Current Councilmembers
Wow, it has been about 15 months since this last election in Poway. We are way overdue for a geopolitical update.
(Note: click on any of the maps on this page to make them larger. The maps are divided into 3 parts: orange for north Poway, blue for south Poway and green for east Poway.)
In Nov., 2010 Dave Grosch was elected to his first term on the council. John Mullin was re-elected to the council position, and Don Higginson was re-elected to the mayor position. That made the geo-political map very interesting. Both Boyack and Grosch live in the same Rancho Arbolitos neighborhood; Higginson and Cunningham live in the same north Poway neighborhood. Mullin lives in the Del Poniente neighborhood. It's nice to see two councilmembers hail from south Poway, which traditional enjoys less representation than north Poway. Of course, Grosch and Boyack live pretty much on the northern edge of south Poway. In fact, the geo-political picture is pretty edgy, all the way around, except for Mullin. He is the only council member that does not live close to Pomerado Rd. and the western boundary of Poway.
What will the geo-political map look like after the elections later this year?
Announced Candidates and Councilmembers not up for re-election
It is pretty early in the year for folks to announce that they are running for council in November. Traditionally, Poway councilmembers don't announce whether or not they plan to run again until summer. This year is not so tradition. Merrilee Boyack has announced that she has no plans to run for re-election. She has endorsed Steve Vaus, who has announced his intentions to run for council. Jim Cunningham has already announced that he is running for re-election. Former PUSD school board member, Jeff Mangum, has also thrown his hat in the ring. It's very early. But I decided to look at the geo-political possibilities among those who have announced their intentions to run. Currently, there are 3 contenders (Vaus, Cunningham and Mangum) for two spots on the council. If Vaus and Cunningham win, Poway will have 3/5 of their council living within a block or two of each other in the same neighborhood. And 4/5 of the council would be from north Poway again, no matter which 2 of the 3 contenders wins.
It seems that our council always tilts towards over-representation from north Poway and under-representation of the south end of town. So, I decided to look at where all of our past council members have lived. Eight council members have come from south Poway and ten have come from north Poway. Not too lopsided. But then I looked at the number of years those from each area have served on the council. The north Poway council members logged 96.5 yrs and the south Poway council members served for 53.5yrs. Now, that's a bit more like I remember it.
There is a lot more than location to choosing a council member or being represented by one. And it should be noted that some of the south Poway council members lived in the less dense parts of south Poway that share rural residential zoning with most of north and east Poway.
It should be noted that many, many of the land use decision that affect the majority of Powegians living in south Poway were made by people who don't really have to experience the consequences of those decisions in their day-to-day life.
Note: Map edited to correct location of Mangum's current home, Cunningham's years of service.
12 comments:
Chris, where do you live?
Now some of the decisions made by the Poway city council members makes sense. It looks like some re-balancing is in order. Wake up people!!!!
Paccman,
I live in south Poway.
Isn't interesting that when it came time to vote for cityhood many people to the north didn't want to be "associated" with the city.
The then sparsely populated north, was outvoted, and became part of the city. It is from those environs that there appeared to be what can only be described as "Well, if we're gonna be in the city, then we will determine what that means."
Counter to what is mentioned, "walking the streets and pounding on doors to get elected" - money does talk and will so continue.
Don't you find it interesting that in the north there are 3 parks (without night time lighting) and two golf courses (one private, one semi-private), while in the south there are 13 parks and no golf courses.
Don't you find it interesting that most of the north (where a majority of the councilpeople reside) was not in the "redevelopment project area" (except the golf courses and mc-mansion areas) while most of the south was in the "redevelopment project areas" or in the "exclusion areas?"
Why do suppose that is?
You had Mangum's location right the first time. He is among the ultra rich in the Old Coach area. And speaking of rich you might want to look at how much of his own money cunningham spent on the last election. A candidate buying a seat on the council bothers me far more than where they live.
I’m really not a fan of District elections, but when it is obvious that the Green Valley section holds a lot of power, then maybe it’s time. How often will the person making an average salary, win? Money and influence does win elections.
BTW, I do live in what is considered the northern section, but I live in the sw corner, south of the hospital. The money really isn’t here;)
There's still time for others, including others from South Poway, to jump into the race. I live in North Poway, and I do not want to vote for any of the current candidates in the upcoming election.
What a bunch of baloney. Cunningham talks about maintaining a level playing field in Poway elections. They are only level if your as well off as him. Read this:
http://poway.patch.com/articles/campaign-self-financing-cunningham-s-an-expert
Cunningham needs to own up to being his own best friend financially. I'm surprised no one has made any comments on the article - maybe they're too afraid? I think it's time we called out our politicans on their financial lies.
Would love to see some term limits for these folks as well. Cunningham 25 years- he is the last of the old guard that needs to step down and bring fresh blood and fresh ideas to Poway. "Same old" ain't cuttin' it no more. I, for one, am glad to see their redevelopment 'slush fund" confiscated by the State. No more money to grease their own, and their pals, hands...
Looks like someone's wish might come true. Some new players in Nov. Should be an interesting race. I am always surprised when someone has the endorsement of the police or firefighters. Why would you want the backing of the union? You work for the people, not members of a union.
Sorry, thought my name would appear on the above comment. Hope this fixes it, if not, I am Debbie Pond, resident of south Poway. Live on Midland, up near Twin Peaks.
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