Uncontested Elections: Do You Want to Run?
Posted by: Chris Emami | 08/06/2008 10:34 PM
There remain two days of candidate filing at the Registrar of Voters. I've done a quick survey of the school district and special district seats where the number of people who have pulled papers does not exceed the number of seats. For these people, if no one else pulls papers, the election will not appear on the ballot and they will be declared elected. (Don't forget: people do need to file papers to appear on the ballot; I'm only examining whose pulled papers.)
Competition is good for democracy, and I encourage all Red County/OC Blog readers to take a look at these offices and consider running. The voters should have a choice in November.
I've created three categories.
In the first category, at least one more person could run, and the election would still be removed from the ballot and the candidates declared elected. If all the incumbents do not file by this Friday, the filing period will be extended for nonincumbents until Wednesday, August 13.
In the second category, if no one else runs, the election would be cancelled and the candidates automatically elected. However, if even just one more person runs, the election is on the ballot and the voters will have their say. Except in Orange Unified, filing in these races will be extended until Wednesday, August 13 (if the incumbents do not file by Friday).
In the third category, all the incumbents are running and no challengers have emerged. If no challenger is running by Friday, then these elections will be cancelled and the incumbents declared re-elected.
For any race that is not in any one of these categories, sufficient numbers of candidates have pulled papers that (assuming they all file their papers) the election will appear on the ballot and the voters will have to pick who will represent them in these school and special districts.
More Seats Than People Who Have Pulled Papers
Brea-Olinda Unified School District (2 people pulled papers, with 3 seats up for election)
Rossmoor Community Services District (1 person pulled papers, with 3 seats up for election)
Three Arch Bay Community Services District (1 person pulled papers, with 3 seats up for election)
Sunset Beach Sanitary District (2 people pulled papers, with 3 seats up for election)
# Seats = Number of People Who Have Pulled Papers
Capistrano Unified School District, Trustee Area 1
Fountain Valley School District
Silverado-Modjeska Recreation and Parks District
Orange Unified School District, Trustee Area 6 (Filing for this seat will not be extended to August 13, as there is no eligible incumbent for the seat)
Each Incumbent - and Only the Incumbent(s) - Pulled Papers
Community College Districts
North Orange County Community College District, Trustee Area 3
Coast Community College District, Trustee Area 3
School Districts
Capistrano Unified School District, Trustee Area 2
Irvine Unified School District
Laguna Beach Unified School District
Los Alamitos Unified School District
Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Trustee Area 1
Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Trustee Area 3
Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Trustee Area 6
Orange Unified School District, Trustee Area 2
Saddleback Valley Unified School District
Fullerton Joint Union High School District
Huntington Beach Union High School District
Buena Park School District
Cypress School District
Magnolia School District
Ocean View School District
Savanna School District
Water Districts
Serrano Water District, Division 2
Serrano Water District, Division 3
Serrano Water District, Division 5
El Toro Water District
Irvine Ranch Water District
Moulton Niguel Water District, Division 1
Moulton Niguel Water District, Division 5
Moulton Niguel Water District, Division 7
East Orange County Water District
Mesa Consolidated Water District, Division 1
Mesa Consolidated Water District, Division 2
Mesa Consolidated Water District, Division 3
Orange County Water District, Division 2
Orange County Water District, Division 3
Orange County Water District, Division 4
Orange County Water District, Division 6
Municipal Water District of Orange County, Division 3
Municipal Water District of Orange County, Division 4
Library Districts
Buena Park Library District
Placentia Library District
What a terrible idea...I don't want someone who decides at the last minute to run for office because he doesn't want an incumbent to go unchallenged. That is not what I call leadership.
Do us all a favor and if this post, two days before filing, is the impetus for your candidacy. Don't do it.
Adam,
That's a narrow-minded view.
1. A key value of a challenger is not that they'll win, but that they make the incumbent actually work for the votes. There is tremendous value for our democracy is having the incumbents clearly state why s/he deserves another term. Bad things tend to pile up when incumbents think they "own" a seat instead of thinking they serve at the please of their constituents.
2. Running for office is a *lot* of work, so the kind of person you want for office -- the kind who has a life outside politics -- *should* be hesitant to pull papers. Running against an incumbent is hard enough. Doing so in a crowded field is even harder. The kind of challenger you want *should* be waiting for a year like this when they will have a clear shot at the incumbent.
Two additional points: first, the school budget woes mean this is not a fun year to be on a school board. Second, a popular liberal at the top of the ticket is going to make it harder for radical-social-conservative "stealth" candidates to sneak past the electorate so in low turnout election, so that constituency is probably sitting out this electoral cycle as well.
If you're reading this post, and thinking about pulling papers.
Go to the Registrar's office NOW!
How are places on a ballot decided? Who gets the first slot, etc.
Ballot positions are determined by the lottery type drawing in Sacramento in about two weeks.
(The draw letters. For example if "S" was the first drawn, candidates with a last name being with "S" would be first.
Looks like Adam doesn't want some of his buddies to face a challenge this year.
I say no one deserves a free ride!
Actually what Adam said was that if the post was the impetus to run, don't do it.
However, if you have a genuine interest in providing leadership for a water district, school district, etc., then by all means, file your paperwork!
We don't need anymore Steve Roccos who pull papers and file for kicks.
Adam is spot on.
If a candidate wants to lead, be a part of an council or board he/she cares about, then great, please run.
If, however, the candidate runs just to waste everyone's time, then forget it. The campaign would be more about the person and not the issues.
We have too much of that in OC now as it is.