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Battle for Fullerton: The Field is Set

Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 10, 2012

Fullerton City Council Meeting(UPDATED SUNDAY 3/11 7:40 PM with most of the missing ballot designations.)

I realize I promised a post before midnight; I hope you’ll forgive five minutes delay.

In the Fullerton recall, voters will decide whether or not to recall City Councilmen Don Bankhead, Dick Jones, and Pat McKinley.  Each man’s recall is technically a separate race.  (I explained the logistics of the election in this post, as some of you may have read.)  Since each recall is technically a separate race, candidates had to pick one seat to run for.  (The Elections Code prevents them from running for more than one of the three seats at a time.)

So here’s a look at the candidates…

Running for Bankhead’s seat:

  • Rick Alvarez (R)Ballot Designation Not Yet Released by County Registrar or City Clerk Businessowner/Planning Commissioner
    A Fullerton Transportation & Circulation Commissioner, Alvarez originally pulled papers for all three seats.
  • Jane Rands (G) – Systems Engineer
    The Chair of the Fullerton Bicycle Users Subcommittee and Treasurer of the Green Party of Orange County, Rands originally pulled papers for all three seats.  She ran for the State Assembly in 2010.
  • Greg Sebourn (R) – Businessman/Educator
    The Chair of the Fullerton Citizen’s Infrastructure Review Commission and Assemblyman Chris Norby’s Alternate on the Republican Central Committee, Sebourn originally pulled papers for all three seats.  He ran for the City Council in 2010.
  • Paula Williams (D) – Public Employee
    Williams only pulled papers for this seat.

Running for Jones’s seat:

  • Dorothy A. Birsic (R) – Ballot Designation Not Yet Released by County Registrar or City Clerk
    Birsic only pulled papers for this seat.
  • Glenn P. Georgieff (D) – IT Specialist
    A former Fullerton Library Trustee, Georgieff only pulled papers this seat.
  • Matthew Hakim (D)Ballot Designation Not Yet Released by County Registrar or City Clerk Musician, Artist
    Hakim only pulled papers for this seat.
  • Travis Kiger (R) – Fullerton Planning Commissioner
    A Fullerton Planning Commissioner and blogger at Friends for Fullerton’s Future, Kiger only pulled papers for this seat.
  • Roberta J. Reid (NPP) – Student
    Reid originally pulled papers for all three seats.

Running for McKinley’s seat:

  • Doug Chaffee (D) – Business Attorney
    A former Fullerton Planning Commissioner, Chaffee pulled papers for all three seats.  He ran for the City Council in 2010.
  • Barry Levinson (R)Ballot Designation Not Yet Released by County Registrar or City Clerk Parks and Recreation Commissioner/Auditor
    A Fullerton Parks & Recreation Commissioner, Levinson pulled papers for all three seats. He ran for the City Council in 2010.
  • Sean Paden (R)Ballot Designation Not Yet Released by County Registrar or City Clerk Construction Attorney
    Paden only pulled papers for this seat.
  • Matthew Rowe (NPP) – Aerospace Project Manager
    Rowe orignally pulled papers for all three seats.

Tune in to OC Political after 6:00 AM for the wackiness of Central Committee and the partisan offices.

(As you might note, I’ve played it straight, reporting just the facts on this post, rather than doing any analysis.  In the interest of full disclosure, I should note my day job is working in the Fullerton office of Assemblyman Chris Norby, who served on the Fullerton City Council from 1984-2002.  One of my co-workers in the office is Fullerton City Councilman Bruce Whitaker, who was elected in 2010 and is not a target of the recall.)

Posted in Fullerton | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Battle for Fullerton: Thirteen Pull Papers for Council

Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 8, 2012

Fullerton City Council MeetingThe Fullerton recall elections will be on the same day as the June 5 Primary.  Fullerton voters will decide whether or not to recall Republican City Councilmen Don Bankhead, Dick Jones, and Pat McKinley.  I blogged about the recall here last week.

