Star Bales

CLOSE COUNCIL RACE IN EL CAJON; VOTERS APPROVE REDISTRICTING

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 9, 2016  (El Cajon) – With 43.6% of precincts counted,  a 10-candidate race for El Cajon City Council is still too close to call. There are three seats up—and currently, two challengers have edged ahead of incumbent Star Bales.

However voters handily approved Measure S, the redistricting proposal to establish district elections.  Measure S  has nearly 69% of the vote with 43.6% of precincts counted.


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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: SIGN OF THE TIMES

 

November 5, 2016 (El  Cajon)—Anonymous citizens have added commentary above and below a sign touting three conservative candidates for El Cajon City Council: Paul  Circo,  Star Bales and Bob McClellan. 

New signs cheekily note that these three candidates “did not show for debates,  did not show for a prayer vigil” (in response to a  police shooting), and “can’t spell their own name on their own signs,” a reference to a misspelling in McClellan’s name.


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HEAR OUR INTERVIEW WITH EL CAJON'S NEWEST COUNCILMEMBER STAR BALES

 

July 4, 2014 (El Cajon) -- Janis Mork, host of East County Magazine Show's People Power segment, sat down last month for an interview with Star Bales, El Cajon's recently appointed Councilmember and one of the first Iraqi Chaldean women to hold public office in the United States.  Councilmember Bales shared her thoughts on key issues of interest to residents in the El Cajon community--and why she's proud to be an American.

You can now hear an audiocast of our interview here: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/au...

Audio: 

Download: Audio icon PeoplePower-StarBales.mp3

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EL CAJON’S NEW COUNCILWOMAN SPEAKS TO LOCAL REALTORS

 

By Janis Russell

March 27, 2014 (El Cajon)—“I think it’s being in the right place at the right time,” El Cajon Councilwoman Star Bales said of her appointment to the City Council.  Bales admits she was shocked to be chosen by Councilmembers, adding that she is “in the process of learning while working with them.” 

Bales made the remarks at the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), Government Affairs Committee meeting on March 19.


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CARD ROOM LOSES APPEAL IN EL CAJON

 

By Julian Rudd-Falls

January 15, 2014 (El Cajon) -- Yesterday, two Chaldean men made an appeal to the El Cajon City Council. Shamon Korkis, owner of the URE Restaurant in El Cajon, has applied  for a card room license and been denied. He was an accompanied by a friend, Sam Abbod, who served as translator.

This restaurant has a troubled past. There have been over 20 complaints and Police Chief Jim Redman testified that  the police have found illegal gambling and unlawful selling of alcoholic beverages there in the past. However, Mr.Korkis is the new owner of this establishment, and the vast majority of these complaints were made against the previous owner.


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EL CAJON CITY COUNCIL APPOINTS INSTAR BALES TO FILL VACANT CITY COUNCIL SEAT

Instar "Star" Bales takes oath of office, alongside her husband, Gerald

By Janis Mork

December 19, 2013 (El Cajon)- At Tuesday’s El Cajon City Council meeting, Council appointed InStar Bales, an Iraqi Chaldean woman who has served on the planning commission, to fill the Council vacancy after interviewing 27 candidates.

After the meeting, Bales told ECM that she is “very honored” to be chosen.  “When Councilman Bob McClellan said my name, I cried a little bit,” admitted Bales, whose integrity and willigness to stand up against special interests as a planning commission member were key factors in Council's decision to select her.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.

WELLS APPOINTED MAYOR IN EL CAJON, OPENING COUNCIL VACANCY

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 13, 2013 (El Cajon )--El Cajon’s City Council voted unanimously yesetrday to appoint Councilman Bill Wells to fill the vacancy left by Mayor Mark Lewis’s resignation.  Council also voted to have an application and list of qualifications drawn up within a week for residents interested in seeking appointment to fill the vacancy on the City Council  left by Wells’ ascension to mayor.

A crowd filled the Council Chambers, with many community members came to voice their views on how the city should fill its leadership positions.


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