The die is cast for this year's city council elections.
District 2 will have Dustin Nigg getting his second term unopposed, and District 4 will have two names on the ballot: Bridgette Moore v Kenny Mayes.
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Bonus points for knowing the year of this baseball card design.
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Commence history lesson
A little bit of back story when it comes to electing city council members by district instead of at large in Wildomar.
This is from memory, so try not to shoot the messenger if you have more detailed information than I present here... but your comments are welcomed both here and on facebook if you'd like to add to the story.
When we voted to become a city there were two options on the ballot.
One was to elect city council members "at large" which means the entire city could vote for all five council members.
The second option, which won originally, was to create districts.
From what I've been told, the original desire of the city founders was to have the elections be city-wide/at large. It was felt that the ballot language had been misleading and that's why the districts option was voted for.
One of the first things the new city council did was put the option of At Large v Districts on the ballot. The voters then reversed themselves and chose At Large..
Here is the write up from Ballotopia.org
How City Council Members are Chosen in Wildomar, Measures I, J and K (November 2009)
Three ballot measures (Measure I, J and K) were on the November 3, 2009 ballot for voters in the City of Wildomar in Riverside County, each having to do with how city council members should be chosen.
The City of Wildomar was a recently incorporated city at the time of the vote. The outcome of the votes on Measures I, J and K determined how residents of the city would choose members of the city council. In 2008, voters chose by 57% the method whereby a voter would vote for one council member from the district where that voter lives. The election on November 3, 2009 on Measures I, J and K amounted to a re-consideration of that vote.[1]
The choices were:
- At-large. This was Measure I, which was approved. Under Measure I, there are no districts. All city council representatives are elected "at-large."
- By-district. This was Measure J, which was defeated. This was the system that voters approved in 2008. Under this system, residents would have only been able to vote on the candidates running in the district in which the resident lives.
- From-district. This is Measure K, which was defeated. It would have meant that a voter anywhere in the city could vote for any candidate for city council, but the candidates must come from and represent a specific district.
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As you can see, the measures that would have supported going with districts were soundly defeated.
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That vote would have put an end to it, but like with many things in our society the next step was the courts. I'm not going to get into the details, but the court case(s) dragged on for years and just when it looked like the final judgement had been delivered in the city's favor a new wrinkle came up.
An enterprising attorney from LA County started threatening lawsuits against most towns that didn't have districts based on his interpretation of the Voters Rights Act of 2001.
This had been percolating for a time and the track record was always against cities. There were accounts of cities that fought this, won, and STILL were told they had to pay the exorbitant legal fees of the plaintiff.
So even if a city were to win in court, they were going to be out several hundred thousand dollars, or far more.
In December of 2015, during the Christmas break no less, the city got a letter from this law firm telling them to switch to districts or else.
Though the city council had been fighting this for more than half a decade, they could see the handwriting on the wall and quickly took the steps to switch over to districts. That process took many months, with several public meetings, but in the end it gave us our five district map. Why have I given this short history lesson?
Because the thought behind the lawsuits that forced so many small cities to adopt the districts method of choosing council members was hoped to be more inclusive and give more opportunities to minority communities that had been "deprived" of having a representative of their choice.
Sorry, but that's just hogwash. In any event, that's our reality and it's based on bogus claims of racism, but what's new?
After three election cycles, how has that worked out for Wildomar?
In 2016 there were two seats on the ballot, in 2018 there were three seats, and this year there are two more.
That's a total of seven contests and of the seven ONLY two even were with more than one candidate, and you, instead of having the opportunity to vote for ALL seven, have only had the option for one (Districts 1, 3 and 5) or after this November, two seats (Districts 2 and 4). Most of the contests (5 of the 7) ended with the "winner" just walking in unopposed.
So much for getting more people involved.
History lesson over
Now back to 2020's contests... which there is only one, District 4 will have longtime city watchdog Kenny Mayes looking to take the seat away from one of the last two remaining original city council members starting in 2008 Bridgette Moore... she was also one of the key factors behind the push for cityhood.
Earlier in the year, it was understood by many that Mayor Pro-tem Bridgette Moore was NOT going to seek another term. I asked her about the change of heart and it came back to her dedication and loyalty to the city.