Here’s an update on the Fullerton Council candidates (thus far) in the recall replacement elections…

  • Richard Albarran: Registered as No Party Preference (Decline-to-State in the pre-Prop 14 parlance), Albarran pulled papers for all three seats.
  • Rick Alvarez: A Republican Fullerton Transportation & Circulation Commissioner, Alvarez pulled papers for all three seats.
  • Douglas Chaffee: A Democrat and former Fullerton Planning Commissioner, Chaffee pulled papers for all three seats.  He ran for the City Council in 2010.
  • David De Leon: A Republican, De Leon pulled papers for all three seats.
  • Glenn Georgieff: A Democrat and former Fullerton Library Trustee, Georgieff filed papers for Jones’s seat.
  • Matthew Hakim: A Democrat, Hakim pulled papers for Jones’s seat.
  • Travis Kiger: A Republican Fullerton Planning Commissioner and blogger at Friends for Fullerton’s Future, Kiger pulled papers for Jones’s seat.
  • Barry Levinson: A Republican Fullerton Parks & Recreation Commissioner, Levinson pulled papers for all three seats.  He ran for the City Council in 2010.
  • Jane Rands: The Chair of the Fullerton Bicycle Users Subcommittee and Treasurer of the Green Party of Orange County, Rands has filed papers for Bankhead’s seat.  She ran for the State Assembly in 2010.
  • Roberta Reid: A student registered as No Party Preference, Reid has filed for Jones’s seat.
  • Matthew Rowe: Registered as No Party Preference, Rowe has pulled papers for all thre seats.
  • Greg Sebourn: The Chair of the Fullerton Citizen’s Infrastructure Review Commission and Assemblyman Chris Norby’s Alternate on the Republican Central Committee, Sebourn pulled papers for all three seats.  He ran for the City Council in 2010.
  • Paula Williams: A Democrat, Williams pulled papers for Bankhead’s seat.

In a nutshell, here’s what it looks like…

9 possible candidates for Bankhead’s seat:

  • Richard Albarran (NPP)
  • Rick Alvarez (R)
  • Douglas Chaffee (D)
  • David De Leon (R)
  • Barry Levinson (R)
  • Jane Rands (G)
  • Matthew Rowe (NPP)
  • Greg Sebourn (R)
  • Paula Williams (D)

11 possible candidates for Jones’s seat:

  • Richard Albarran (NPP)
  • Rick Alvarez (R)
  • Douglas Chaffee (D)
  • David De Leon (R)
  • Glenn Georgieff (D)
  • Matthew Hakim (D)
  • Travis Kiger (R)
  • Barry Levinson (R)
  • Roberta Reid (NPP)
  • Matthew Rowe (NPP)
  • Greg Sebourn (R)

7 possible candidates for McKinley’s seat:

  • Richard Albarran (NPP)
  • Rick Alvarez (R)
  • Douglas Chaffee (D)
  • David De Leon (R)
  • Barry Levinson (R)
  • Matthew Rowe (NPP)
  • Greg Sebourn (R)

Candidate filing for the Fullerton Recall ends on March 9, the same deadline as most other offices on the June Primary ballot.

(As you might note, I’ve played it straight, reporting just the facts on this post, rather than doing any analysis.  In the interest of full disclosure, I should note my day job is working in the Fullerton office of Assemblyman Chris Norby, who served on the Fullerton City Council from 1984-2002.  One of my co-workers in the office is Fullerton City Councilman Bruce Whitaker, who was elected in 2010 and is not a target of the recall.)

Posted in Fullerton | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Illegal Ballot Designations That No One Will Bother to Challenge

Posted by Chris Nguyen on March 5, 2012

Looking through the candidate filing, I noticed a couple ballot designations that do not comply with the State Elections Code and Ballot Designation Regulations.  However, no one, not even their opponents, will bother to challenge them.

