Register of Voters dismissed

Riverside County Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore was dismissed from her position Tuesday.

The dismissal by County Executive Officer Bill Luna came after a lengthy discussion at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting about the ballot count in last week’s general election and how the results were released.

“I appreciate Ms. Dunmore’s service but it is time for new leadership,” Luna said.

Dunmore was appointed registrar in July 2004. The Registrar of Voters is responsible for conducting all elections within the county. The office also processes state and local initiatives, referenda and recalls. Prior to her appointment as registrar, Dunmore worked for 14 years in the Riverside County Executive Office, the last two as a deputy county executive officer.

Beginning immediately, the Registrar of Voters office will be overseen by the county Executive Office, working directly with the registrar’s staff. The Registrar of Voters is a position appointed by the county executive officer.

A process to begin recruiting a new registrar of voters will commence immediately. No timetable has been set for appointing a replacement but county officials will move the process forward as quickly as possible.

Election blog

Our newest blog "Election 2010 — The Hill" is now available. By tomorrow, we will have the links from our home page connected to the political pages. come and visit. Lots to peruse and not just previously published articles.

Also go the blog and offer some thoughts about Election Day November 2!

SD 37 results

Assemblyman Bill Emmerson lead six other candidates for the opportunity to replace for St. Sen John Benoit in Sacramento. Unfortunately, his 41.6 percent was not sufficient to nullify the requirement for a general election between candidates representing the major parties.

Emmerson will confront Democrat Justin Blake and American Independent candidate Matt Monica on June 8. In that election, the winner only needs a plurality of the total vote to earn victory.

On Wednesday,if one candidate collected more than 50 percent of the total vote, the seat would have been filled. While Emmerson had nearly twice the number of votes as Russ Bogh, it was less than the 50 percent threshold; consequently the campaign continues for another two months.

Emmerson with the help of nearly $730,000 for independent expenditures reaped nearly 42 percent of the vote.. More than 90 percent bankrolled by California Dental Association Political Action Committees Combined with Bogh's 22 percent, the two Republicans collected nearly 64 percent (or two-thirds) of the total vote.

Turnout of 90,000 voters was just more than 20 percent of the district's registered voters. In the 2008 presidential election, more than 70 percent of voters cast a ballot. But compared to recent special elections, the SD 37 voters were active. In two 2009 special elections, turnout was less than 8 percent.

Although Emmerson outpolled all candidates. The combined voted of the next three highest candidates would barely equal Emmerson’s total.

Nevertheless, the candidate that was originally labeled a carpetbagger, one who rented a room from a friend, can now settle comfortably into the 37^th District. While Republicans hold a slim 4 percent lead in registration, people willing to cast a ballot yesterday were more than three times likely to connect the arrow of a Republican candidate.

Even Bogh who lagged far behind Emmerson in fund raising was significantly more successful than Blake who starts the general election as a significant underdog.

Last Updated: April 13, 2010 11:42 PM

Registration & Turnout

468,233 Voters

	Vote Count	Percent
Vote by Mail Reporting Turnout	68,953	14.73%
Precincts Reporting Turnout	21,141	4.52%
Total	90,094	19.24%

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State Senator 37th District

527/527 100.00%

	Vote Count	Percent
REP - BILL EMMERSON	36,507	41.61%
REP - RUSS BOGH	19,247	21.94%
DEM - JUSTIN BLAKE	12,253	13.97%
DEM - ANNA NEVENIC	7,524	8.58%
DEM - ARTHUR BRAVO GUERRERO	6,283	7.16%
AIP - MATT MONICA	3,884	4.43%
REP - DAVID W. PETERS	2,036	2.32%

Benoit delays senate resignation

St. Sen John J. Benoit will delay his resignation from the California senate until Nov. 30. He plans on being sworn in as the Riverside County 4th District Supervisor on Dec. 1. Waiting two weeks, means the election for his successor will be part of the already scheduled June primary. This saves the county more than a $1 million which is the cost of conducting a special election.

This press release just arrived from Ray Smith, Riverside County's public information officer.

Benoit postpones resignation to save special-elections costs

Sen. John J. Benoit on Sunday rescinded his letter resigning from the Senate and submitted a revised letter with an effective date of Nov. 30. He will now be sworn in on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at the start of the regularly scheduled Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Benoit will hold a news conference today at 11 a.m., the previously scheduled time for his swearing-in, to answer questions about the cost-cutting decision. The news conference will be held in the Board of Supervisors chambers, 4080 Lemon St. in Riverside.

“After consulting with members of the Board, Senate leadership, the governor’s office and others, it became clear that a short postponement just made good sense,” Benoit said.

In a letter dated Sunday (Dec. 8) and faxed to the office of Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, Benoit wrote:

“I am very honored by the governor’s appointment; however, I have been advised that a short deferral of my resignation may result in a significant savings to taxpayers. A slightly later date would potentially allow the consolidation of the senate special election with the statewide June primary.

“Therefore, I hereby request that you disregard my previous letter of resignation. With your concurrence, I will resign my seat as a California State Senator for the 37th Senate District effective Monday, November 30, 2009. I will be sworn in on Tuesday, December 1, 2009.”

By law, the governor has 14 days after a legislative seat becomes vacant to call for a special election. Based on the new effective date of Benoit’s resignation, Gov. Schwarzenegger could declare the need for the special election as late as Dec. 14. An election must be scheduled no more that 135 days later, unless it falls within 180 days of a regularly scheduled statewide election. The deferred resignation date will allow for the special election to be consolidated with the June 8, 2010, statewide primary election.

“We had expressed to the governor the urgency of filling this seat as quickly as possible. However, there did not appear to be anything so urgent pending that would justify expending up to $1.3 million in extra taxpayer funded special election costs,” said Board Chairman Jeff Stone. “I appreciate Sen. Benoit’s offer to delay being sworn in to avoid this extra expense.”

IFPD election

The three people elected to four-year terms on the Idyllwild fire protection Distgrict Commission are Jeannine Charles-Stigall, Ben Killingworth and Chip Schelly.

The Registrar of Voters released the official count of write-in votes tonight and candidate Steve Kepler received 137 votes, well short of Killingsworth's 251. He had the third highest total of the seven candidates.

Schelly lead the count with 466 votes followed by Charles-Stigall who garnered 403. Killingsworth was third. Former IFPD President Glen "Mac" McWilliams and commission Earl Parker trailed Killingsworth by 80 votes with 173 each.

Togther Schelly and Charles-Stigall outpolled the other four candidates on the ballot. Their overwhelming victory would appear to be a signal for modifying the current departmental attitude.

Good luck to the victors and thank you for your time and effort to the defearted and former commissioners.They compiled a lot of time working with the staff and devoted energy for many years to the department. Thanks again and enjoy the future.

REGISTRAR OF VOTERS
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE
UNIFORM DISTRICT ELECTION LAW (UDEL) MAIL BALLOT ELECTION
AUGUST 25, 2009
OFFICIAL TALLY RESULTS OF QUALIFIED WRITE-IN CANDIDATES
IDYLLWILD FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
STEPHEN G. KEPLER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 137