Will It Be an Incumbent Sweep? - The Spectrum Magazine

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As the sample ballots are arriving in your mailboxes, and absentee ballots soon on their way, let’s take a look at the activity in the races that are of interest to Redwood City voters in this November’s election. First, in the Redwood City City Council race we have four incumbents — Alicia Aguirre, Ian Bain, Rosanne Foust and Barbara Pierce — facing off against political newcomer Paul McCarthy. A few tidbits for you: Pierce did not get the COPE Labor Council endorsement, which is almost unheard of for an incumbent poised to be re-elected. I am sure her relationship, or lack thereof, with safety labor groups like police and fire led to the snub. It sends a strong message they are not happy with her and don’t mind facing the consequences, considering she will be reelected. Aguirre, Bain and Foust got the nod yes. McCarthy did not interview for the endorsement. Bain did not get the San Mateo County Democratic Party endorsement, which also surprises. That went to Aguirre and Pierce. Foust is a Republican and McCarthy did not interview for the endorsement, so they were not expected to get it. The candidates’ recent campaign statements were released, and the leader in contributions is Foust, who raised $7,668.25 to date and has $1,000 worth of nonmonetary contributions. She had a beginning balance of $7,393 and spent $3,413.45, leaving her with $11,647.80. Among those contributing to her campaign are: Pete’s Harbor owner Paula Uccelli, $500; businessman David Amann and Lilia Ledezma, $250 each; political consultant Ed McGovern, $250; SamTrans Director Michael Scanlon and real estate agent John Shroyer, $150 each; school trustee Dennis McBride, former Atherton Police Chief Glenn Nielsen and Councilman Jeff Gee, $100 each. Chamber of Commerce President Ben Paul donated $242.45. Next was Pierce, who raised $3,395. Combined with an $8,600.11 beginning balance and $1,280.01 in expenses, Pierce ends with $10,852.10 in her war chest. Her contributors include: Uccelli, $500; property owner Alyn Beals, $250; McBride and Scanlon, $100 each. Albert Engel, owner of Harbor Village Mobile Home Park, donated $500. Aguirre raised $7,256 to date, on top of a $5,030 beginning balance. After spending $1,739, she ended with $10,552. Her contributors included: $1,000 from the Harbor Village Mobile Home Park owners; County Sheriff Greg Munks and Uccelli, $500 each; businessman John Adams, $250; San Mateo Credit Union CEO Barry Jolette, $200; former Cañada College President Tom Mohr, Gee and McBride, $100 each. Bain started with $1,809, raised $2,395 and had expenditures of $542, leaving him with a balance of $3,663. Those contributing to his campaign were: www.SpectrumMagazine.net As I Was Saying… Publisher Building Trades Council and Kaia Eakin, $250 each; Assemblyman Jerry Hill, County Supervisor Don Horsley, Jolette, retired businessman Keith Bautista and McBride, $100 each. McCarthy claimed no donations and no expenditures. What does this all mean? Can a political newcomer who is spending nothing on his campaign possibly win a seat and defeat an incumbent? Most likely no, considering that there are no real issues besides the Cargill site that would lead to a large voter turnout, and that issue does not have enough opposition in our community to foster that kind of anti-incumbent vote. On the other hand, McCarthy is the only candidate against the two tax-increase measures on the ballot, has a strong background in the military/law enforcement and is involved with several community groups. All impressive and attractive to voters. He is also listed fourth on the ballot, which might get him a few extra votes too. But if he is not spending any money to get his message out, voters will not know about him. He also did not publish a candidate’s statement in the sample ballot booklet, which will hurt him and quite possible seal his campaign’s fate. .