NEWS ANALYSIS -- The new look

Tariq Malik and Mary Beth P. Adomaitis

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- By all measures, this year’s City Council race

will most certainly be seen as a precursor to the shape this town will

take in the years to come.

Twenty candidates.

Three seats.

One incumbent running.

In just two short years, four more seats will be open. Whoever is

elected into office next week will have a profound effect on the future

of Huntington Beach.

“What we do in this election, who we choose, will directly affect that

future council race,” said Bob Winchell, a longtime resident and

activist, and husband of former Mayor Grace Winchell. “It’s something to

think about when voting.”

On Tuesday, voters will not only determine who gets into office, but

also who will decide some of the city’s major issues -- the planned

development on the Bolsa Chica mesa, improving aging infrastructure and

how to clean the beaches and urban runoff.

If Pam Julien is reelected she will be the senior council member in

two years. If she’s not, three new residents will grace the dais.

WHO ARE ALL THESE CANDIDATES?

There are a lot of fresh faces in the crowd this election season --

Lou Baker, Joseph Carchio, Gil Coerper, Chuck Downing, J. Devin Dwyer,

Stephen Garcia, Robert Johnson, Mark Lewis, Joey Racano, Mark Szulc, Norm

Westwell and James Young.

And there are more familiar ones -- Connie Boardman, Bill Borden,

Gerald Chapman, Debbie Cook, Thom Doney, Pam Julien, Diane Lenning and

John Thomas.

There are so many names, it may be hard to keep track of who’s saying

what on which issues.

But that’s why this election is so important -- it’s about issues and

not personalities, unlike the City Council race two years ago.

Winchell said this is the biggest election he’s seen in the 30 years

he’s lived in Huntington Beach.

“The question that begs to be asked is where many of these people have

come from,” he said. “It will certainly be interesting to find out what

they do after the election. Twenty people for three seats is amazing, but

there are 17 who won’t make it to the council.”

Many candidates, such as Racano, seemed to appear out of the woodwork,

and as they become better known and form a history with the public, they

will gain strength, he added.

“It’s important that we make sure that there is a balance on the City

Council, that the concerns of residents match the concerns of big

business and developers as seen by the people we elect to the dais.”

However, Lynn Fillman, vice president of the Huntington Beach Chamber

of Commerce, disagreed.

“Some [candidates] may run again in two years, and new ones will come

out, but I don’t think this is a prep time for the next election,” he

said. “But it just reflects the amount of community involvement some

people want to have with the city.”

THIS TIME, IT’S ABOUT ISSUES

Richard McGrath, another longtime resident and city politics observer,

said whoever is elected will play a vital role in deciding some of the

bigger issues facing the city.

“I think the whole Bolsa Chica and its future depends on who we vote

in this time,” he said. “This election will have a major effect on that.”

Fillman said the chamber’s primary concern this election is that the

candidates must realize the need for a vibrant, healthy business sector

in Huntington Beach.

“But the important thing is that they are local people concerned with

the long-term well-being of the city,” he said. “I think that has been

reflected in past” elections.

Throughout the city’s 96-year history, he added, Huntington Beach has

continued to grow and develop as a community, largely as a result of

sound political leadership.

McGrath, a member of the city’s library board, said the council needs

a “spirited and younger group.”

But, these residents say that if the right people are elected to

office -- people who don’t have an agenda or who aren’t answering to

someone else -- then there is some hope.

Councilman Dave Sullivan, whose two-term limit will expire this year,

agreed.

“I think that the two people that have spoken out on a majority of

issues are leaving the council,” he said, referring to himself and

Councilman Tom Harman. “I just hope that at least one of us will be

replaced by a similiar-minded councilman.”

The public’s voice, he added, is an important one on the council, and

while experience is an asset for council candidates, it is city interest

that is key.

“Having 20 candidates for three open spots shows that there’s a lot of

interest in serving the city, but many of these candidates have come out

of the blue,” he said. “Community involvement, through city or other

agencies, is the telltalesign.”

WHO’S GOT THE BIG BUCKS?

Nobody has ever won a City Council election without a having a lot of

money backing them up, or substantial amounts of community involvement

and public support, Sullivan added.

And that will likely hold true in this election.

The triad of Borden, Coerper and Julien, who are running together on a

slate, has collectively raised more than $100,000 for this election.

Borden raised the most with $47,237, Pam Julien with $43,266, and Gil

Coerper with $31,681. Newcomer James Young also raised a large amount,

$40,706.

The city’s police officers came out in support of Coerper, a

Huntington Beach police officer, and the firefighters’ association has

financially endorsed Borden, Coerper and Julien -- altogether donating

nearly $19,000 to their campaigns. Young financed most of his campaign --

roughly $36,000 -- by himself.

This election has already proven to be significant not just for the

Huntington Beach of today, but for the future as well, Sullivan said.

“In two years, there’s going to be the wholesale of four council

positions when current council members term out,” he said. “What happens

now, sets the stage for that election.”

For example, if the environmentalist community is not satisfied with

the results of the election this year, it could turn out in force in two

years, to bid for four spots instead of just three.