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November 4, 2009· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

Election Wrap Up

Election day is always fun, even if your guy loses. And the day after election day always feels a bit like a hangover to me. So who won and who lost last night? Grab your cup of coffee and let’s have a look:

Hart District: The surprise of the night has to be Joe Messina, who finally won a seat on the Hart School Board after two failed attempts in 2005 and 2007. The consensus in my email box and in the SCVTalkers forum is that bullet voiting made a difference for Messina, who bested his nearest challenger by about 250 votes.  No surprise that Paul Strickland, an incumbent, was reelected, but it was surprising that Bob Jensen, a former NSD board member, received more votes than Strickland. Suzan Solomon, also a popular choice and a candidate who had been endorsed by Buck McKeon, lost. The Hart Board is going to look very different this time around.

Newhall School District: Unsurprisingly, voters picked Mike McGrath to return to the Newhall School District board. The only problem? McGrath announced in September that he had decided not to run after all. Newcomer Christy Smith picked up the number two spot, which is good for local progressives. Phil Ellis, who has served on both Hart and NSD before, picked up the third spot. Not entirely clear what happens next: the existing board will likely appoint someone to fill McGrath’s spot. It seems Smith and Ellis will be seated; the board will have to choose the third person.

Newhall County Water: Incumbents BJ Atkins and Maria Gutzeit return to the water board while newcomer Kathy Colley picks up the third seat. Disappointing loss for Mike Cruz who burned much shoe leather in Newhall and ran an actual campaign.

COC Board #1 and #3: Mike Berger wins easily, defeating local attorney Bryan Koegle for a spot on the COC Board. The Berger win is a win for competent professionals and a Good Thing. Meanwhile, Joan MacGregor easily keeps her seat on the board with a 2-1 win over Randy Moberg.

Castaic school Board: I largely ignored this race, but was shocked to learn that Seher Awan, the 20-something former Miss Castaic, finished last, despite an endorsement by the Signal.

West Side Plebiscite: On the question of west side governance, voters there said yes to the question, “Do you want Chicken or Steak?” Options for staying in the unincorporated county and joining the city received similar vote tallies, in other words. Voters definitely said no to “Do you want to form your own city?” As Don Fleming says in the Signal article, there’s really no consensus here. This was a useless vote. Dave Bossert has some pretty good analysis of the vote here, saying that if we break down how the precincts voted, it may become more clear which communities favor joining the City of Santa Clarita.

Overall, turnout was very low as always with some precincts recording only a single voter. The Signal says the west side plebiscite drew voters to the polls there.

On to the City Council election in April 2010!

Full results

PS, a hearty thank you to Tim Myers for providing some on-the-spot analysis as the results came in last night. He computes percentages and probabilities with blinding speed. Thanks Tim!

PPS: I’m taking the day off from the Daily Brief

 

Comments (21)

