have been combined with primary and general elections, aiding voter turnout. The other “stand alone” ballot was in 1967, when residents cast up to six votes--for or against incorporation and for five potential council members.
Entering the race with the most name recognition are Hank Wedaa, 83, and Keri Wilson, 46, who’ve drawn a lesser-known competitor, Victoria Gulickson, 40 (no relation to former three-term Councilman John Gullixson).
Gulickson, a recent resident whose husband has lived in Yorba Linda for more than 20 years, was one of 22 applicants who sought appointment to the council last December.
She was not among the seven selected during a closed-door council committee meeting for a later public interview before the full council in a widely criticized, ill-fated process.
Wedaa, a five-time mayor, was elected to the council seven times, serving from 1970 to 1994 and 1996 to 2000. Wilson was elected to one term in 2002 and was mayor in 2005.
Although Wedaa never lost a council contest, he was defeated for a Yorba Linda Water District board of directors seat in 2000; and he lost a bid to fill one of six 72nd Assembly District positions on the county Republican Central Committee the same year.
Wilson, who won her 2002 to 2006 council seat by three votes, placed fifth in her re-election race last year, running 1,456 votes behind second-place finisher John Anderson.
Wedaa was the only current or past council member to endorse winners Jan Horton and Anderson in the contest focusing on density, redevelopment and listening to the public.
Last year, Wilson earned endorsements from council colleagues Allen Castellano, Mike Duvall, Ken Ryan and Jim Winder and 19 of 20 council-appointed city commissioners.
This year, Wedaa’s 30-name nominating petition included signatures from two current (Anderson and Winder) and two past (Irwin Fried and Mark Schwing) council members.
Another conflict involving Wedaa and Wilson concerns a hard-edged paid newspaper advertisement that Wedaa admits he placed five days before the November 2006 vote.
Wedaa’s unsigned text targeted Wilson and candidate Doug Dickerson for pushing high-density downtown redevelopment plans and blamed Wilson, along with Castellano and Winder, for failing to “respond appropriately to the reports of increases in Part I crime.”
A FINAL NOTE
Four residents who took out but didn’t return nomination papers to run for the vacant council position included past candidates Steven Brunette, Doug Dickerson and Diana Hudson and political newcomer Jim Fitzsimmons.
Brunette, an attorney, withdrew from the 2006 contest after his name could be removed from the ballot, while Dickerson, a retired Brea police captain, placed third and Hudson, a California Dental senior account executive, fifth in the 10-candidate race for two seats.
Fitzsimmons is a land use planner at Daly International, which has an office in Irvine.
And former Councilman Ken Ryan e-mailed that he left planning firm EDAW for a partnership at KTGY, an architecture and planning group, both with offices in Irvine.
The June 5 ballot will be Yorba Linda’s second-ever “stand alone” special election, and the first to ask residents to mark one vote for the single position appearing on the ballot.
Past special elections have been combined with primary and general elections, aiding voter turnout. The other “stand alone” ballot was in 1967, when residents cast up to six votes--for or against incorporation and for five potential council members.
Entering the race with the most name recognition are Hank Wedaa, 83, and Keri Wilson, 46, who’ve drawn a lesser-known competitor, Victoria Gulickson, 40 (no relation to former three-term Councilman John Gullixson).
Gulickson, a recent resident whose husband has lived in Yorba Linda for more than 20 years, was one of 22 applicants who sought appointment to the council last December.
She was not among the seven selected during a closed-door council committee meeting for a later public interview before the full council in a widely criticized, ill-fated process.
Wedaa, a five-time mayor, was elected to the council seven times, serving from 1970 to 1994 and 1996 to 2000. Wilson was elected to one term in 2002 and was mayor in 2005.
Although Wedaa never lost a council contest, he was defeated for a Yorba Linda Water District board of directors seat in 2000; and he lost a bid to fill one of six 72nd Assembly District positions on the county Republican Central Committee the same year.
Wilson, who won her 2002 to 2006 council seat by three votes, placed fifth in her re-election race last year, running 1,456 votes behind second-place finisher John Anderson.
Wedaa was the only current or past council member to endorse winners Jan Horton and Anderson in the contest focusing on density, redevelopment and listening to the public.
Last year, Wilson earned endorsements from council colleagues Allen Castellano, Mike Duvall, Ken Ryan and Jim Winder and 19 of 20 council-appointed city commissioners.
This year, Wedaa’s 30-name nominating petition included signatures from two current (Anderson and Winder) and two past (Irwin Fried and Mark Schwing) council members.
Another conflict involving Wedaa and Wilson concerns a hard-edged paid newspaper advertisement that Wedaa admits he placed five days before the November 2006 vote.
Wedaa’s unsigned text targeted Wilson and candidate Doug Dickerson for pushing high-density downtown redevelopment plans and blamed Wilson, along with Castellano and Winder, for failing to “respond appropriately to the reports of increases in Part I crime.”
A FINAL NOTE
Four residents who took out but didn’t return nomination papers to run for the vacant council position included past candidates Steven Brunette, Doug Dickerson and Diana Hudson and political newcomer Jim Fitzsimmons.
Brunette, an attorney, withdrew from the 2006 contest after his name could be removed from the ballot, while Dickerson, a retired Brea police captain, placed third and Hudson, a California Dental senior account executive, fifth in the 10-candidate race for two seats.
Fitzsimmons is a land use planner at Daly International, which has an office in Irvine.
And former Councilman Ken Ryan e-mailed that he left planning firm EDAW for a partnership at KTGY, an architecture and planning group, both with offices in Irvine.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
<< Home