View the interview at https://youtu.be/4zjc_ssHY8g

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Former Lemon Grove Councilman George Gastil is poised to regain his seat.

November 7, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – Who are the potential newest faces on East County City Councils—and what was it like to campaign amid a pandemic?

ECM invited all non-incumbents leading in East County City Council races as of November 5 for a Zoom interview to share secrets of their apparent successes and what they hope to accomplish if they win their elections to become the newcomers on local councils.

By Miriam Raftery

November 7, 2020 (San Diego) – All major TV networks including Fox, CNN, CBS and NBC as well as the Associated Press today declared former Vice President Joe Biden the winner in the 2020 presidential election. The announcement came after Biden took a decisive lead in Pennsylvania, Biden’s birthplace. Biden and his  Vice President-elect, California Senator Kamala Harris, have captured at least 290 electoral votes – substantially more than the 270 needed for victory, with not enough uncounted votes remaining to change the outcome.

Biden also leads in three remaining swing states as the final ballots are being tallied:  Nevada and two formerly conservative strongholds: Arizona and Georgia in the heart of Dixie and the Congressional district formerly represented by the late civil rights leader John Lewis.  In Arizona, the Navajo nation, which has had among the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths in the nation, had a 97% turnout rate and more than 97% cast votes for Biden.

He received more votes than any other presidential candidate in U.S. history – 74.5 million votes, surpassing Trump by over 4 million votes. In the end, Biden held onto every state won by Hilary Clinton in 2016, also regaining the rust let states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania while flipping some long-term red states blue, if his leads hold in the final states tallying votes. Trump, by contrast, did not flip a single state from blue to red.

Trump defiantly refused to concede the election and pledged to start “prosecuting our case in court" though legal experts thus far report such efforts appear to be long shots.

By Laurel Rosenhall, CalMatters

CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  President-elect Joe Biden arrives with his running mate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to speak in Wilmington, Deleware, on the evening before the Associated Press called the race for them. Her role is likely to be an asset for her home state of California. Photo by Carolyn Kaster, AP Photo

November 7, 2020 (Sacramento) - Goodbye, state of resistance. Hello, state of influence. 

Update November 9, 2020: Metschel has opened a lead of 57 votes. Letitia Dickerson has pulled into second place,with Stephanie Harper just 13 votes behind Dickerson

By Briana Gomez

Miriam Raftery and Jonathan Goetz also contributed to this story

Photo, Michelle Metschel (Left) and Stephanie Harper (Right)

November 4, 2020 (El Cajon) – Demonstrating that every vote counts, the top two candidates in El Cajon’s City Council District 2 were tied at 936 votes each through most of the night. This morning, Michelle Metschel has nosed ahead by a slim 44 vote margin (1,061 to 1,017) in a race that’s still far too close to call at 21.1% to 20.23%. A close third is Letitia Dickerson with 19.81 percent of votes.

Update Noveber 9, 2020:  Dustin Trotter has pulled ahead of Samm Hurst by a slim 14 vote margin, with more votes remaining to be tallied. See all current results at SDVote.com.

Term limits win approval; Assemblyman Voepel is reelected

By Mike Allen

November 4, 2020 (Santee) -- With about 64 percent of the vote tallied as of early Nov. 4, Mayor John Minto was leading challenger Councilman Stephen Houlahan in the Santee mayoral race.

Minto, who was elected mayor in 2016, has 53 percent of the vote to Houlahan’s 47 percent. Minto was out campaigning late on Election Day, and said he felt confident about his prospects to retain the mayor’s job.

In District 4, Samm Hurst, a UCSD professor, held a 4 percentage lead over Dustin Trotter, a contractor. The vote separation as of the latest tally totaled only 246.

Houlahan and Hurst ran on a platform that included opposition to Fanita Ranch, the controversial housing project which Minto voted to approve just weeks before the election. The project has long divided the community in a battle that has spanned 20 years.

Source: San Diego County Sheriff's Department

Prepared by: Melissa Aquino

November 4, 2020 (San Diego) - A new San Diego County Sheriff's Department service is now available to keep you informed. 

Call or text "Hello" to (858) 866-HELO (4356) to receive helicopter messages straight to your phone. 

Sheriff's ASTREA (helicopter) uses a loudspeaker when searching for a missing person or suspect. Announcements are also made during critical incidents such as a SWAT standoff, disasters, crowd management events or to give people a shelter in place notification.

This is not an automated or a push notification service. You still need to call or text "Hello" to (858) 866-HELO each time you hear Sheriff's ASTREA making announcements over your area.

By Henri Migala

Photo: Steve Vaus (left), Joel Anderson (right)

November 3, 2020 (San Diego's East County) - County Supervisor District 2 candidates Steve Vaus and Joel Anderson are virtually tied at the latest update provided by the San Diego Registrar of Voters unofficial election results.

