Residents question high cost of weed cutting by private contractor

By Grey Feathers

June 24, 2014 El Cajon – The City Council of El Cajon considered issues from a retired police dog to hookah lounges as Mayor Bill Wells gaveled in Tuesday’s meeting.

Councilmember Star Bales displayed items purchased at the El Cajon ‘America on Main Street’ event that she will proudly wear at the Fourth of July celebration at Kennedy Park (photo, left). The Council then voted to retire and release ownership of El Cajon Police dog “Turbo” to Officer Thompson, Turbo’s experienced and sole handler.  Happy retirement Turbo!

The longest discussion of the meeting concerned filing liens on properties of owners who owe money to the City for weed abatement, mandatory trash service and sidewalk repair. The staff recommendation was to authorize the City Clerk to record the amount owed as a lien on the property  and forward the list to the County Tax Assessor for billing on the owner’s next property tax bill.

By Miriam Raftery

June 18, 2014 (San Francisco) – Voters don’t have the right to know who is paying for ballot initiatives before signing a petition to put measures on the ballot, a federal court has ruled. By a slim 2-1 vote, the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals this week overturned a California election law that had required this information be disclosed on petitions presented by signature gatherers.

By Stevon Marshall and Miriam Raftery

June 14, 2014 (San Diego)—Two Democratic Council members, Myrtle Cole and David Alvarez, won their races outright in districts 4 and 8, with over 50% of the vote in recent primary, so they won’t have to vie in a run-off race in November.  Republican Lori Zapf,  a Councilwoman who had to run in a different district due to reapportionment, also won her district 2 race with over 50%.

June 6, 2014 (San Diego County) - The voter turnout in the San Diego County for the June third primary elections surpassed expectations of a low turnout, the results were 20% equalling to 1 in 5 registered voters casting a ballot.

By Stevon Marshall and Trevor Hill

June 6, 2014 (San Diego) — Results of Tuesday’s primary races for City Council have raised hopes among Republicans of reducing the power of San Diego’s Democratic majority.

Two Democratic Council members, Myrtle Cole and David Alvarez, won their races outright in districts 4 and 8, with over 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary, so they won’t have to vie in a run-off race in November. Republican Lori Zapf, a Councilwoman who had to run in a different district due to reapportionment, also won her district 2 race with over 50%.

But in district 6, Republican Chris Cate will face off against Democrat Carol Kim in the fall. If Cate wins, Republicans would narrow Democrats’ balance of power on the Council to a slim one-vote majority.

Photo:  James Kimber(D) will square off against Duncan D. Hunter (R) in November.

By Trevor Hill

June 4, 2014 (San Diego)--This Tuesday’s primary election yielded unsurprising results as far as Congressional districts are concerned. All five incumbent representatives on the ballot in San Diego County were the top vote-getters—but challengers will get a second chance in run-off races slated for November’s general election.

In East County races, November will pit two veterans, Democrat James Kimber (25%) and Republican Congressman Duncan  Hunter(70%), against each other in the 50^th district, which includes most areas north of I-8 in the inland region and other communities. Libertarian Michael Benoit actively campaigned and participated in debates, but received only 5% of the vote. Kimber, a career medical professional, has made expanding and improving healthcare coverage a cornerstone of his campaign against fiscally conservative Hunter, who has sought to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act.

By Miriam Raftery

June 3, 2014 (San Diego)—Voters have rendered their verdicts in five contested Superior Court Judicial races, with all precincts counted but absentee and provisional ballots remaining. 

Career prosecutor Brad Weinreb leads with over 38% of the vote in one of the most contentious judicial races. At Election Central, Weinreb said he was pleased to into the run-off on top , vying against Hagan—or so he thought. Overnight however, the results flipped  to show Ken Gosselin narrowly edging out Miichele Hagan to vie in November’s run-off race against Weinreb.  Gosselin drew controversy after a court required him to change his ballot statement due to inflated education and experience claims.  Hagan, who has prosecution experience as well as advocating for consumers on legal issues, had been critical of the County Bar rating system.

