The results from Half Moon Bay City Council elections going back to 1999 give some insight into this year’s race. All names and counts are from County Elections.

This is the largest field in that period, following an uncontested election in 2007. 

Naomi Patridge is the only incumbent running, but Deborah Ruddock was elected in 1999. In every election except 1996, less than 100 votes separated the winner with the lowest vote count from the next-highest candidate. In 2005, the winning margin was only 15 votes. Every vote will count in 2009, and this election will be very difficult to call.

Darin Boville’s full-length video of Jackie Speier’s health care town hall is now online.

U.S. House Representative Jackie Speier held a "town hall" meeting outdoors at the Farallone View Elementary School in Montara this past Sunday. The event was originally scheduled for the 150-person Cypress Meadows and then moved to the larger auditorium at Farallone View before finally being positioned on the large playground area at the school. About 800 people attended.

Although it was reported that conservative radio shows were encouraging agitators to attend and disrupt the meeting, apparently only a few showed up, and those tended to cluster at the rear of the crowd. The crowd, overwhelmingly in support of some form of major health care reform (judging by the stickers worm, sign displayed, and questions asked) was respectful but intensely engaged.

The video of the meeting is a little over and hour and a half long offers and excellent overview of the proposed reforms

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Supervisor Rich Gordon’s next office hours will be Friday, August 28 at 10:30am to noon at the Sheriff’s Moss Beach Substation.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has appointed Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mark Stone and Oceanside City Councilmember Esther Sanchez to California’s Coastal Commission.

The San Diego Union Tribune has a short profile of Esther Sanchez:

Sanchez, an attorney, has served on the Oceanside City Council since 2000. She also has worked on the planning group for a major regional habitat conservation plan and supported other environmental protection efforts.

"In ensuring development projects are consistent with the vision Californians have for their beloved coastline, the Coastal Commission should listen closely to, and be reflective of, the communities it serves," Sanchez said. "I will do my best to be a voice for all Californians in guiding responsible planning of our coast."

The Mercury News profiles Stone:

Stone, a resident of Scotts Valley, has served on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors since 2003. Previously, he was a trustee for the Scotts Valley Unified School District and maintained a private law practice. He is married with two children.

As a supervisor, Stone has always been cautious of new development and supportive of environmental programs. He was one of the leading proponents of the county’s new Commission on the Environment, a panel that has begun to address such issues as climate change and water conservation.

Stone says he sees these global issues becoming an increasing priority for the state, citing a demand for energy projects and desalination plants along the coastline.

"California is taking some different directions in respect to planning, and the Coastal Commission needs to be a part of that," he said. ...

Stone replaces 12-year incumbent Dave Potter, a Monterey County supervisor, whose last re-appointment was strongly opposed by the environmental community.

Potter’s 2007 commission vote in support of the Pebble Beach Co.‘s expansion plans are held up by environmentalists as evidence of his pro-development agenda. Potter has also received low marks in the Sierra Club’s annual scorecard.

Potter, though, says he leaves behind a legacy of fair and balanced judgment on coastal issues.

There is more about Stone and Potter at the Monterey County Herald.

For the County Times, Julia Scott interviewed six of eight candidates for the the Half Moon Bay City Council.  It’s a good place to start in understanding the field, but by no means complete.

Here are some sample quotes from a much longer story:

Deborah Ruddock: "I just could no longer sit by and watch what has happened in the past four years. The current council has demonstrated a lack of coherent vision for Half Moon Bay, and I think it’s time for a change of leadership," she said.

George Muteff: "It seems as though we’ve found a way to step in buckets — we can’t afford to step in any more buckets," said Muteff. "Maybe we can find some way to offset that debt, which we’re going to be paying for the next 30 years."

Rick Kowalczyk: "I really feel like we’re at a crossroads. We could be burdened with further debt. People have asked me whether we can get out of this and I think we can. The path we take to get out of this moment will dictate what we want our community to be."

Dan Handler: "The Beachwood debacle involved ideological decision-making rather than firmly grounded, reality-based decision-making," said Handler. "The people who live here on the coast live here for a reason — and to make decisions that go against your own self-interest, it’s dangerous to our lifestyle."

Sofia Freer: "We do need to maximize the value of that property, but we need to do it in a realistic way," said Freer, who has served on the Planning Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission. "They’re pursuing the same kind of process that landed us in the this situation. Moving forward, I don’t think we can afford to make similar mistakes."

Allan Alifano: "Sometimes it’s a hard town to do things in. We’re all here for same goals. I think we sometimes forget that and tend to disagree."

Scott was unable to get Naomi Patridge or Charles Hoelzel to return her calls.

UPDATE: If you want to get in, you may need to show up early. We’re told that right-wing radio station KSFO is telling anti-reform protesters to get there at 9:30.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier is moving her August 23 Coastside event to a larger venue: Farallone View Elementary School in Montara. The time remains the same:  Sunday, August 23 at 11:00 am.

The Congresswoman’s office writes: "This event is for residents of the 12th Congressional District.  Attendees from other areas will be admitted if space allows."

"More than 12,000 people joined in on our telephone town hall on Tuesday and I am not surprised," Speier said in a press release.  "Unfortunately, a number of my constituents who tried to call in were blocked because the system was over-loaded by people from outside the district - even outside California - who were given the number by national websites and bloggers."

The original event was intended to cover a wide array of issues.  It was to be held at the Cypress Meadows Conference Center - which holds less than 150 - and included a tour of the nearby Fitzgerald Marine Preserve.  That event will be rescheduled at a later date. 

Kerri Lake, one of the nine candidates to file for the Half Moon Bay City Council race, has failed to qualify because her petition did not have enough qualified signatures.

There will be eight candidates in the November election.

As of today’s final deadline, only three candidates filed for the four open positions on the Midcoast Community Council. Montara Water and Sanitary District’s deadline was not extended, with three incumbents running for three open seats. There will be no election for these two boards.

County Coastside Water District has three candidates for two open positions.

Coastside Fire Protection District has seven candidates for three seats.

Granada Sanitary District has five candidates for three open positions.

Full rosters after the jump.

As of the deadline at 5pm today, there were nine candidates for the three open positions on the Half Moon Bay Council.

This should be an interesting race, with only one incumbent (Naomi Patridge) and one former city council member (Deborah Ruddock), one perennial candidate (George Muteff) and six newcomers (Allan Alifano, Sofia Freer, Dan Handler, Charles Hoelzel, Rick Kowalcyzk, and Kerri Lake) running for seats.

According to City Clerk Siobhan Smith, "Due to the fact that the last 7 individuals filed today, I do not have verification from the County elections office for whether those candidates had sufficient nominating signatures. I should know that by mid-day tomorrow."

We’ll be learning more about these candidates over the next two and a half months. Share your thoughts in comments on this story.