Tight race expected to draw voters

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- Voters energized by the tightest presidential race in

recent memory will have a lot more to think about today than simply

choosing between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

Eleven Costa Mesa City Council candidates -- including two incumbents

-- are vying for votes, along with state candidates and a number of

county measures and state propositions.

Eileen Padberg, of Eileen Padberg Consulting, said 11 is a big number

of city council candidates, but City Councilman Joe Erickson said the

number is “pretty normal in Costa Mesa.”

Erickson stressed that it is just as important for Costa Mesa

residents to vote in an election with a lot of candidates as in one with

only a few. He remembers one election in which he and another candidate

each won, but were separated by only one vote, he said.

“Every vote makes a difference,” Erickson said. “That one vote would

have made all the difference if we were in third and fourth place. Voting

is a right people have fought and died for and it’s important that

residents vote every time, regardless of the number of candidates

running.”

The crowded City Council field includes Ronald J. Channels, Michael D.

Clifford, Libby Cowan, Joel Faris, William Perkins, Karen L. Robinson,

Rick Rodgers, Heather K. Somers, Chris Steel, Thomas L. Sutro and Dan

Worthington.

Voters also will have to decide on Measure O, which would raise the

city’s hotel tax from 6% to 8%. The extra funds would be used for the

purchase and development of new parks. A two-thirds majority is needed

for approval.

The Orange County Registrar of Voters has not estimated the expected

voter turnout in Orange County, but Padberg said she expects the tight

presidential race to “energize the Democratic and Republican bases” and

bring in more voters than usual.

“The City Council races will have little to do with voter turnout,”

she said. “More people will be voting in this election than in most

because of the close presidential election, and so there will be more

people voting for the City Council.”

Tom Fuentes, chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County, and

Jeanne Costales, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Orange County,

each said their parties have been invigorated by the presidential race.

Fuentes said the GOP has the “most motivated and energized volunteer

ranks we have seen since Ronald Reagan,” with more than 7,500 volunteers

signed up for this voting cycle.

The current election is especially important because it could mark a

“major watershed shift” in American foreign and domestic policy, Fuentes

said.

“I think we will see a very strong voter turnout here,” he said. “The

troops are motivated and the people are energized. Orange County has long

been a philosophically grounded, conservative community and George W.

Bush’s value-centered message has resonated strongly with this county.”

Costales said the county has seen a surge in Democratic registration,

with more than 425,000 registered Democrats.

Orange County has more registered Republicans than Democrats -- about

1.5 to 1 -- but the county is not as strongly Republican as it once was,

she said.

“Orange County is the third-largest Democratic block in the state and

we need to vote to make sure George W. Bush doesn’t get California,” she

said, adding that Orange County Democrats could play a huge role in state

and national elections, even if they lose the county vote. “This race

involves all of the Democratic Party’s bread-and-butter issues -- Social

Security, Medicare, education, and leveling the playing field.”

FYI

For details about county elections, call (714) 567-7600 or visit the

Orange County Registrar’s Web site ato7 www.oc.ca.gov/electionsf7 .