… The political action committee Redwood City Residents to Protect City Services (made up of elected officials and status quo alike), which is in favor of Measures I and M to increase the city’s hotel and business taxes, raised $2,755 this period on top of $1,000 from previous reporting periods, bringing its total to $3,755. The group spent $4,378 on literature and campaign consultants, leaving it with $2,378 in outstanding debt. Contributions this period include $200 each from the Redwood City Police Sergeants Association and Ben Paul, $500 from Councilwoman Pierce and $100 from developer Sares Regis. OK, really? How ironic is it that this committee is reporting a deficit and they are trying to raise our taxes? Voters often complain that government entities should but do not “live within their means,” and this group can’t even run a campaign that is at least balanced so far? Give me a break. If these measures pass, it will be because of low voter turnout and the precinct walking done by firefighters and other union groups. .… In the Redwood City School District race, incumbents Alisa Greene MacAvoy, Shelly Masur and Dennis P. McBride are facing competition from Lea Cuniberti-Duran. Trustee McBride raised $2,802 this year and $1,802 since July 1. McBride loaned himself $2,000 of the total amount. Trustee Masur raised $1,943 over the year and | Steve Penna $250 during this filing period. Board President MacAvoy raised $1,850 this year, $575 during this filing period. Her total includes a $1,000 loan from herself. All three candidates spent money on filing fees and literature. Challenger Cuniberti- Duran filed a form saying she would not raise or spend over $1,000 during her campaign. Same scenario in this race as the City Council race — if you are going to challenge incumbents, you need to raise contributions and endorsements to win. The one advantage Cuniberti-Duran might have is that she is in the race and is showing a desire to serve. Which might come in handy if Masur is elected county supervisor in November 2012 (she will be running for Rose Jacobs Gibson’s seat) and has to give up her seat to do so. That will put Cuniberti-Duran in a strong position to be appointed if she a) has a respectable showing in this election and b) creates some relationships with the other trustees, including Masur. .… In the Sequoia Union High School District race, trustees Lorraine Rumley and Olivia Martinez are campaigning against Menlo Park resident Allen Weiner, East Palo Alto resident Larry James Moody and San Carlos School District trustee Carrie Du Bois. At least one of the challengers will gain election because incumbent trustee Don Gibson decided to not run for re-election. Du Bois raised $11,468, including $100 from philanthropist Bill Somerville, $250 from San Carlos trustee Seth Rosenblatt, $100 from the Leisure Family 1991 Trustee, $100 each from Redwood City School District trustees MacAvoy and McBride, $500 from San Carlos trustee Mark Olbert and $100 from Amika Guillaume, an administrator for the Ravenswood City School District. Du Bois has spent $4,746.46 thus far on postage, website costs, print ads and campaign literature. University educator Weiner raised $3,270, including a $1,064 donation from himself and $1,000 from Terry Thygesen, Menlo Park City School District trustee. Weiner spent $382.40 thus far on envelopes and campaign literature. A joint campaign committee was formed to support trustees Rumley and Martinez. Thus far, the campaign raised $2,624, including $100 donations from both Rumley and Martinez, and $200 from Sheriff Munks. The statement from Moody was not yet available. Given the fact that our community seems to be relatively pleased with the current board and that Du Bois is viewed as part of the extended system, she should grab the open seat. (continues on page 30)
Nonprofits in the News Rotary Car Raffle Raises Record Sums for 10 Local Charities — Local Man Wins Big With a $5 Ticket TOP: Redwood City charity representatives (from left) Salvation Army Capt. Andres Espinoza, Barbara Bonilla of Sheriff’s Activities League, Al Cunningham of Tim’s House, Rene Zimmerman of Family Connections, Helen Cocco of St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room, Andy Frisch representing both Kainos House and Casa de Redwood, Rotary President Glenn Nielsen, Lisa Simmons of Pets in Need, Tom Cronin of Police Activities League and Bonnie Miller of Salvation Army. ABOVE LEFT: Local electrician Gabe Maldonado with his winning Redwood City Rotary Fourth of July Raffle ticket worth $18,000. ABOVE RIGHT: Rotary Raffle sponsors underwrite all costs of annual July 4 raffle, enabling all ticket sales to benefit local charities. Shown here are Deanna Dooley of Dooley Insurance, attorney William Conklin, Undersheriff Carlos Bolanos, Carol Ebner of T&H Lumber, Paul Shepherd of Cargill and Michael Henderson of