October 25, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Water Company President Joel Scalzitti is squaring off against incumbent Helix Water District board member Richard K. Smith for the District 5 seat.  ECM sent a questionnaire to both candidates.  Smith declined to answer the questions, instead responding, “I refer you to my web site, www.richardsmithforhelixwaterdistrict5.com.

Scalzitti , who previously served on the Helix Board but left office 13 years ago due to residency questions as a result of a divorce, says he now meets residency requirements and owns and runs a  small ranch in Granite Hills.  He answered each question in detail and his responses are below.  Scalzitti’s website is http://www.joel4water.com/index.html

Common Cause seeks volunteers to monitor polls on Election Day

October 24, 2012 (San Diego)--This past June, San Diego witnessed an unprecedented surge in voter intimidation during the primary. A nationally funded voter suppression effort is expected to employ even harsher bullying tactics on November 6th, when even more voters will be exercising their fundamental right to cast a ballot.

October 23, 2012 (Otay) -- Three candidates are running for Otay Water District’s seat 2. ECM sent questionnaires to all three candidates. Only the incumbent, Mitch Thompson, responded. Thompson was appointed to fill a vacancy and his answers are below. Other candidates are David Krogh, a business financial analyst, and Tracy Lopez, an immunization program manager. 

October 22, 2012 (Washington D.C.) – In an open letter to the American people, 68 Nobel Prize winning scientists and physicians write:

“America’s economic future, the quality of our health, and the quality of our environment depend on our ability to continue America’s proud legacy of discovery and invention. As winners of the Nobel Prizes in science, we are proud of our contribution to the extraordinary advances American science has made in recent years. But we’re deeply concerned that without leadership and continued commitment to scientific research the next generation of Americans will not make and benefit from future discoveries.

By Nadin Abbott

October 22, 2012 (San Diego)—At a press conference called by active and retired members of the legal profession, prominent legal experts urged voters to reject Superior Court candidate Jim Miller. The County Bar Association found Miller “lacking qualifications.” Miller had previously been removed for cause as a Judge Pro Tempore and two weeks ago, had his endorsement by the Lincoln Club revoked.

The Honorable Howard Wiener, a retired judge, told media that “this press conference is to highlight the importance of a judicial election and the need to cast an informed vote.”

Secor to host town hall forum Oct. 23 to field questions directly from voters, challenges Hunter to show up

UPDATE: Location of the forum has changed due to a car damaging the original venue. The town hall will be held at the Escondido  Library, 239 S. Kalmia Street in Escondido.

"No voter's question should go unanswered," said Secor, who invites voters to email questions to him at David@DavidSecorforCongress.com.  The event will be filmed, and the video posted at www.DavidSecorforCongress.com

Fill Out Forms Online; Signature May Still Be Needed

October 20, 2012 -- If you want to vote in the Nov. 6 Presidential General Election, you must register by Monday, Oct. 22. You will need to register if you:

• are not currently registered
• recently moved
• recently changed your name
  

View a full video of the second presidential candidates debate. Read a text transcript of the entire debate.

October 19, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – In contrast to the first presidential debate, President Barack Obama came out swinging in the second debate held this week where questions were posed by undecided voters.  The President repeatedly rebutted claims made by Romney in a debate where even the moderator tossed in a fact check of her own.

By Janis Mork

October 16, 2012 (Spring Valley)- Civil engineer John Revels is running for the San Miguel Fire Board. In an exclusive interview with East County Magazine, he shared his views on his candidacy and the future of the fire district.

Revels was motivated to run because, “I got a flyer of what was going on at San Miguel fire board. I have nothing against Cal Fire; they are a great organization. I wanted to keep San Miguel independent as it’s always been [before the merger with Cal Fire]. So a year ago, I started attending meetings and talking to people, and I also went to meetings to speak to the board at Cuyamaca College.”

October 18, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – The editor of the Chaldean Times in Detroit, Michigan has asked that we provide a link to their recent articles on elections in which Chaldean candidates were running for office.  El Cajon has the second highest population of Iraqi Chaldean Christians in the U.S., after Detroit.

Upate: Patch.com has coverage of a Lemon Grove Council candidate debate:  http://patch.com/A-zfM4

Six candidates vie for seats

By Mark Gabrish Conlan

October 14, 2012 (Lemon Grove)--When the Republican Party swept the 2010 elections nationwide, their triumph stretched as far down as the small city of Lemon Grove in east San Diego County. The Lemon Grove City Council switched from a Democratic to a Republican majority, and in looking for items to cut from their budget they zeroed in on the city’s recreation department.

The vote wasn’t totally party-line. Democratic Mayor Mary Sessom joined Republican Councilmembers Mary England and Howard Cook in eliminating the recreation department and its annual budget of up to $260,000 per year, while Republican Councilmember Jerry Jones joined Democrat George Gastil in voting to keep it.

But the debate over community services versus fiscal responsibility, and the lingering bitterness of some Lemon Grove residents and civic activists over the Council targeting recreation to balance the city’s budget, has become the main theme of the 2012 Lemon Grove City Council race.

October 13, 2012 (Otay)—Incumbent Otay Water District board member Mark Robak faces three challengers for Seat 5: water manager David Charles, civil engineer Ronald Ripperger, and retired civil engineer Tim Stanton. East County Magazine sent a questionnaire to all of the candidates. Ripperger and Stanton did not respond.  Replies from Charles and Robak are published below.

By Janis Mork

October 12, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)- Challenger Barbara Stevens has been a writer/editor for over 35 years. She grew up in San Diego, attended Point Loma High School and San Diego State University.

She wants to focus “on the kids more so than adults, focus on student achievement, education, the students’ and districts’ needs.”Stevens was motivated to run because her daughter went through the district, graduating from Helix Charter in 2008 and recently graduating from California State University San Marcos.

East County wind projects among hot topics discussed by candidates for Congress, Assembly and Mayor

Story by Miriam Raftery, videos by Paul Kruze

View ECM’s videos from the San Diego Green Candidates Forum:

Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz2SAosb9-Y

Part II:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8rZTtkh7OY&feature=youtu.be

October 14, 2012 (San Diego)—November's election has big impacts for our region, our nation and our world--with San Diego poised to be a leader in the emerging green economy. 

Should our region’s needs be met by rooftop solar or industrial wind projects in our backcountry?  Should the San Onofre nuclear reactors be shut down?  How can we fuel San Diego’s economy and create green jobs? In what ways should transportation and water issues be addressed—and what about global climate change?  These were among the topics of lively discussion at the San Diego Green Candidates forum on October 4, where candidates for Congress, Assembly, Mayor and Supervisor shared their ideas on these important issues and more.

Video, full text, analysis, polls, and fact check links

By Miriam Raftery

October 14, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)—In a combative debate, Vice President Joe Biden and VP candidate Paul Ryan faced off at Kentucky Centre College last Thursday on both foreign and domestic policy issues.

Unlike President Barack Obama, who drew criticism  from supporters for being “too polite” in failing to counter attacks and even misleading statements by Mitt Romney in the presidential debate, a scrappy Biden defended the administration’s record with the aggressiveness of a prize fighter, calling out Ryan repeatedly on factual errors or exaggerations. Unflapped, Senator Ryan fired back some verbal barbs of his own as he made his case for a Romney-Ryan ticket and assailed the adminstration's record.