Fullerton City Council Recall Replacement

(Elections Code Section 13107(a) governs acceptable ballot designations.  Subparagraphs 1, 2, and 4 govern the designations of sitting elected officials, so only 13107(a)(3) applies to this post.)  A ballot designation must consist of the “principal professions, vocations, or occupations” of a candidate.  According to Secretary of State Regulation Section 20714(a):

  • “‘Profession’ means a field of employment requiring special education or skill and requiring knowledge of a particular discipline. The labor and skill involved in a profession is predominantly mental or intellectual, rather than physical or manual…”
  • “‘Vocation’ means a trade, a religious calling, or the work upon which a person, in most but not all cases, relies for his or her livelihood and spends a major portion of his or her time…”
  • “‘Occupation’ means the employment in which one regularly engages or follows as the means of making a livelihood…”

Roberta Reid has “Student” as her ballot designation.  Being a student is not a profession, vocation, or occupation, as defined by the Secretary of State’s regulations.  However, “student” is such a horrible designation that none of her opponents would challenge it.  Nearly any other ballot designation would help Reid, so anyone challenging the designation would probably be an ally.  I mean, really, who’s going to vote for a “student” on the ballot?

Note to all students running for office: Pick “Community Volunteer” as your ballot designation; it sounds good and is virtually unassailable for candidates without full-time jobs.

Democrats’ 55th Assembly District Central Committee

Molly A. Muro has “Business Opportunity Specialist” as her ballot designation.  Secretary of State Regulation Section 20716(e) specifically prohibits the word “specialist” as part of a ballot designation.  (Indeed, former Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi tried to user “Jobs/Economy Specialist” as his ballot designation in the 2010 Board of Equalization primary, but was forced to use “Jobs, Economy Analyst” instead.  Read more about Nakanishi’s attempt here from an old Red County post by Chris Emami and here from Nakanishi’s victorious opponent George Runner.)

However, no one is going to challenge Muro’s designation, even though “Business Opportunity Specialist” actually sounds pretty good.  The reason?  She’s one of three people running for six seats.  She will obviously win since three candidates for six seats means all the candidates win, and there’s still three vacancies left over.  Three more people could decide to run, and everyone running would still win.

Posted in Democrat Central Committee, Fullerton | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Norby Notes 4 – Mental Health’s Elusive Goal & “Bruce’s Law” Restates Obvious

Posted by Newsletter Reprint on March 2, 2012

This came over the wire from Assemblyman Norby’s office earlier this week:
Image
Norby Notes 4

February, 2012 | Issue 04

www.asm.ca.gov/Norby
Assemblymember.Norby@assembly.ca.gov

This Issue

Mental Health’s Elusive Goal

A physical ailment shows itself through X-rays, CAT scans, blood tests, malignant lumps or pain flashing from a certain body part. There is general consensus of Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 65th Assembly District, Fullerton | Tagged: , | Leave a Comment »

Battle for Fullerton: Rands, Reid, Kiger, Sebourn, Georgieff, and Anonymous Candidate Pull Papers for Council

Posted by Chris Nguyen on February 27, 2012

Fullerton City Council MeetingOn Tuesday, the Fullerton City Council voted to consolidate the recall elections with the June 5 Primary.  Fullerton voters will decide whether or not to recall Republican City Councilmen Don Bankhead, Dick Jones, and Pat McKinley.

Fullerton’s voters will also vote on replacements for each councilman should one, two, or all three of the recalls succeed.  (Remember, the recalls are not an all-or-nothing proposition.  The recalls of Bankhead, Jones, and McKinley are technically three separate elections, so it is possible that rather than all three surviving or all three being recalled, one could survive with two recalled or two could survive with the other recalled.)  Most people do expect an all-or-nothing result since the recalls seek to remove the three for the same reason, but that doesn’t necessarily have to happen.

