Well, the unofficial 2007 Election results are in (the top three win council seats):
- Sam Pedroza: 3,389 votes, 21.3% of the total
- Peter Yao: 3,259 votes, 20.5%
- Linda Elderkin: 3,165 votes, 19.9%
- Jackie McHenry: 2,560 votes, 16.1%
- Opanyi Nasiali: 2,451 votes, 15.4%
- Mike Maglio: 759 votes, 4.8%
- Michael Keenan: 338 votes, 2.1%
A total of 6,129 ballots were cast out of 20,932 total Claremont registered voters, for a turnout of 29%. As we said earlier, low turnout translates into wins for the Claremont 400 candidates. It would have taken a turnout of 34% or better for McHenry and Nasiali to win.
In the end, voters weren't as motivated to come out as they were in 2003 and 2005. Perhaps some of that might be attributed to the lack of the Southard factor. The old fellow certainly was a lighting rod and could always be counted on to create some crisis or another. Things like the mining issue didn't turn people out in droves. In precinct 37, home to Clarmonters Against Strip Mining (CASM), turnout wasn't any better (29.1%) than it was in the city as a whole, and CASM endorsee Maglio got fewer than 800 votes (4.8%).
Precinct 8, the village including the retirement homes, had the highest turnout (48.2%), and Elderkin and Pedroza won that precinct handily. This precinct is usually the 400's stronghold, and it proved to be in this election. Pedroza really worked the endorsements from the Democratic and Sierra Clubs, and these no doubt helped him.
What can we expect in the future? The new council will probably push the affordable housing project on Baseline Rd. The Environmental Impact Report still needs to be done, and there are likely to be some problems regarding the air quality portion of the EIR. But the council will most likely vote to override the EIR should it be unfavorable to to the project. The League of Women Voters and the Helaine Goldwater/Diann Ring group wants this put in at all costs.
The gravel mining issue is still alive, and Elderkin and Pedroza will find their hands tied considerably now that they are one the council. For one thing, as councilmembers they won't be able to just say "NO" to mining. There may still be an application from Vulcan Materials Co. to mine the land under the city's 2006 mining ordinance. And, there's the small matter of the proposed sale of the land by the owner, Pomona Valley Protective Association, to a developer. Elderkin, despite her claims to the contrary, may still have a conflict of interest, and that will be played out in the not-so-distant future.
Johnson's Pasture still needs to be bought. The city has the voters' approval for financing the land purchase through bonds, but will it be for $12 million or $11.5 million? During the election, Elderkin made comments that seemed to indicate she would push for paying the $12 million and getting the deal done, but that may imperil the chance of the city getting future state grants for other open space purchases. So, Elderkin's hands may be tied there too.
The new council will also go forward with spending $900,000 for the Padua Park site. Pedroza ran as a youth sports candidate, and will no doubt attribute his election to the "youth sports vote", even though that a pretty sketchy demographic (as we indicated, the turnout actually reverted to the lower levels of 2001). The city is still lacking the $10 million-plus need to construct Padua Park, but they will likely borrow the money since state funds have not been forthcoming.
A new police station? Perhaps. But that is a $25 million project and the city may have to go to voters for financing on that. Oh, and Paul Cooper will be the next police chief--Goldwater, et. al., will see to that.
Peter Yao wants to be mayor again, and he is beholden to the 400 for throwing their support behind him in the last few weeks of the campaign. He'll likely try to work out a deal with Ellen Taylor, Pedroza, and Elderkin to get one more year out of the mayorship. But he'll have to vie with Taylor for the position, and Pedroza and Elderkin are just as likely to thrown in with Taylor.
So, the 400 is back in command, this time minus Glenn Southard. How will they run things? We'll keep reporting, keep digging to bring you that information. The one thing that has changed from the Southard days is that it is possible to shine a light on issues, and that at least acts as a brake to the runaway train that is the Claremont 400.
We'll know in coming years if the 400 has learned anything. If we see crises like the Landrum shooting popping up again, then things will have regressed and we will see that turnout number tick back up. If things stay quiet, then turnout will tick downward.
Either way, we aim to keep the news coming.
Posts
