Will YLRRR play a part in June 5 election?
Will the grassroots group Yorba Linda Residents for Responsible Representation (formerly Redevelopment) record another civic victory or will a two-year string of impressive political triumphs come to an end?
That question will be answered June 5, when absentee ballots and precinct votes are tallied in the special election for a vacant City Council seat.
YLRRR’s five straight wins include gathering 8,647 signatures on the citizen-sponsored Right-to-Vote on Land-Use Amendments initiative in summer 2005 and 9,790 and 9,771 signatures on two petitions to overturn high-density Old Town zoning in winter 2005-6.
The high signature count on the latter petitions led Council members Allen Castellano, Ken Ryan, Keri Wilson and Jim Winder to rescind the unpopular zoning laws and eliminate the Redevelopment Agency’s eminent domain authority.
YLRRR members also won a March 2006 legal battle to keep the Right-to-Vote initiative on the ballot, and YLRRR campaigners won a narrow 299-vote victory for Measure B in June 2006, despite a city-record $174,150 raised in opposition by the building industry.
Next, YLRRR-endorsed council candidates Jan Horton and John Anderson won 8,293 and 6,684 votes to defeat retired Brea police captain Doug Dickerson (5,903 votes), Wilson (5,228 votes) and six other candidates in November 2006.
The current contest pits YLRRR-endorsed Hank Wedaa (past council tenure: 1970-1994 and 1996-2000) against Wilson (2002-2006) and ballot newcomer Victoria Gulickson.
But not all YLRRRers agree with the nine-member board’s Wedaa endorsement, and only 22 people attended the last YLRRR meeting, featuring a Wedaa talk on the city’s real and perceived problems.
Two sparkplugs for past YLRRR successes, Councilwoman Jan Horton and her husband, former YLRRR board member Jim Horton, aren’t endorsing any of the contenders.
Wilson is running a more aggressive campaign this time by touting her density record, her participation in negotiations to end the school district’s lawsuit against the city’s Redevelopment Agency and her “mental alertness and physical stamina” for the job.
Former councilman and current water board director Mike Beverage, a longtime Wedaa nemesis, is working as a volunteer on Wilson’s campaign mailers and signs. The Beverage-Wedaa feud, which extends back 25 years, is legendary in local politics.
The bickering between Wedaa and Wilson might benefit Gulickson, since she wasn’t involved in the recent Town Center debates or earlier controversies about the Imperial Highway Improvement Project or the removal of 27-year City Manager Art Simonian.
Even staunch Wedaa supporter Anderson notes Gulickson “is worthy of…consideration should you choose not to vote for…Wedaa.” Castellano favors Wilson, while Winder hasn’t made an endorsement, although he signed Wedaa’s nomination petition.
A FNAL NOTE
With no other offices or issues on the ballot, Yorba Linda’s 40,885 registered voters might deliver the smallest turnout percentage in city history.
Candidates and supporters are walking precincts and pushing absentee ballots to eke out every possible vote, and residents should expect more tough-talk, late-in-the-campaign mailers.
That question will be answered June 5, when absentee ballots and precinct votes are tallied in the special election for a vacant City Council seat.
YLRRR’s five straight wins include gathering 8,647 signatures on the citizen-sponsored Right-to-Vote on Land-Use Amendments initiative in summer 2005 and 9,790 and 9,771 signatures on two petitions to overturn high-density Old Town zoning in winter 2005-6.
The high signature count on the latter petitions led Council members Allen Castellano, Ken Ryan, Keri Wilson and Jim Winder to rescind the unpopular zoning laws and eliminate the Redevelopment Agency’s eminent domain authority.
YLRRR members also won a March 2006 legal battle to keep the Right-to-Vote initiative on the ballot, and YLRRR campaigners won a narrow 299-vote victory for Measure B in June 2006, despite a city-record $174,150 raised in opposition by the building industry.
Next, YLRRR-endorsed council candidates Jan Horton and John Anderson won 8,293 and 6,684 votes to defeat retired Brea police captain Doug Dickerson (5,903 votes), Wilson (5,228 votes) and six other candidates in November 2006.
The current contest pits YLRRR-endorsed Hank Wedaa (past council tenure: 1970-1994 and 1996-2000) against Wilson (2002-2006) and ballot newcomer Victoria Gulickson.
But not all YLRRRers agree with the nine-member board’s Wedaa endorsement, and only 22 people attended the last YLRRR meeting, featuring a Wedaa talk on the city’s real and perceived problems.
Two sparkplugs for past YLRRR successes, Councilwoman Jan Horton and her husband, former YLRRR board member Jim Horton, aren’t endorsing any of the contenders.
Wilson is running a more aggressive campaign this time by touting her density record, her participation in negotiations to end the school district’s lawsuit against the city’s Redevelopment Agency and her “mental alertness and physical stamina” for the job.
Former councilman and current water board director Mike Beverage, a longtime Wedaa nemesis, is working as a volunteer on Wilson’s campaign mailers and signs. The Beverage-Wedaa feud, which extends back 25 years, is legendary in local politics.
The bickering between Wedaa and Wilson might benefit Gulickson, since she wasn’t involved in the recent Town Center debates or earlier controversies about the Imperial Highway Improvement Project or the removal of 27-year City Manager Art Simonian.
Even staunch Wedaa supporter Anderson notes Gulickson “is worthy of…consideration should you choose not to vote for…Wedaa.” Castellano favors Wilson, while Winder hasn’t made an endorsement, although he signed Wedaa’s nomination petition.
A FNAL NOTE
With no other offices or issues on the ballot, Yorba Linda’s 40,885 registered voters might deliver the smallest turnout percentage in city history.
Candidates and supporters are walking precincts and pushing absentee ballots to eke out every possible vote, and residents should expect more tough-talk, late-in-the-campaign mailers.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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