Before Covid19 she felt good about the financial position the city was in up to then, and that she would be able to hand the baton to the next person without worries.
With the dramatic changes seen accompanying the responses to Covid19 and the deleterious affects it's having on the city budget, she felt a duty to run for another term.
She asked if I would endorse her, and without hesitation I said, "of course."
Let's break this down a bit
Before she embarked on her 4th term, I was ready to sing the praises of Kenny Mayes for that seat. So what changed?
Not much really, but here's my thought process on it.
Bridgette Moore has put her heart and soul into her leadership position in Wildomar (which means countless hours per week for your benefit), and that extends many years before cityhood.
If this were baseball (and everything can be compared to baseball) she's akin to a hall of fame first basemen, fan favorite, never goes on the disabled list, that chooses to play another season instead of retiring from the game s/he loves.
At the same time there's a triple-A player that has been burning up the minor leagues (Kenny Mayes) and his thought was he'd be taking over for the retiring hall of famer... or maybe just ousting her instead of waiting, I don't know you'll have to ask him for those kinds of details. (Allow me some poetic license here)
Do I think Kenny Mayes can do the job? Absolutely he can.
Do I think he'll do a better job than Bridgette Moore as a city council member for District 4? Sorry, but no.
Most people will readily stipulate that he does put more time than anyone else into city council and planning commission meeting prep.
He's done so for much longer than I've been paying attention to Wildomar city issues. He's also willing to do exhaustive research on issues that most of the rest of us either won't or can't get a foothold on in the first place. (Where does he come up with some of that minutia?)
The job of city council member is far broader than city council meetings.
To best represent the city, a council member needs to be ready to take on (at least) a couple of outside board/commission positions.
From memory, Mayor Pro-tem Moore represents Wildomar at RTA (this year she is the chair of that board), Southwest Communities Finance Authority (SCFA - Animal Friends of the Valleys), and is part of a 2 by 2 with LEUSD.
That doesn't count all the other things, non city administration related but community related, that she is constantly occupied with. You don't have to like her to know that she is Wildomar.
Reminds me of when I was a kid and I irrationally hated Pete Rose. |
Second worst haircut of all time.
Runner up to Sideshow Bob. |
Just because I couldn't stand him or his team, his lame haircut or his hunched over batting stance, didn't mean I was blind to the fact that he was a living legend. Don't be a player hater.
Do I agree with her all the time?
No, in fact I've disagreed with many of her votes. If you're looking for a candidate that is your political clone, good luck.
True, it's not like she's been there to say "yes" when I've suggested a future agenda item... usually she's not for my items, but this isn't simply about her or me or any individual, it's about what will benefit Wildomar's residents and businesses the most.
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Over the first 20 months I've been on the dais with her there may have been half a dozen votes that we haven't agreed on. Some of them pretty big, but it takes 3 votes to pass anything, and several times I've been the lone nay vote.
Such is life. Once the vote is over, you shake hands, and move onto other issues in town.
All one has to do is look at Bridgette Moore's service time that she has put in year after year, for closing in on two decades, and I can't see the point in giving the first base job to anyone else.
Let's loop back to the history lesson this blog started with.
'Districts' is going to keep Kenny Mayes from making it to the city council this go round. A job that I believe he's well qualified for, but there is an even more qualified person already there. If we had At Large voting, he probably would have been elected in 2018. C'est la vie.
I've extended a "better know a candidate" blog offer to each candidate, and both have shown interest. I'm also willing to help both make videos if they'd like.
Last I'll say on this topic here is that I'd like to see a Meet The Candidates event, and hopefully it'll be livestreamed on facebook. The moderator needs to be someone neutral, and in 2018 the Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce hosted it at city hall.
One thing, I DON'T want to see our distinguished mayor Dustin Nigg being at such an event... or shall I say, part of the event. He's not in a contest, and having a third wheel be part of it will only distract from the two that are competing.
Back in 2018 the event had the incumbent, me and then someone from an uncontested district. If you were to watch the videos of it, it was like a tag team against me. I don't want to see any candidates forum watered down by more than the two principles. Even in our Covid19 times, this should still happen.
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Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
– Harriet Tubman
Wildomar Rap is pretty much over great dreams these days, but isn't looking to interfere with yours.
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