The SCV November Election Season Begins Right Now

Odd-year November elections are when all of our Valley's school districts hold their elections. Earlier this year, all of these districts voted to move their elections to even-numbered years. The Newhall County Water District quickly followed suit.

This would have put races for school boards on the same ballot as the Gubernatorial or Presidential elections. This would have saved the districts money and brought about a major boost in voter turnout.

For example, the turnout for the William S. Hart district elections in 2011 was just 11.8%, but the turnout in the City of Santa Clarita for the general election in November 2010 was 62.3% and a staggering 78.3% in 2012. This would have meant that somewhere between five to seven times as many people would have been voting on school board elections. among other things, it would have made it more difficult for guys like this to pull a fast one.

It was a good idea, opposed by the LA County Registrar for the unsexy reason of ballot mechanics and ultimately the move failed on a 2-2-1 vote by the board of Supervisors. One day, we'll have a post-1960s ballot system and the Registrar won't be able to stand in the way. In the meantime, the status quo remains: Election Day is November 5.

The silver lining is that for SCV political junkies, it doesn't get much better than the odd-year November election following a Presidential race. Nearly all local boards hold elections, most of them filling three seats (instead of two). The ballot is usually limited to local races and sometimes there's a school bond or two on the ballot to make things even more interesting.

This year is even better. Two boards, Saugus and COC, have an extra seat to fill. And five of the seven boards have a either an open seat or a candidate that would be running in their first contested election since being appointed.

On top of that, the Santa Clarita city council election moves into full-speed the day after election day and there's always a chance of a 2014 primary battle for Congress and/or Assembly taking shape at the same time. Layers upon layers. For a refresher, here are the results from 2009.

Candidates for the November elections can file as early as this Monday, July 15.  Here's a breakdown of November's races:

K-6 district covering Saugus, "new" Valencia (north of Valencia Blvd.) and parts of eastern Canyon Country.

Election style: top three, plus a one-seat race for a partial term

Incumbents: Judy Umeck, Paul De La Cerda and Doug Bryce

This is usually a quiet election. So quiet, it doesn't even happen some years because nobody runs against the incumbents. So quiet, it allowed the Buck McKeon camp to get Stephen Winkler a seat in 2011 because nobody was paying attention.

Not anymore. This will be the race the watch in November. The SCV's largest K-6 district will have four of its five seats up in November: one race for three seats to serve a four-year term and another one-seat race to fill the remaining two years of Stephen Winkler's term.

In the wake of the Winkler episode, there's a lot of interest in getting this right. Expect to see much more interest from voters, the media and would-be candidates. And don't expect the incumbents to be caught sleeping this year. 

The teachers' union is clearly galvanized and we may see an interesting test in charter parents-as-voting bloc. The Albert Einstein Charter was denied four times by the board before obtaining a K-6 charter through Acton-Agua Dulce, only to (likely) set up shop in the Saugus District's boundaries.

The race for the Winkler seat will be highly symbolic and may attract a lot of candidates who'd rather not run against a slate of incumbents. Some are looking to Rose Diaz, who served for 12 years before losing to Winkler in 2011. Others blame Diaz's nearly-invisible 2011 campaign for Winkler's victory. 

K-6 district covering (roughly) Newhall, Stevenson Ranch, Westridge and Valencia (south of Valencia blvd.)

Election style: top three

Incumbents: Phil Ellis, Christy Smith and Brian Walters

In 2009, this race attracted five candidates and it was notable because then-incumbent Michael McGrath dropped out of the race a couple months before the election, but still finished first. He declined to take the seat and Brian Walters was appointed to fill his seat.

Walters has the distinction of being a full (non-appointed) incumbent, although he never won a contested election. He ran in 2011 to fill the remaining two years of McGrath's term, but he was unopposed, so there was no election. 

K-6 district covering most of Canyon Country

Election style: top three

Incumbents: Michael Hogan, Kerry Clegg, Lori MacDonald (appointed)

Lori MacDonald replaced longtime board member Sheldon Wigdor who resigned after juggling an out-of-state job. These seats were uncontested in 2009, so no election was held.

K-8 district covering Castaic and Val Verde

Election style: top three

Incumbents: Susan Christopher, Laura Pearson, Victor Torres

In 2009, this race attracted five candidates, with John Zaring and Seher Awan coming up short.

Jr. & Senior High district covering the Santa Clarita Valley. Notable charters include SCVi (K-12), Albert Einstein Academy (7-12) and Opportunities for Learning (9-12)

Election style: top three

Incumbents: Bob Jensen, Joe Messina, Chris Fall (appointed)

The only race where, to my knowledge, all incumbents are already on the record as intending to run in November. A few things jump out in this race: Bob Jensen won his first election with major support from Buck McKeon, whose reputation and clout is significantly less today. Does that matter? (probably not) 

Chris Fall will be an appointed incumbent with a few weeks of service under his belt before filing time, owing to Paul Strickland's 11th-hour resignation. But you don't get the impression he's come to mess around. Expect a serious and moneyed incumbent-lite campaign.

What to make of Joe Messina's outsized extracurricular persona? Does it invite more friends or foes? Is (just about) any publicity good publicity?

The district governing COC (both campuses) encompassing the Santa Clarita Valley. 

Election style: Separate one-seat districts, one for a partial term

Incumbents: Michael Berger, Joan MacGreggor and Steve Zimmer (appointed)

COC is unique in that each seat is elected separately. In 2009, Michael Berger won an open seat and Joan MacGreggor won big against a very active challenger. Steve Zimmer was appointed this year to Scott Wilk's seat and he'll be running to serve the remaining two years of Wilk's term.

The smaller of our two water agencies, it covers Newhall, Castaic and parts of Valencia, Saugus and Canyon Country. (Confused? Here's the map)

Election style: top three

Incumbents: Maria Gutzeit, B.J. Atkins, Kathy Colley

In 2009, Kathy Colley beat out Mike Cruz for this seat despite not campaigning and announcing that she had no prior interest in water policy. Go figure. Water is "dry" issue to many, but it's a pretty big deal for any community in Southern California.