Vol. XV, No. 9
March 8, 2002

ASSESSOR ELECTION RESULTS: DICK FRANK LOSES; THREE OTHER INCUMBENTS IN TROUBLE

Long-time San Luis Obispo County Assessor Dick Frank was ousted by former Assembly Member Tom Bordonaro in the March 5 Primary Election, with three other incumbent assessors forced into November run-offs. The conventional wisdom is that if a local elected official is forced into a run-off, he or she is in trouble, as votes for all of the challengers are essentially anti-incumbent votes.

Headed for a November decision are San Francisco Assessor Doris Ward, San Bernardino County Assessor Don Williamson, and Siskiyou County Assessor Carl Bontrager, as well as candidates in several counties where the current assessor is retiring.

This year’s races were highly unusual, due to the number of incumbent assessors challenged for re-election and the total number of contested races resulting from retirements.

County-by-county returns of contested races:

Amador:

James Rooney 48.9%

Denise Tober 41.1%

Steven Rechter 9.7%

Butte:

Kenneth Reimers (I) 71%

Chris Baker 28.8%

Mr. Baker was a technician in the Assessor’s Office who said he could do the job better than the incumbent.

Fresno:

Bob Werner 59.6%

Ron Shapazian 20.8%

Paul Burris 10.6%

Chuck Brough 8.9%

With Assessor Bill Greenwood stepping down, a deputy county assessor endorsed by Mr. Greenwood won in a hard-fought race. In response to his big win, Mr. Werner told the Fresno Bee that computerizing the office and working more closely with other elected officials are the first orders of business.

El Dorado:

Tim Holcomb 62.2%

Bill Vandegrift 25.1%

Terrence Tawney 12.6%

In the race to succeed retiring Assessor John Winner, Mr. Holcomb carried Mr. Winner’s endorsement.

Humboldt:

Linda Hill 66.7%

William Thomas 31.2%

The campaign to succeed Assessor Ray Jerland had Assistant Assessor Hill defending against her challenger’s allegations of poor management practices.

Kern:

Jim Fitch 62.3%

Trice Harvey 37.7%

Name recognition wasn’t enough for Mr. Harvey, former Assembly member and ex-county supervisor, as Mr. Fitch carried both the endorsement of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and retiring Assessor Jim Maples. Mr. Harvey told the Bakersfield Californian, “I really didn’t think I’d lose. I misjudged people on what they expected out of that office.” He added he wasn’t going to run for anything else.

Kings:

George Misner (I) 68.7%

Michael Austin 31.2%

Lake:

Douglas Wacker (I) 57%

Michael Wochna 43%

These results are based on early returns.

Los Angeles:

Rick Auerbach (I) 69.6%

John Lower Taxes Loew 11.1%

Mervin Evans 9.8%

Steven Kalski 9.6%

No surprise here.

Merced:

David Cardella (I) 64.1%

Dave Contreras 35.7%

Mr. Cardella, who has held the office for 25 years, appears to have turned back calls for “it’s time for a change.” Mr. Cardella said, in his victory statement, “I feel very strongly he (Mr. Contreras) used insinuation, distortion of facts and outright untruths. He besmirched not only me but the whole staff.” However, county officials report major election problems, with countywide vote totals 40,000 votes too high, according to the Merced Sun-Star.

Monterey:

Steve Vagnini 42.9%

Eric Bailey 37.5%

Jeff Walbeck 19.4%

A November run-off is set between Mr. Vagnini, who has retiring Assessor Joe Pitta’s endorsement, and Assistant Assessor Bailey. Mr. Vagnini outspent Mr. Bailey by a 4-to-1 margin.

Orange:

Webster Guillory (I) 65.5%

Larry Bales 34.5%

San Bernardino:

Donald Williamson (I) 45.9%

Linda Foster 34.5%

R. Gordon Young 19.5%

This soap-opera election apparently will continue to supply good newspaper copy until November. However, incumbent Williamson told the San Bernardino Sun he hopes 16,000 absentee and provisional ballots to be counted next week will push him above 50 percent. Observers thought this to be unlikely. Ms. Foster, who will be facing Mr. Williamson in November, said she was happy with her showing and looks forward to November. “We need to get out a message that we need a change,” she said.

San Diego:

Gregory Smith (I) 84.4%

John Hammerstrand 15.5%

San Francisco:

Mabel Teng 29.5%

Doris Ward (I) 23.1%

Rich Chun 19.1%

John Farrell 14.5%

Richard Hongisto 9.0%

Jim Rodriguez 4.7%

For Assessor Ward to stay in office, she will need to find support among those who campaigned to unseat her.

San Luis Obispo:

Tom Bordonaro 51.2%

Dick Frank (I) 48.6%

Mr. Frank, elected six times as county assessor, is blaming his failure to win a seventh term on low voter turnout and “hit pieces.” Former Republican Assembly Member Bordonaro said groups not affiliated with his campaign aggressively challenged Mr. Frank with mass mailings and phone calls. “There were some groups unhappy with him,” Mr. Bordonaro told the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Mr. Frank said he is trying to keep his spirits up by looking at the result as winning six of seven elections.

Santa Barbara:

Joseph Holland 56.1%

Larry Herrera 43.8%

In the race to replace retiring Assessor Ken Pettit, Mr. Holland beat Mr. Pettit’s candidate, Mr. Herrera, with about 13,000 absentee and provisional ballots still to be counted. These ballots are unlikely to alter the outcome.

Siskiyou:

Carl Bontrager (I) 48.1%

Michael Mallory 40.0%

William Branch 11.8%

Challenging incumbent Assessor Bontrager in November will be Mr. Mallory, a principal appraiser in the Assessor’s Office.

Solano:

Skip Thomson 53.8%

Alfred Wise 46.6%

County Supervisor Thomson, who was endorsed by retiring Assessor Richard Blechschmidt, edged Mr. Wise, a chief deputy appraiser in Contra Costa County. Mr. Thomson must resign his supervisor’s seat next January, allowing the governor to pick a replacement in the strongly Democratic area.

Stanislaus:

Doug Harms 50.2%

Mike Serpa 49.7%

The race to succeed Mike DeFerrari is “too close to call,” according to the Modesto Bee. About 15,000 ballots remain to be counted and Mr. Harms has only a 239-vote lead. Both candidates have worked in the Assessor’s Office. Mr. Harms has Mr. DeFerrari’s endorsement. Mr. Serpa is a Modesto City Council member.

Tehama:

Mark Columbo 50.2%

Dale Stroud 49.8%

Mr. Columbo was elected by a razor-thin margin to succeed retiring Assessor Robert Brownfield.  Mr. Stroud, who was endorsed by Mr. Brownfield, is an Assessor’s Office employee who ran unsuccessfully in 1990. He won by 64 votes after all absentee votes were counted.

Editor’s note: (I) denotes incumbent.