In November, the other two councilmembers, Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva and Republican Bruce Whitaker, are up for election.  If his recall fails, Jones is up for election in November.  If his recall succeeds, Jones’s replacement is up for election in November.

If their respective recalls fail, Bankhead and McKinley are each up for re-election in 2014; if their respective recalls succeed, their respective replacements are each up for re-election in 2014.

Now, here’s a look at the Fullerton Council candidates (thus far) in the recall replacement elections…

Wednesday, February 22 was the first day Fullertonians could pull papers to run in the recall replacement elections.  On that day, two candidates pulled papers:

  • Jane Rands: The Chair of the Fullerton Bicycle Users Subcommittee and Treasurer of the Green Party of Orange County, Rands pulled papers for all three seats.  She ran for the State Assembly in 2010.
  • Roberta Reid: Registered as No Party Preference (Decline-to-State in the pre-Prop 14 parlance), Reid pulled papers for all three seats (but filed for Jones’s seat the following day).

On Thursday, February 23, two more candidates pulled papers to run:

  • Travis Kiger: A Republican Fullerton Planning Commissioner and blogger at Friends for Fullerton’s Future, Kiger pulled papers for Jones’s seat.
  • Greg Sebourn: The Chair of the Fullerton Citizen’s Infrastructure Review Commission and Assemblyman Chris Norby’s Alternate on the Republican Central Committee, Sebourn pulled papers for all three seats.  He ran for the City Council in 2010.

On Friday, February 24, one candidate pulled papers:

  • Glenn Georgieff: A Democrat and former Fullerton Library Trustee, Georgieff pulled papers for Jones’s seat.

Oddly, the candidate filing log notes, “In addition, one person has pulled papers for all three seats, but has not yet provided contact information.” (The bolding is in the original log and was not added by me.)  This anonymous candidate will need to reveal himself/herself by the close of filing, of course.

In a nutshell for those keeping track, all six candidates (Rands, Reid, Kiger, Sebourn, Georgieff, and the anonymous candidate) pulled papers for Jones’s seat (and Reid already filed for that seat).  Rands, Reid, Sebourn, and the anonymous candidate also pulled papers for Bankhead and McKinley’s seats (Kiger and Georgieff did not; and of course, Reid has filed for the Jones seat).

To reiterate for those keeping partisan scores of the councilmembers and candidates, Rands is a Green, Reid is a No Party Preference, Georgieff and Quirk-Silva are Democrats, while the rest (Bankhead, Jones, Kiger, McKinley, Sebourn, and Whitaker) are Republicans.  Remember, Councilmembers Quirk-Silva and Whitaker are not recall targets.

Candidate filing for the Fullerton Recall ends on March 9, the same deadline as most other offices on the June Primary ballot.

(As you might note, I’ve played it straight, reporting just the facts on this post, rather than doing any analysis.  In the interest of full disclosure, I should note my day job is working in the Fullerton office of Assemblyman Chris Norby, who served on the Fullerton City Council from 1984-2002.  One of my co-workers in the office is Fullerton City Councilman Bruce Whitaker, who was elected in 2010 and is not a target of the recall.)

Posted in Fullerton | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Fullerton Officials Have Got to Go

Posted by Former Blogger Chris Emami on January 31, 2012

Some big news recently has been with the potential recall of three Republican council members in Fullerton. This story has been covered very well by the bloggers at www.fullertonsfuture.org. People have asked me what my take is on the recall since the recall is targeting Republicans.

Usually my thought is that Republican money could be better spent targeting Democrats in the upcoming election. In this particular case though I am advocating that we do need to recall all three of these council members because they are hurting the Republican brand. The lone Democrat on the council Sharon Quirk-Silva is more conservative than the three targeted by the recall. Nobody on that council compares to Bruce Whitaker though who is a solid Republican on all issues.

I may not agree with Tony Bushala on every issue, but no matter what his motives are behind the recall these council members have simply got to go.

Posted in Fullerton | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »