Optimism on the campaign trail

Dave Brooks

When you come in near last place, you really only have room to

improve.

That’s the optimistic attitude of design drafter Peter Albini,

whose making his sophomore run for the City Council this year after

earning the second lowest amount of votes in his 2002 attempt.

“I think one of the mistakes I made last time was that I wasn’t

answering questions,” he said. “This time I plan to do everything

differently and go all out.”

For Albini, a recent Republican convert, that includes filling out

all campaign-related material, attending candidate-related events and

asking questions about issues he doesn’t understand.

The two-year waiting period in between elections has been a

political education for Albini, who is doing his best to relaunch a

successful campaign -- including spending $2,200 to get his name on

the sample ballot, which is more than he spent for his entire 2002

campaign.

Albini’s big issue this year will be promoting Huntington Beach as

a regional tourist destination to help generate continued tax revenue

for city coffers.

“Taxing our own citizens and charging them excessive fees is no

longer going to cut it,” he said. “We need to look at creative

funding mechanisms.”

With the new serious political attitude also comes the pressures

and problems of the modern campaign. During a stroll down Main Street

on Monday, Albini said that he was having trouble raising

contributions to fund his campaign, but he did recently secure the

endorsement of political heavyweight Councilman Dave Sullivan.

“I think we have very similar views on most issues, and I think

Peter has a lot of good ideas,” Sullivan said.

Albini is now working on securing more endorsements. While waiting

for a sandwich at Longboards, Albini not so casually asked General

Manager Ron McClin, a member of the powerful Downtown Business Assn.,

about possible support this year. McClin said he would get back to

him.

“It’s hard when there’s so many people running for office,” he

said. “Last year there was 19 of us, and often it seemed like we were

all saying the same things. If you were last to speak at a candidates

forum, they’d finally get to you and all you could basically do was

say that you agreed with everything else that was said.”

Still, Albini said he plans to stick to his core values --

supporting invocation before council meetings, protecting the beaches

and Bolsa Chica mesas and avoiding decisions that could result in a

lawsuit for the city.

“If I’m elected, I will get in there and stick to my beliefs and

guns,” he said. “I don’t compromise my integrity.”