At the latest update, posted at 10:26 p.m., Steve Vaus held a slight lead with 50.94% of the votes, and Joel Anderson having 49.06%.

Vaus and Anderson are running to fill the seat being vacated by Dianne Jacob due to term limits.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors controls a $5 billion budget and makes decision over a wide variety of social service programs, and on issues affecting your health and safety. Four billion, or 80%, of that budget is related to state and federal programs the county is required to administer, and one billion, or 20%, can be used for the Supervisors to establish their priorities.  Most of the $1 billion comes from local property taxes, so it is important for local citizens to know the supervisors’ priorities.

By Kendra Sitton

November 3, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- In the race to replace Representative Susan Davis in the 53^rd District, Sara Jacobs took a decisivie lead over City Council President Georgette Gomez. As of 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Gomez trailed by over 40,000 votes and conceded the race to Jacob.

Both candidates ran as progressives in a heavily blue district.

Georgette Gomez is San Diego’s current City Council President and representative of District 9. Before holding office; she was an environmental justice organizer.

Sara Jacobs has not held elected office before but she is the granddaughter of Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs. She has previously worked in the State Department and is a childhood anti-poverty advocate.

Both women are vying to fill the seat vacated by Susan Davis who is retiring. She previously held the seat for almost 20 years and was considered more moderate than her district.

Source: Joint news release issued by La Mesa Police Department, San Diego Police Department, and San Diego FBI

Photo by Jake Rose

November 3, 2020 (La Mesa) - – Two men are in custody, charged with arson and looting, in connection with destructive fires intentionally set in La Mesa during a protest that turned violent in May.

Trump rallies caused over 30,000 COVID cases and 800 deaths, Stanford researchers find

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2020 (Washington D.C.) – On Friday, the U.S. reported 100,233 new coronavirus infections in a single day – the highest daily total ever for any nation, Reuters reports.  The spike belies President Donald Trump’s claim during last week’s debate when he stated, “We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away.” 

Every second, the U.S. is now adding a new coronavirus case, overwhelming hospitals in many cities.  USA Today reports that some hospitals are running out of beds and staffers; as a result, the situation is so dire that some hospitals report they may soon have to ration care. 

Despite surviving coronavirus himself, the President has refused to set a role model for others to avoid transmission. Shortly after leaving the hospital he resumed holding in-person rallies to large crowds,  most not wearing masks. Now, Stanford researchers have found that Trump’s rallies between June and September alone were directly responsible for 30,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 700 deaths – including deaths of people who never attended the rallies, but were exposed by Trump supporters who did attend, CNBC reports.

East County News Service

Photo: Together We Can Do More: The Leon Williams Story (available now at shopaztecs.com)

October 30, 2020 (San Diego) -- On October 22, 2020, the Leon L. Williams San Diego County Human Relations Commission met to discuss the election climate and inform residents how to report voter intimidation or harassment.

The Commission released the following statement:

“The Leon L. Williams San Diego County Human Relations Commission promotes positive relations, respect, and the integrity of every individual regardless of gender, religion, culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or citizenship status. The Commission condemns racism, bigotry, white supremacy and hatred of any kind. Appreciating and respecting one another is of utmost importance during the election season. We want to reassure voters that our Commission and law enforcement is making safe peaceful voting a top priority. All eligible citizens have the right to vote in a peaceful manner. We urge all to respect differing points of view and to be able to peacefully disagree with one another. We implore the public to continue this level of understanding after the election and call for civility while exercising our civic duty.”

East County News Service

October 30, 2020 (Sacramento) -- Starting Saturday, October 31, Californians will be eligible for an additional seven weeks of benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. The increase to 46 weeks is available for those who are reaching the end of their initial 39 weeks of benefits that they started as early as February 2. The process for re-computing the PUA claims is expected to take two weeks.  

By Miriam Raftery

View our video interview with Letitia Dickerson: click here

October 29, 2020 (El Cajon) -- Letitia Dickerson, one of six candidates running for El Cajon City Council in District two, calls the area the “forgotten district” while other parts of the city have seen growth. She pledges to make district two “unforgettable” if elected.

She missed our candidate forum because the city had an error her email address. (View forum with the other five candidates).  Fortunately, she’s reached out to ECM and conducted an interview via Zoom to talk about her goals if elected.   

According to her website, Letitia has lived in El Cajon for over 22 years and says at least 18 of those have been in district two. She was born in Jersey and calls herself “a Jersey girl with a California heart.” She’s gone from homeless to owning small businesses including a smoothie shop and gym, and now works in telecommunications.  She’s raised her children in the district and now has grandchildren here as well.  She’s an ordained evangelical and a Republican who is the coordinator of SoCal Day of Hope, a program that provides outreach and resources to people in need. She’s also volunteered with community nonprofits including Rescue Mission, Salvation Army,  San Diego Food Bank, San Diego Mentors, Promises for Kids and more.

Below are highlights from her interview.