  1. Need for Involved CitizenryNovember 4, 2009 at 8:02 am
    I’m shocked Cathy Colley won. Talk about an unqualified person on the water board! Her only real qualification is being married to her dirty tricks husband who also happens to be on the CLWA Board. We will continue to have double digit water rate increases in the SCV every year with the current slate of water representatives.
  2. Anon_09November 4, 2009 at 8:17 am
    “Need for Involved Citiznery”…you’re talking about an area who has Buck McKeon representing them…..are you joking? The LDS runs Santa Clarita Valley-I’m surprised even one person showed up to vote in some of those precincts
  3. navigatorNovember 4, 2009 at 9:27 am
    It just goes to show you how uninformed people tend to vote. Colley was lucky enough to be placed in the #1 position on the ballot. Out of the nearly 1000 votes she recieved I’m betting that 5 really know her and the rest blindly voted 1,2,3. Well, now Colley can go home after board meetings and ask hubby how water gets to her faucet. The blind leading the blind.
  4. AnnetteNovember 4, 2009 at 9:31 am
    Tim Myers words “Make no mistake. If Joe Messina gains a seat on the William S. Hart Union High School District board after the Tuesday election, it could represent a true sea change in the local politics of the Santa Clarita Valley.” He did,now let’s get going with TimBen in 10!
  5. Anon-10November 4, 2009 at 10:06 am
    Surprised that “Daddy’s Princess” (from the license plate of the Lexus daddy bought her) finished last in the Castaic race? Isn’t she–Paul De La Cerda’s girl friend– still in college?? Can’t you picture the board room meetings had she won, “OMG! I’m so FOR education!!!”
  6. Timothy MyersNovember 4, 2009 at 11:50 am
    Annette: While Joe’s victory is astounding this election also proves the fortress of incumbency with incumbents absolutely CRUSHING upstarts that challenged them. Don’t open the champagne yet!
  7. JCNovember 4, 2009 at 12:17 pm
    Joe Messina’s win was already determined with absentee ballot voters. So Messina’s dirty campaign tactics may have shown everyone Joe’s true (unchristian) colors, but the public Republican criticism he received didn’t come until after the election was already decided by the absentee ballot. Shame on Joe for stooping so low. Still waiting for a public apology from Joe for bashing another candidate with lies. Maybe at Joe’s bogus prayer breakfast he will have the backbone to apologize. Yeah, right. Why didn’t The Signal alert voters to the Colley’s years of domestic violence issues, with each of them issuing restraining orders against each other. All the Colley troubles and school reports are a matter of public record and easily attainable. Should have been reported ages ago. Those who are unfortunate enough to know these two people really understand this obscene outcome. Mike Cruz would have been a valuable addition to the Newhall water board, instead we get something worse than anyone could have possibly imagined. Messina and Colley, looks like the bottom of the barrel has been scraped clean. Disgusting.
  8. mikeNovember 4, 2009 at 12:32 pm
    JC, I don’t follow. Nobody knew the tally of the absentees. Even if they did, Joe’s absentee lead wasn’t insurmountable.
  9. mikeNovember 4, 2009 at 12:34 pm
    I wonder if The Signal, like myself and seemingly everyone else, thought Colley was a non-candidate. I can’t make sense of it for a second. Such a crime. These were the same genius voters that elected the guy who dropped out months ago in the NSD race.
  10. mikecNovember 4, 2009 at 12:45 pm
    Hey Everyone, Thanks for the kind words..let just say that my new hero is Bob Casey. He was referred to as “The three time loss from Holy Cross,” until he beat some guy named Scranton (who’s family founded the town) in Penn., to become governor.
  11. JeffNovember 4, 2009 at 12:55 pm
    mikec: Apply for NSD Board?
  12. mikeNovember 4, 2009 at 12:55 pm
    As a kid growing up in Philly. I remember his victory well. Now his son is in the Senate, a full-on political dynasty. We’ll get them next time. I’m sure I speak for many to say that we’ll be back to help, and more so.
  13. AnnetteNovember 4, 2009 at 1:08 pm
    Timothy: I am not opening the champagne yet, and I do understand the incumbents usually having the edge, but… longevity does not always lead to productivity. It’s time for some new leaders on City Council thus I will try my best to promote the best candidate for City Council 2010, TimBen.
  14. AnnetteNovember 4, 2009 at 1:15 pm
    Mike C This election is a true “Life is NOT fair” Take Care and love the ones your with.
  15. Timothy MyersNovember 4, 2009 at 1:25 pm
    JC Joe was touched up hard by the dark powers of Republican politics and he still kept a smile on his face. You are right that Joe secured the win with absentee votes (Suzan beat him on the poll votes) but all four quarters of the football game count.
  16. navigatorNovember 4, 2009 at 2:08 pm
    Absentee votes spell the outcome 95% of the time. In this case it was 100%. This is a good thing, however, since it allows us to celebrate or go home by 8:30 or 9.
  17. Timothy MyersNovember 4, 2009 at 3:09 pm
    Navigator: This time the absentees were around 58% of the total votes, HOWEVER the remaining poll votes will not come in significantly different from the absentees, so one can predict the outcome from the absentees with a statistical 95% confidence level.
  18. navigatorNovember 4, 2009 at 3:42 pm
    TM – I think that’s what I said.
  19. PubliusNovember 4, 2009 at 4:06 pm
    I hope you read Randy Moberg’s comments in today’s paper. It shows he would not have fared well working on a board.
  20. Berta González-HarperNovember 4, 2009 at 4:52 pm
    Hey Anon 10, any girlfriend of Paul de la Cerda’s would have to be very young and naive. He is a total jerk. A Hispanic of convenience who is ambitious, in the most negative conotation possible, and does not care who he maligns or steps on in order to make himself look good. He has a habit of taking credit for things other people actually accomplish and is not adverse to stabbing you in the back and smiling while he does it. I would not vote for him for anything!
  21. SCV RezJanuary 3, 2010 at 7:18 pm
    I get Tim’s point about putting education prominently on a resume—particularly when it is not represented accurately. After all, if it doesn’t mean much…why is it listed so prominently? I recall a situation, not too long ago, where a local applicant featured prominently on her resume that she was a “graduate of Georgetown University’s Graduate Executive Development Program.” Turns out, it was an on-line program that took a matter of hours (within a week) to complete. In actuality, she did not even possess a bachelor’s degree…from anywhere. But, if viewing that entry on a resume, would anyone have guessed that?

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