Seven And Counting...
BUNYAN, AGAIN
On Monday, April 1st, former candidate Chris Bunyan announced that, once again, he will attempt to capture one of the two seats being contested in November. He ran twice unsuccessfully previously, then moved to Corona del Mar for several years. I was unaware that he'd moved back to Costa Mesa, but knew he remained active in Banning Ranch issues. Brad Zint wrote about his announcement HERE.WEITZBERG, TOO
The next day former candidate Harold Weitzberg announced HIS candidacy. Zint wrote about it HERE. Weitzberg has remained very active since his failed attempt to land a seat two years ago, including participating in the ill-advised Charter Committee.JAY IS BACK
Then, late this afternoon, former councilman Jay Humphrey announced that he, also, will challenge the field for one of the seats in November. Humphrey has been the respectful voice of calm reason at the speaker's podium for years. HERE is Zint's coverage of that announcement.THE "LATINO"
Lee Ramos announced HIS candidacy late last year and Zint covered it HERE. THE KID
These men join Tony Capitelli - Dana Rohrabacher's aide - was the first candidate to announce his run last year, which Zint wrote about HERE.THE ANSWER
Katrina Foley, announced HER candidacy last month, and Hannah Fry covered it HERE.THE MAYOR
It is also widely presumed that Mayor Jim Righeimer will run for re-election, but I don't recall any official announcement. His term is up and Wendy Leece is termed out and has chosen to challenge perennial congressman Dana Rohrabacher for his seat in the House of Representatives.TOO MANY...
That gives us seven (7) candidates for two (2) seats, with several months to go before those intentions have to become final. They must officially register after July 14, 2014 and before August 8, 2014. If they register to run, then change
their mind after August 8th it will be too late to remove their names
from the ballot in November. You may recall that in the last election
two years ago James Rader decided he made a mistake the day after the deadline. He didn't campaign one little bit and still received 2,449 votes! And Al Melone chose to run without a prayer of gaining one of the three seats, but still gathered 3,658 votes. Those 6,000 plus votes might have made the difference in the razor-thin margin Gary Monahan held over John Stephens and even the final numbers of Colin McCarthy and Weitzberg - which could have changed the face of Costa Mesa politics dramatically over the past couple years. Here's what those results looked like:
Just in case you've forgotten how I felt about Righeimer's candidacy way back in 2010, HERE is what I wrote at the time.
SEVEN FOR SEVEN
So, off we go - seven months and seven candidates - so far - for the Costa Mesa City Council races. It's going to be a VERY long campaign season.Labels: Chris Bunyan, Colin McCarthy, Gary Monahan, Harold Weitzberg, Jay Humphrey, Jim Righeimer, John Stephens, Katrina Foley, Lee Ramos, Tony Capitelli
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 4/03/2014 11:47:00 PM
5 Comments:
Riggy had a kick-off event just last night. Shockingly, I was not invited.
The field sure got crowded in a hurry. Hopefully votes are not cannibalized - might behoove the electorate to focus on two for the two open spots. I guess the best way to ID them is to watch the comments and see who they slime the most, as those are the most feared.
Geoff, I agree.
While I am happy to see so many good candidates enter the race, I too am very concerned that the votes will be split.
We cannot afford that if we are to defeat the Righeimer/Baugh machine that is churning out lie after lie about the opposing candidates as we speak.
Sue Lester understood this is our last election and selflessly withdrew from the race to concentrate the votes.
We only have two seats open.
We cannot afford to split the votes.
Relax you guys. There is a long time to sort out who runs and who doesn't.
I like Jay Humphrey. When Jay was on the council he looked out for the Costa Mesa taxpayers. He kept the pension costs down, the budget in check, and the city ran smoothly.
He’ll do it again. Like you said, Potstirrer, he has a calm, reasonable approach. If we elect him we can get the City back to normal and taxpayers can rest a little easier. The current guys spend our money like drunken sailors.
It's easy to see by the comments in the Daily Pilot who will be Righeimer clones. I wonder if his endorsement is a plus or a minus? I guess it depends on if you ever watch the council on TV.
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