Brian
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Post by Brian on Sept 23, 2009 0:00:15 GMT -8
The Montrose Peace Vigil message board will have later numbers than the Los Angeles Times on your driveway this morning. Only half the votes were counted at 11:35 p.m. The final results were posted at midnight on the City Clerk's website, as Sharon noted. Krekorian got 34 percent to Essel's 28 percent, with Galatzan third at 13 percent and Benson fourth at 8. McCue came in third from last of the ten candidates. Fewer than 400 votes separated Zuma Dogg, the shaggiest of the carpetbaggers who registered his address as a street intersection, from Pete Sanchez, who was endorsed by the Daily News. Official turnout was less than 12 percent. Most of the votes cast were absentee. And the special election cost the city a reported $1.8 million, mostly for one-day labor. This race certainly cries out for instant runoff voting - so you could vote your first choice and Krekorian (or the 'big three' member of yur choice) second to save the money of another election. Cries out, indeed. Too bad it would require an election to change the City Charter. So I'll be back Dec. 8 to visit the sweet but lonely poll workers at Pinewood Elementary School (somewhere I hadn't been since I was 6 years old).
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Post by Brian on Oct 11, 2009 23:00:49 GMT -8
It's not too early to plan for this event, which is sponsored by a bunch of local organizations, in case some of our fellow Tujungans stumble onto the message board. I'll attend, less than four weeks from now. This was part of the latest Save the Verdugo Hills Golf Course e-mail sent by Glendale-Crescenta VOiCE: Paul Krekorian and Chris Essel are campaigning to represent the communities of Los Angeles City Council District #2. The run-off election will be held Tuesday, December 8.
To help CD2 voters learn more about the two candidates another Sunland-Tujunga Candidates Forum has been scheduled for Saturday, November 7. Both candidates have confirmed they will be participating in the Candidates Forum.
Meet & Greet: Noon-1pm Forum: 1pm North Valley City Hall 7747 Foothill Blvd. Tujunga, 91042
The Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council has invited the candidates to attend a STNC Land Use Committee Meeting. This will give the candidates an opportunity to learn more about some of the critical issues facing Sunland-Tujunga residents. Chris Essel has been confirmed for 7pm, Monday, October 19, at the North Valley City Hall. Paul Krekorian will be attending a LUC meeting later this month or early November. As soon as the date has been set we will be posting it on our website. www.gcvoice.org/current-projects/vhgc.htm
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Post by KarenZ on Oct 15, 2009 23:47:18 GMT -8
Conversations with the candidatesHere's an opportunity to listen to the 2 run-off candidates. During the last two weekends both Essel and Krekorian participated in 'fireside' chats at Bolton Hall in Tujunga. The events, sponsored by the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance, were taped by Joe Barrett. You can view the tapes on the CD2 Special Election Blog. Sun, Oct 4 - Chris Essel [in 2 parts] cd2election.blogspot.com/2009/10/conversation-with-chris-essel.htmlSun, Oct 11 - Paul Krekorian [in 2 parts] cd2election.blogspot.com/2009/10/conversation-with-paul-krekorian_12.html7pm, Monday, Oct 19 Chris Essel will be attending the STNC Land Use Committee meeting at the North Valley City Hall in Tujunga. Paul Krekorian will be attending a LUC meeting later this month, or early next month.
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Post by TU79D93 on Oct 15, 2009 23:53:18 GMT -8
Thanks, Brian, for sharing the information about the Candidates Forum, Saturday, November 7.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 20, 2009 23:12:20 GMT -8
Thank you for visiting and posting, Karen. Your series of questions to Chris Essel midway through the first video garnered her first good responses, with some specifics about reforming the land use machinery and raising the money necessary to preserve the Verdugo Hills Golf Course after her earlier platitudes and pandering, to my provincial Tujungan ears. However, I will give her more consideration in the runoff because of the program by Sunland-Tujunga Alliance. And get around to Paul Krekorian later -- it's harder watching television on the computer. Looking forward to the Candidates Forum in two weeks.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Oct 29, 2009 23:10:31 GMT -8
Our door got another knock last Saturday by Nate, who first came by last August campaigning for Krekorian. He's a gifted grassroots organizer, about the same age I was when I worked on Assemblyman Richard Katz' reelection in 1986, so I interviewed Nate again.
