Campaign Update
Editorial staff

With less than three weeks until Election Day, only two council candidates have momentum. Challengers Cathy Schlicht and Neil Lonsinger are increasing their community support while some others are nearly invisible. Incumbent Frank Ury might be planning to stuff mailboxes with slate mailers, but no residents are out campaigning for him.

While yard-sign placement is increasing, it’s nothing like the city race of two years ago. In 2006, 10 candidates ran for office, each with 500 to 1,000 or more signs, and the sign war gravitated to blight on every corner. While Ury had a grand total of three signs in yards last week, this week it’s down to two citywide.

Activists organized a well-attended meet-and-greet party for candidates Neil Lonsinger and Cathy Schlicht at the Casta del Sol Golf Course clubhouse on Oct. 13. Many of those attending said they felt encouraged by Lonsinger and Shlicht’s grassroots support and energy. A political insider observed: “In order for Frank Ury to win reelection, he needs the vote of the uninformed masses. Uninformed voters tend to be influenced by slate mailers and slick brochures. We’ll find out on Nov. 4 if Ury can capture the clueless.”

Is Councilwoman Trish Kelley trying to help Ury get reelected or dump him? Items on the agenda lately should cause most people to vote against any incumbent. The council majority (including Ury) recently approved the $300,000 Rose Parade float contract, voted to liquidate cell tower leases (with a $200,000 commission to Ury’s friend Tony Ingegneri) and doubled council members’ salaries. With this blog’s early publication this week, staff writers are hearing about but unable to confirm that the council will next review restoring its lifetime healthcare benefits. Insiders estimate such a move would cost taxpayers $300,000 per council member who serves 12 years.

Two recent forums have given residents an opportunity to evaluate candidates. The Oct. 15 Casta del Sol forum brought out stark contrast among five contenders (Michael Williamson didn’t participate). Ury attempted to defend his string of unpopular votes, including the Rose Parade float and doubling his pay. Challengers Cathy Schlicht and Neil Lonsinger criticized the council’s irresponsible spending and insensitivity to what residents want and need. When questioned about keeping the Casta golf course, Ury and Atkinson both touted the owner’s right to do “whatever” with the property – chilling remarks to anyone living near the golf course.

During the forum, challenger Richard Atkinson either agreed with Ury or read “answers” from note cards. The more he read, the more obvious it became that he hadn’t written the material. Whose words was Atkinson delivering? Councilwoman Trish Kelley sat on the front row within a few feet of her political fledgling. Those attending said Ury came across as arrogant and untrustworthy, and Atkinson was pompous and misinformed. If applause from the audience was a measure of success, Schlicht and Lonsinger won.

Storefront polling continues as activists and other residents gather signatures on the Right-To-Vote Initiative. Their findings are consistent with those making phone calls to voters on behalf of Schlicht and Lonsinger: Ury has no support, and all comments about him are negative. Another thing becoming clear is that the developer-backed team of Ury and Atkinson isn’t as well-funded as claimed. The two are relying on joint efforts that cut costs. Atkinson early on said he would have a campaign budget of $67,000 – a wild exaggeration – but it may have been written by someone else on his note cards.