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As of Friday, August 8th, only two candidates filed for the two open positions on the Chino Hills City Council. The city council held a special meeting at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, the 19th, to cancel the election and to appoint the two candidates to their positions on the council.

Two cities in similar situations handled the November election in different ways. Both cities - Chino Hills and Pomona - have mayors running for Assembly and not running for re-election.

Chino Hills did not extend its City Council filing period by three extra days, as prescribed by state election law and has appointed it's Council Members - rather than holding an election.

My Opinion

I'm highly saddened that Chino Hills is not going to have a City Council election this year. Up until it was too late, I had the impression that there was a strong pool of candidates running and then found out that only two candidates actually filed papers for two openings.

After the filing deadline was over, Roman Nava, who works for Gary Ovitt, told me that he "didn't want a bloodbath" and Ray Marquez said he decided not to file after "he spoke to two Chino Hills city council members who advised him to wait until 2010". The result is that Art Bennett, a long time Chino Hills Planning Commissioner, will become our first (and hopefully, last) unelected City Council Member.

Actions by the city and the city council members make it seem that because of back room deals and discussions, that voters were fooled right up until the last minute and then left completely out of the voting equation. Apparently the people we've elected, now think that we've given them the authority to deal us out.

As a member of the voting public I feel cheated. I won't get to ask questions or to ask for commitments that the due process of an election would have given me. If any candidate or member of a Party is happy about this outcome, you should not be.

If any Council or Party Member or government employee discouraged or arranged for a candidate to pull out of this election or to wait for another one... shame on you. Another candidate told me that he sent his daughter down to request papers very near the deadline and that she was turned away by the City Clerk because of administrative rules. There was also a grey area as to whether the city should extend the deadline or not and the city chose not to extend it. Finally, the city called a special council meeting at a time when very few people could attend and cancelled the election "to save the city money".

Why did we let these things happen? Why didn't we do everything possible to see to it that an election occurred and to facilitate the process for new candidates, many of whom have businesses or full time jobs and who are trying to navigate this process for the first time?

Although I've been told that there isn't much that can be done, I don't buy it. I'd like to ask the city council to take action and to see to it that this never happens again. Everyone loses when we don't have an election. No matter how much you want your job as a Council Member, you need to do everything you can to ensure that the public gets to do its job within this city; the job of participating in real elections according to the democratic process. Anything less is bad.

I appreciate public service and I appreciate Art's many years of unpaid service on the Planning Commission, but if this outcome was encouraged or intentional in any way, it was wrong.

Read more Daily Bulletin | Posted August 15, 2008

Read the story Daily Bulletin | Posted August 15, 2008

Read the story Chino Champion | Posted August 16, 2008

To All The Cheated Feeling Naysayers:

In 1960, while a sophomore at Rider College (now University), John F. Kennedy came to Trenton to campaign for the Presidency of the United States. He handily won the City, State and all the college campuses. Me too, and although I couldn't vote for him, the legal age to vote then was 21, and I wasn't; we all worked hard towards his ultimate victory. It was a beginning for me of a love for the electoral process; and I have never missed a vote since. My candidates have won some and lost some.

With regard to this Chino Hills situation, the mayor had made clear his intentions to run for the Assembly for some time, and clinched his party's nomination the first week in June. It could not be a surprise to anyone that his seat was available. In addition, in my forty some years of voting I have always realized that running for office is an amazingly thought out process; involving family, business, time constraints and responsibilities. A person seeking to participate in a election usually starts to put his campaign together at the close of the immediate past election, or even before that, if he is watching seriously what the situation would be. At best, that was two or four years ago; or at the very least three months before the filing deadline. At any rate, with what is involved with the legality of filing, it is very impractical to wake up one morning, the day of filing, do your morning routine and then decide, 'Hey, I want public office.' I guess it could happen, but, where were you? American elections are not secrets. They have, unfortunately, become circuses. Again, where were you? You weren't at the council meetings. You didn't participate in city activities. I have come to realize that everyone who appears to be upset with the council's decisions with regard to this current election have varied agendas as to why they want the election held, rather than the issues, or the vote, or anything for that matter other than having the city spend roughly $60,000 for a non election situation. Additionally, there wasn't anything the council could have done otherwise. You cannot hold an election, if no one files papers or runs. If there is an issue, which I honestly do not see, it is that no one filed papers. However, what that says is the people, the city in general, are happy, content, or willing to let people they seem to trust carry on. It is a good thing. A naysayer needs nay, and a muckraker needs muck; either implied or imaginary. It is the wonderful right granted by the First Amendment; it is their right and I truly defend it. I just don't have to agree with it. For the past 17 years the city and its governing body have done an outstanding job of guiding our new city and making it the place we all want to live in. I am grateful that we did not have to spend $60,000 to keep our city functioning fantastically.

I agree and I'm disappointed that this happened. I won't accuse anyone of improprierty, but Chino Hills deserves a better reputation than actions like this can give us. If the communication is sent out that applicants are needed, then I'm sure people will answer the call. I would rather file and run, than have "No Election", and trust me I don't want the job. Hopefully this will be the last time this sort of action happens. I agree that Term Limits will stop this sort of problem in the future.

New blood is a good thing and brings about change and new ideas and actions.

I can not agree more..That is sad day for this city and it will not stand. The push is on for new Term Limits for city councils seats. This will never happen again.