Gibson says he is seriously considering a bid for the 73rd AD... Jim Gibson, the conservative Vista schools trustee that finished behind Mimi Walters in 2004’s three-way contest, is definitely looking at another shot at the seat (or so he has told both Jon Fleischman and me). With Mimi looking to succeed Dick Ackerman in the 33rd SD, things should get busy very quickly.
With the Assembly seat about two-thirds Orange County and one-third San Diego (and a bunch of that in Oceanside), it makes things problematic for any southern contender. As has already been reported here on the FR, Dana Point Councilwoman Diane Harkey has thrown her hat into the ring (and a big hat it is given that she is very, very wealthy) — and Harkey has announced that Mimi Walters is her campaign chairman. There are some other Orange Countians looking at the race, and Gibson is undoubtedly hoping more of them will join the fray.
Gibson will no doubt be aggressively pursuing OC endorsements, but expect even the boldest and most conservative local elected officials to "wait to see who else gets in."
The question remains for Gibson and others…is this a guaranteed OC seat, or can the right SD candidate be competitive?
Two out of Three in NC… National City had to go to the ballot twice before getting a sales tax increase passed. The SD Libertarian Party and Richard Rider’s San Diego Tax Fighters are taking it to the voters again, much to the dismay of the city, while issuing a warning to other cities.
Folks may want to scoff at third parties’ ability to elect candidates to office, but on local tax measures like this — especially in smaller communities — the impact can be felt by other than elected officials. I’ll make sure to email new National City Mayor Ron Morrison for a quote on this latest development (He’s a Republican.) In the meantime, read the press release:
San Diego County Libertarian Party
National City Sales Tax Repeal Qualifies for Ballot
National City, California – The San Diego County Libertarian Party led the charge to put the recent National City sales tax increase back on the ballot for reconsideration by the voters. Petitions were circulated and signatures collected for this effort. San Diego Tax Fighters assisted in this effort, and will handle fundraising and PR for the campaign.
Thursday the San Diego Registrar of Voters notified the National City city clerk that sufficient valid signatures were indeed submitted, assuring that the measure will go back on the ballot. There was a comfortable margin of success.
The repeal proponents submitted 695 signatures on 489 petitions. These signatures had a remarkable 84% validity rate, providing more than the 409 good signatures needed to put the tax back on the ballot (the ROV stops counting when it gets to the validation requirement). This high validity rate is particularly noteworthy, given the VERY high percentage of National City voters who are renters (and thus move more), and the low percentage of residents who are registered voters.
SD LP Chair Edward Teyssier noted that this all-volunteer effort might be repeated in other local cities where taxes are raised without full disclosure and proper debate. Teyssier said “If we do this again, we’ll need more local jurisdiction volunteers and funding, but we now have the expertise and organization to carry through on such efforts."
The next step is for the N.C. city council to schedule the measure for an upcoming election. This decision should be done at the council’s next regularly scheduled meeting.
It appears that this election must be scheduled in 2008 in a regular election, unless the city council decides to schedule a special election for this measure (there is zero chance that this will occur). Hence there will be no significant taxpayer cost for putting this tax increase back before the voters.
Carl Luna Ringside for Mayor Sanders… The oft-quoted political science prof blisters the SD City Council in a CityBeat guest column, including:
The mayor should use his bully-pulpit—and his position as the most popular pol in our polis—to publicly browbeat the council into serving the good of the city as a whole. And he should let council members know exactly where his first round of cuts will be focused: precisely in the districts of those council members who have been most obstructionist to his agenda. That’s how a strong mayor plays strong-arm politics.
Read it all here.
America’s Finest Deception… Lastly, an outstanding post on global warming by Chris Reed in the SDUT’s America’s Finest Blog. Read "Deceiving us for our own good."
Have a great week!