The October issue of The Valley Business Journal will be dedicated to election issues including photos and features of the candidates and a summary of the major ballot measures and propositions.  Candidates have been asked to provide a statement on why the local business community should vote for them. As our state and nation struggle to re-build a sustainable job base, local job growth and the policies that facilitate or hamper that fall to our local leaders – the folks you will elect in November. Your vote truly does make a local difference – get informed and get out and vote.

The line forms to the rear – or to the left, or the right, depending on where you stand I guess. It’s that time of year when people are lining up to represent you on our local City Councils, the county Board of Supervisors, the State Legislature and Congress. You’ve already made preliminary decisions for state and national races but November will be the first and only test for local candidates.

undefined

As is customary for our local city races, there is no shortage of candidates asking for your confidence and your vote this year – although in most cities the number of candidates fielded is far fewer than some recent elections. Maybe that’s a sign that people are more satisfied with the job our local councilors are doing. Of course it could also be a sign of the economic times – fewer people have money to waste tilting at windmills they have little hope of conquering. Or it could be they’ve lost all hope in our system of governance and would rather lob salvos from a distance rather than try to change it from within.  Perhaps some amalgam of the three.

Menifee and Wildomar, our two newest cities, will hold their first elections since cityhood. