Making Sense of Election 2018: Poway

District and At-Large Elections for Poway, 2018

In the past, all Poway elections were "at-large" with the entire city electing the members of the City Council as well as who would be the Mayor.  This has changed (see below) and, much to the chagrin of anyone who's been paying attention, we are in a transition period to district elections.  This process has been further muddled by the resignation of now former councilperson Jim Cunningham.  The purpose of this series of posts is to help clear up any potential confusion about these local 2018 elections.

In November, we will choose who will occupy the following seats:

Mayor's Office:  Currently held by Steve Vaus, this is an "at-large" seat, meaning everyone in Poway can vote on it. Short version: Steve is highly responsive to the residents and has done an excellent job representing Poway to the outside world.  Vote for Steve Vaus

Council Seat District 1:  Currently held by Dave Grosch.  This election is restricted to those residents who live within District 1. Short version: Dave is one of the most hands on city councilmen in Poway's history who keeps a close watch on the city's finances.  Vote for Dave Grosch.

Council Seat District 3:  Currently held by John Mullin.  This election is restricted to those residents who live within District 3. Short version: John has used his knowledge of the interface between government and business to reduce unneeded barriers and increase governmental predictability, thus allowing for more entrepreneurs to call Poway home.  Vote for John Mullin.

Council Seat District 4: Currently held by Caylin Frank (right).  This election is at large (why? - see below) meaning everyone in Poway can vote on it.  Short version: Caylin brings nearly a decade of governmental policy and planning experience at the county level to the table for Poway.  Vote for Caylin Frank.

There are more detailed pages (to the right) about why each of these candidates deserve your vote.

All of the serious candidates will be at the Painted Rock Forum on October 3rd.  If you have the time, take a look.

Why are there Districts in Poway?

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past several years, (which makes up a surprisingly large number of us), you would know that the Poway City Government moved from "at-large" to District Elections.  Why?

The Poway City Council had No Choice.

A pair of focused interest groups got a state law passed that had been written in such a way as to effectively mandate districts in all elected bodies. That this tossed out California's original and progressive plan to reduce Chicago style corruption mattered little to the redistricting proponents, and we will all bear the consequences going forward.

So, about this time last year, the Poway City Council made its choice for a redistricting map with four districts, one for each Council member, and a single at-large (like previously) election for the Mayor.  Especially confusing is this election year is that we are within the transition period between at-large and district elections.

Below is a map of Poway's new districts.  All of us get to vote for the Mayor and the City Council seat currently held by Caylin Frank.  Those people who live in Districts 1 or 3 will additionally vote for one of the people running for those city council seats.

Holy moly!  Why is District 4 being held "at-large?"

District 4 is being held as an "at-large" election because councilperson Jim Cunningham, lawyer well versed in the arcane rules of city governance and election law, chose to vacate his seat with more than two years till the term ended.  There are a lot of odd theories running around about why Jim chose to vacate his seat and the timing of that decision.  They essentially range from Jim being cynical and self centered to him trying to encourage voter turnout to Jim throwing an adult version of a hissy fit over the failure of a handful of his recent pet projects.  Like most things in life, the truth is probably a little bit of everything. 

In some sense, by effectively springing District elections onto District 4 two years early, it has robbed that section of Poway any additional time to cultivate a quality batch of local civic leaders to put forth onto the council.  Ironically, it appears perhaps as blatant a way that the old Poway City Council (represented by Cunningham's era) is screwing the folks represented in District 4.

Frankly not a great legacy to leave, although it was one already pretty tarnished with the series of scandals and missteps near the end.

In short, because District 4 won't have District elections until 2020, anyone appointed to fill the seat that Cunningham held could come from anywhere in the city.  But when 2020 rolls around, would a current councilperson have to resign their position to allow for the seating of the winner of District 4?  Which Poway voters would be disenfranchised?  Conveniently absent from the state redistricting mandates is any legal guidance for this foreseeable circumstance; leaving situations like this ripe for lawsuits and lining the pockets of the lawyer interest groups who wrote the state laws in the first place.

Fortunately, in a bid to unify and mend potential wounds, our current crop of elected officials saw a path out of the weeds and chose a highly qualified candidate (Caylin Frank), who lives in District 4, to fill the seat that Cunningham previously held.  Only one of the two challengers to that seat (Torrey Powers) lives within District 4.  So, it is up to the at-large voters of Poway to ensure that our choice for that City Council seat goes to a candidate who lives in District 4, lest we open up the City of Poway's pocketbook to a feeding frenzy of lawyers in major election lawsuits.