DMB/Redwood City Saltworks. After a steak dinner at the Redwood City Elks Club, local electrician Gabriel Maldonado was asked to buy a raffle ticket to support the Redwood City Police Activities League. “I had an extra $5, so I bought one,” he recounted at the Redwood City Rotary luncheon where he received a cash prize of $18,000 — the equivalent price of a brand-new Toyota Prius. Maldonado was not the only winner, however. Ten local charities split $82,587 raised through raffle ticket purchases. Receiving funds: Rotary Charitable Foundation ($5,610), Salvation Army ($1,665), Kainos Home & Training Center ($8,240), Sequoia YMCA ($2,827), Police Activities League ($3,050), Sheriff’s Activities League ($13,245), Family Connection ($15,815), St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room ($5,995), Pets in Need ($20,630), Casa de Redwood ($3,075) and Tim’s House ($8,045). Rotary Club members and charity supporters spend more than half a year hawking the $5 raffle tickets along with volunteers for the participating charities. Ticket buyers check a box on each ticket to determine which organization benefits from their bet. Under the leadership of Rotarian Pete Hughes, Redwood City Rotary raffle has raised nearly $600,000 for local charities over the past nine years through the annual July 4 Raffle. “The secret to the success of this raffle is our sponsors,” said Hughes, raffle chair. “Our sponsors pay all the costs, so 100 percent of the ticket sales are donated to the charities. It’s a great partnership and the sponsors deserve thanks.” Sponsors are: Cargill, Danford Foundation, San Mateo Credit Union, Pete Hodgson of T&H Building Supply, Dooley Insurance, Pete and Ginny Hughes, Bill Nicolet, BKF Consulting Engineers, attorney Wm. R. Conklin, DMB/Redwood City Saltworks LLC, Pete Liebengood, Pete’s Harbor, Port of Redwood City, Brookdale Senior Living, Steve Wagstaffe and Carlos Bolanos. The raffle netted $38,000 in 2003, its first year, $56,000 in 2004, $61,000 in 2005, $63,000 in 2006, $83,000 in 2007, $72,000 in 2008 and $85,000 in 2009. Last year, nearly $85,000 was raised in ticket sales and the Tim Griffith Foundation won the raffle. All $100,000 in proceeds benefited local charities. Redwood City Woman’s Club Holds Annual Pasta Dinner Fundraiser Members and guests of the Woman’s Club enjoy a good time. Upcoming events for the club include the Clubhouse Centennial Celebration. Come one, come all! Everyone is welcome to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Redwood City Woman’s Club at a free open house on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2–4 p.m. The club is at 149 Clinton Ave. in Redwood City. There will be a welcome presentation and brief history of the club at 2 p.m. and cake at 3 p.m. Mix and mingle until 4 p.m. The menu includes Champagne, wine and yummy appetizers donated by members, plus cake and coffee supplied by the club. Ticket information is at www.rwcwc.com. The Redwood City Woman’s Club, established in 1909 and a member of the California and General Federations of Women’s Clubs, meets at its historic clubhouse, built in 1911, at 149 Clinton St. the first Thursday of each month from September through June. Typical agenda: social at 11:30 a.m., lunch at 12 p.m., followed by meeting and program. Guests and new members are always welcome. For more information about membership or clubhouse rentals, call 650-363-1266, email info@rwcwc.com or visit www.rwcwc.com. The Spectrum 7
Page 1 and 2: Will It Be an Incumbent Sweep? LeMo
Page 3 and 4: The Spectrum.OCT.2011 Table of Cont
Page 5: RCSD Corner: News From the Redwood
Page 9 and 10: LeMo: Creating a Dream-Come-True Wo
Page 11 and 12: Upsize your LIFE Great retirement l
Page 13 and 14: P.S. The People Speak: Letters to t
Page 15 and 16: Community Interest San Mateo Credit
Page 17 and 18: Events Around Town Rosanne Foust
Page 19 and 20: Challenger McCarthy tells incumbent
Page 21 and 22: Candidates answer Spectrum question
Page 23 and 24: Insurance Tips: Bundling Home and A
Page 25 and 26: Candidates sound off (Continued fro
Page 27 and 28: The Spectrum 27
Page 29 and 30: Real Estate: Michelle Glaubert at C
Page 31 and 32: Cherokees Primed for Another Champi
Page 33 and 34: LeMo: Creating a Dream-Come-True Wo
Page 35 and 36: CASINO NIGHT VINTAGE VEGAS A fundra

Will It Be an Incumbent Sweep? - The Spectrum Magazine

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