Editor’s Note: This is about politics, condo conversions, resident ownership, and rent control…read further.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/oceanside/article_4d827a81-7d77-5e0f-9cc3-991826633dfd.html
Winner will serve remaining months of Chavez’s term
StoryDiscussionBy RAY HUARD – rhuard@nctimes.com | Posted: June 5, 2010 4:47 pm
Oceanside voters on Tuesday will break what has been a 2-2 City Council split when they choose from among six candidates to replace former Councilman Rocky Chavez, who resigned in December.
The winner at the polls will be elected to serve what’s left of Chavez’s term, which runs through November. Then the seat goes up for grabs in the general election for a full four-year term.
Appearing on Tuesday’s ballot are former bakery owner Charles “Chuck” Lowery, retired state supervisor Michael Lucas, business management consultant Lloyd Prosser, financial planner Ward O’Doherty and civilian police supervisor Ken Crossman.
Running as an on-again, off-again write-in candidate is John Dowell, a pilot of unmanned aircraft for a private company under contract with the military.
In the coming months, the reconstituted council will face several key decisions, such as awarding a new trash collection contract that could bring the city millions of dollars in franchise fees and what to do about pricey pension benefits for city workers in the midst of an ongoing budget crisis.
Chuck Lowery
Listed first among the candidates on the ballot is Lowery, who ran in 2008 and again in a 2009 recall election targeting Councilman Jerry Kern. The recall failed.
Lowery, 58, was backed by Mayor Jim Wood and Councilwoman Esther Sanchez in the recall election, but Lowery said he didn’t seek the endorsement of either one of them in this election as a way to emphasize his independence.
As a former business owner, Lowery said he’s made it through good times and bad and would use what he learned from that experience in handling city finances.
Lowery joined the other candidates in saying public safety workers should start paying part of their pension costs, but is uncertain about imposing working conditions on them if city negotiators are unable to reach agreement on a new contract with labor groups representing them.
“We have to make a decision that benefits all parties, residents and labor groups,” Lowery said. “I’d have to make a decision at this time.”
As a property owner, Lowery said he has mixed feelings about rent control for residents of city mobile home parks, but said it was unreasonable to expect people who rent spaces in the parks to buy their lots. Such a proposal is headed for the council from owners of Cavalier Mobile Estates, who are appealing the Planning Commission’s denial of their request to convert their property from a rental park to a resident-owned community.
Lowery said many older and low-income park residents couldn’t get financing to buy their lots.
Michael Lucas
Listed second on the ballot is Lucas, 67, making his ninth run for the council.
A former supervisor with the state Bureau of Automotive Repair, Lucas’ campaign mantra is “vote for me, I’m the cheapskate and tightwad who will set you free.”
Lucas, 67, said he’d get rid of the city Police and Fire departments, start contracting with the Sheriff’s Department for police services and rely on volunteers for fire protection.
He is against rent control and said the city should buy the mobile-home parks, sell park spaces to people who can afford them and rent spaces to those who can’t for as long as they remain in the park.
Lucas also said council members should serve without pay and proudly said he is spending less than $200 on his campaign.
Lloyd Prosser
Prosser, 64, is a retired Marine lieutenant colonel and executive vice president of the Municipal Management Group, a consulting company. He is a former member of the city Utilities Commission.
Prosser has been endorsed by Councilmen Jack Feller and Kern and the San Diego County Republican Party, but said “I’m my own man.”
He raised far more money than his rivals —- $33,172 through May 22, the latest date for which figures are available. Lowery, who comes closest, raised $10,570.
Describing himself as “a fiscal conservative,” Prosser said he would require all city workers to pay more of their pension costs. He also said city employees should be willing to take unpaid furloughs to help Oceanside save money.
Prosser said he supported the Planning Commission decision on Cavalier Mobile Estates because park owners couldn’t say what it would cost residents to buy their spaces. But he said he has reservations about rent control in general.
“I kind of have a feel for both sides from where they’re coming from,” Prosser said.
Prosser and Dowell are the only candidates who support a proposed city charter on the ballot, Proposition K.
Ward O’Doherty
Promising “a new wave” in city government, O’Doherty, 42, said he’s the only candidate with the financial acumen to restore the city’s fiscal health.
“The first thing I’d do as a financial guy is conduct a forensic audit using city staff because they know where the bodies are, they know where there’s overspending,” O’Doherty said. “The budget itself and individual department budgets are in such disarray that you have no basis to make cuts.”
O’Doherty, who ran for council in 2005, said the city needs to develop a business plan with a clear picture of what would essentially be its profits and losses.
Among other things, O’Doherty said public safety workers should be required to pay part of their pension costs, as do other city workers.
“We have to consider that everything is on the table,” he said. If the city is unable to reach agreement on contracts with labor groups representing city workers, O’Doherty said he would impose a settlement.
O’Doherty favors modified rent control for mobile-home park residents: People over 55 and low-income families should be covered by rent control, but others should not.
“I don’t want some 25-year-old guy who’s making a decent living squatting in a mobile-home park,” O’Doherty said.
Ken Crossman
Crossman, 62, said that as a council member, his focus would be on attracting small businesses to the city.
“Oceanside has lost many small businesses due to the economy but also due to apathy on the part of city departments,” Crossman said. “We need to entice small businesses to re-establish themselves throughout the city.”
Crossman said he favors rent control for mobile-home park residents but would probably support converting parks so people would own their spaces.
“I think in the long run, it’s going to be beneficial,” Crossman said. “What I don’t want to see is some of the folks who are living on a limited income to be forced out.”
A former sheriff’s sergeant, Crossman said public safety workers should start paying some of their pension costs. He said he would impose a settlement on city labor unions if they can’t come to agreement with city negotiators and an impasse is declared.
Given the city’s tight finances, “the bargaining units, the city employees, are going to have to step up,” Crossman said.
John Dowell
Dowell, 68, isn’t listed on the ballot but mounted a write-in campaign a few months ago.
He said he decided to run because he was frustrated by government at all levels. Dowell said he didn’t get on the ballot because he was out of the country when candidates had to file nominating papers with the city clerk.
Dowell, the military contractor, briefly halted his write-in efforts in May when his employer told him he would have to report for training this month and would then be deployed to Afghanistan with the U.S. Air Force. He said those plans have been put on hold, so he’s back in the running for the council.
Still, Dowell pegged his chances of winning without his name on the ballot as “extremely slim.”
“If it turns out I’m not going to go to Afghanistan at all, I may consider being an official candidate on the (November) ballot,” he said.
Like the other candidates, Dowell said city workers must pay more of their pension costs. He said he would impose a settlement on labor groups if they can’t agree with the city on a new contract.
Dowell said he opposes efforts to get mobile-home park residents to buy their lots.
“I would support continuing the situation for the people who live there as it is now,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like a good time to be putting pressure on essentially low-income people.”
Call staff writer Ray Huard at 760-901-4062.
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