Democrats regain supermajority in Congress

By Miriam Raftery

June 3, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – Statewide, Democrats won a supermajority of two-thirds in both houses of the state Legislature, meaning enough to pass budgets and override a Governor’s veto on legislation. But it’s not as liberal a group as in the past, the Sacramento Bee reports, due to business interests backing more moderate Democrats over liberal-leaning opponents.

Locally, incumbent state legislators representing East County cruised to easy victories in the June primary, with 100% of precincts counted and only absentee and provisional ballots remaining to be tallied.  With the new top-two primary system, some races in November will leave voters with a choice only among two candidates in the same party.

Statewide ballot initiatives also win approval

By Miriam Raftery

June 4, 2014 (La Mesa) – Voters have overwhelmingly approved Prop H by an 87-13% margin. With 85% of precincts counted. The measure continues Grossmont Healtcare District’s lease with Sharp Healthcare for Grossmont Hospital.

 “The returns indicate that Prop H will strongly pass. The Grossmont Healthcare District Board placed the measure on the ballot so the voters could decide an important issue to the East Region, whether the partnership with Sharp HealthCare should continue,” Barry Jantz, CEO of the Grossmont Healthcare District told ECM. We will work hard to ensure we continue working with Sharp to continue the hospital improvements underway and provide the best patient care for our community."

Hear a podcast of today’s full show including D.A. Bonnie Dumanis interview here: http://kiwi6.com/file/b2ohmz2jt7

Listen live from 5-6 p.m. today online at http://knsj.org/knsjpopup.html or on the air at KNSJ 89.1 FM

June 2, 2014 (San Diego)—Our special guest on the East County Magazine radio show today is District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, talking about crime issues in our region and her candidacy to win reelection in tomorrow’s primary election. Dumanis squares off against attorney Bob Brewer, who did not respond to our interview requests, and Terri Wyatt ( who was previously  interviewed here: http://kiwi6.com/file/f1epluf93r)

 Today’s show also includes coverage and analysis of the 50^th and 53^rd  Congressional races, where incumbents Duncan Hunter and Susan Davis face off against multiple challengers.  Also learn more about the Insurance Commissioner race, which pits an incumbent championing consumer issues against insurance companies against an insurance broker and a third candidate who wants to eliminate insurance companies altogether and see a single payer healthcare system enacted.

By Miriam Raftery

May 31, 2014 (Sacramento)--California is becoming bluer – leaving Republicans singing the blues.

According to the Secretary of State, the number of registered Republicans in California has plummeted, while Democratic registrations have held steady.

By Miriam Raftery

May 31, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) – After learning that the Democratic Party didn’t have a candidate on the ballot in the 71^st Assembly District that includes most of San Diego County’s inland regions as well as south Riverside County, Howard Katz obtained signatures to qualify as a write-in candidate.

Chairman of the Riverside Democratic Party,  Katz wants to roll back tuitions for public colleges and universities statewide, push for a healthcare-for-all Californians plan (which failed by two votes previously in the State Legislature), and support modest tax increases if needed to fund these initiatives.  Hear our radio interview podcast with Katz here:  http://kiwi6.com/file/oj62bcco0x

Katz previously ran for Congress against Darrell Issa.  In addition to Katz and Jones, a conservative Republican, moderate Republican Tony Teora, an engineer and science fiction author, is also in the race.

By Trevor Hill

Photo (left to right): Jim Stieringer, Susan Davis, Joel Marchese, Wayne True, and Larry Wilske

May 29, 2014 (San Diego)--The race for California’s 53rd Congressional district will be narrowed down from eight candidates to the top two vote-getters this Tuesday, June 3. Incumbent Democrat Susan Davis will be on the June ballot, along with five Republican and two independent challengers.

May 28, 2014 (San Diego)--The Gubernatorial Primary Election is Tuesday, June 3 and the Registrar of Voters still needs 150 poll workers throughout the County.

May 27, 2014 (San Diego)--Tuesday, May 27^th is the deadline to request a mail-in ballot for the June 3^rd election.  You can download an application from the Registrar of Voters site and e-mail or fax it in.  Your request must include your name, registered address and date of the election, the address where your ballot should be mailed, and your signature.  You can email your request to ROVmail@sdcounty.ca.gov.