Fresh, familiar names dot Nov. 6 ballot
Fresh faces and familiar names dot the ballot for governing board races involving Yorba Linda voters, with several first-time candidates challenging a few long-time incumbents in the Nov. 6 general election.
However, some incumbents will be named to new terms because nobody filed to run against them, including board members in the Yorba Linda Water District, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District and North Orange County Community College District.
Mike Beverage and Ric Collett, water directors since 1992 and 2004; Carol Downey, Eric Padgett and Judi Carmona, school trustees since 2000, 2008 and 2010; and Leonard Lahtinen, Molly McClanahan and Mike Matsuda, college trustees since 1990, 1995 and 2005, will begin new four-year terms in December without facing voters.
One college trustee representing nearly all of Yorba Linda and the Yorba Linda county islands in the new Area 7, did draw an opponent, as M. Tony Ontiveros of Anaheim, a board member since 1999, will face challenger Monika Koos of La Habra.
Matsuda of Yorba Linda will represent new Area 5 that includes a small portion of southwest Yorba Linda, and Jeff Brown of Yorba Linda, whose term ends in 2014, represents new Area 6, which includes a small section of central-west Yorba Linda.
Previously, the seven college trustees, while required to live in the area they represent, were elected district-wide. Now, they’ll be selected only by the voters from their areas, which should cut campaign costs considerably for challengers of long-time incumbents.
Yorba Linda’s rep at the Orange County Water District, which administers ground water supplies, also faces a challenge, with Roger Yoh of Buena Park, an Area 3 director since 2004, up against Frank Alonzo, a Ron Paul enthusiast from Cypress.
Of course, most Yorba Lindans are eyeing the race for a majority of seats on the City Council, a contest that’s drawn two incumbents and five long-time residents who are first-time candidates for the four-year positions on the city’s governing body.
Mark Schwing, seeking a fifth term, and Nancy Rikel, campaigning for a second, are aligned with attorney Kennith Peterson to expand a panel majority that includes John Anderson, who was re-elected in 2010.
Incumbent Jim Winder wasn’t eligible to run for a fourth term, since he first took office in 2000, after the city’s three-term limit law was in force. Schwing, who started his third term just days before the voter-approved law was effective in 1996, can run for two more.
Other contenders--city residents from 18 to 35 years--are Todd Cooper, who owns an antique map and print business; Gene Hernandez, a retired Chino police chief; Lou Knappenberger, a retired 29-year Brea police officer who owns a hardware marketing company; and Craig Young, owner of The Lincoln Partners, a real estate investment firm.
Hernandez, Knappenberger and Young say they aren’t running as a slate, but they’ve had discussions, and they all agree with the statement, “We are three independent people who would like to change the process of how business is conducted at the City Council level.”
However, some incumbents will be named to new terms because nobody filed to run against them, including board members in the Yorba Linda Water District, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District and North Orange County Community College District.
Mike Beverage and Ric Collett, water directors since 1992 and 2004; Carol Downey, Eric Padgett and Judi Carmona, school trustees since 2000, 2008 and 2010; and Leonard Lahtinen, Molly McClanahan and Mike Matsuda, college trustees since 1990, 1995 and 2005, will begin new four-year terms in December without facing voters.
One college trustee representing nearly all of Yorba Linda and the Yorba Linda county islands in the new Area 7, did draw an opponent, as M. Tony Ontiveros of Anaheim, a board member since 1999, will face challenger Monika Koos of La Habra.
Matsuda of Yorba Linda will represent new Area 5 that includes a small portion of southwest Yorba Linda, and Jeff Brown of Yorba Linda, whose term ends in 2014, represents new Area 6, which includes a small section of central-west Yorba Linda.
Previously, the seven college trustees, while required to live in the area they represent, were elected district-wide. Now, they’ll be selected only by the voters from their areas, which should cut campaign costs considerably for challengers of long-time incumbents.
Yorba Linda’s rep at the Orange County Water District, which administers ground water supplies, also faces a challenge, with Roger Yoh of Buena Park, an Area 3 director since 2004, up against Frank Alonzo, a Ron Paul enthusiast from Cypress.
Of course, most Yorba Lindans are eyeing the race for a majority of seats on the City Council, a contest that’s drawn two incumbents and five long-time residents who are first-time candidates for the four-year positions on the city’s governing body.
Mark Schwing, seeking a fifth term, and Nancy Rikel, campaigning for a second, are aligned with attorney Kennith Peterson to expand a panel majority that includes John Anderson, who was re-elected in 2010.
Incumbent Jim Winder wasn’t eligible to run for a fourth term, since he first took office in 2000, after the city’s three-term limit law was in force. Schwing, who started his third term just days before the voter-approved law was effective in 1996, can run for two more.
Other contenders--city residents from 18 to 35 years--are Todd Cooper, who owns an antique map and print business; Gene Hernandez, a retired Chino police chief; Lou Knappenberger, a retired 29-year Brea police officer who owns a hardware marketing company; and Craig Young, owner of The Lincoln Partners, a real estate investment firm.
Hernandez, Knappenberger and Young say they aren’t running as a slate, but they’ve had discussions, and they all agree with the statement, “We are three independent people who would like to change the process of how business is conducted at the City Council level.”
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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