He says he's been to every block in Sunland-Tujunga since the last time we talked on my porch -- and that Krekorian might open a local storefront soon. That morning, 20 workers fanned out over this weird district from their headquarters in North Hollywood.
Nate asked how I was going to vote Dec. 8. I told him we darkened the dot for his guy in the primary but Essel gave some good answers at Bolton Hall. Had I seen Krekorian's video? Not yet. But I'll probably see Nate again at the Candidate's Forum at the municipal building on Nov. 7.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Nov 6, 2009 0:31:53 GMT -8
Less than five weeks until the runoff and I've only received two mailers so far, both from Paul Krekorian. With absentee voting starting next week, the avalanche is imminent. I've been following the campaign since July -- largely about Krekorian's endorsements and Chris Essel's missteps, lately that Wendy Greuel is going to campaign heavily for Essel -- on the excellent roundup website, CD2 Special Election 2009: cd2election.blogspot.com/There you'll get details, including some of the sponsoring groups, of the Candidate's Forum this Saturday, Nov. 7, which kicks off with a meet-and-greet at noon at the North Valley City Hall next to the library in Tujunga -- along with the news that a Channel 11 reporter will moderate.
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Post by Brian on Nov 9, 2009 0:26:28 GMT -8
I walked into the Candidates Forum on Saturday hoping that Chris Essel would give me some reasons to consider her for this freaky deaky Second Los Angeles City Council District. But I left better assured of Paul Krekorian's credentials, intentions, grace under fire and awareness of Sunland-Tujunga as a geological fact and a lifestyle. At her best, Essel proved that she could be a competent council member who'd be right on most of the issues and cognizant of how city government works. At her worst, she pandered by assuming that medical marijuana stores were a big concern up here and making a wacky accusation that Krekorian supported an Assembly bill to put GPS devices in our cars. Later, she whined about how her tolerance of the "24/7" scrutiny and attacks in this campaign shows how much she wants to serve us. Krekorian, when he was the second to respond to a question, said three times that "Chris is right." Then he'd expand on her answer, explaining that not only do we need fines much higher than $100 for cutting down an oak tree, the city should pool those funds for greater enforcement of the ordinance. Essel mistook us for the idiot variety of Republicans by mentioning that Krekorian raised taxes last February in Sacramento when we knew it was the only thing he could do. We need a leader bathed in fire for the coming downtown budget meltdown. Paul Hatfield has been writing excellent detailed blogs about the election. I must admit that the Internet is a much better source of local political news than the Record-Ledger was in the 1970's, where I started writing for money as a teenager and when I worked for Howard Finn's successful campaign. Back when we were the First District. Hatfield's account jibes with my notes and memory: phinvv.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/point-counterpoint-the-sunland-tujunga-forum/Thanks to moderator Christina Gonzalez, a Channel 11 investigative reporter and La Tuna Canyon resident, the forum was a beautifully run debate, something hardly seen these days. And kudos to the 15 groups I count among the cosponsors for putting on a great spread. I look forward to the video being posted online.
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Post by Sharon W on Nov 9, 2009 8:44:49 GMT -8
Brian - thanks for your insight. I don't live in CD2 but I'm only a few blocks east so I really care about this election. I'd love for the folks on the Foothills Forum to hear your thoughts too. We're discussing the election in this thread: www.thefoothillsforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4973If you don't want to get involved with another forum, may I quote your opinion of Saturday's debate?
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Post by anni on Nov 9, 2009 10:29:08 GMT -8
Just spoke with Brian, at work, and he is thrilled for all visitors (if you want to link directly to this thread) or for you to quote him over there!
Here's a little bit from a note to my friend:
Made it back in time to hear the debate between run-off candidates for Council District 2. It was surprisingly good. I feel both candidates are smart. Ms. Essel seems too much business oriented and talking about safety, closing the 'renegade' Medical Marijuana stores and the valley breaking away from LAUSD... I will be voting for Mr. Krekorian. He has already been active in fighting the developers trying to take over the golf course as they bulldoze about 100 old growth oak trees. That's the main thing I remember about him.
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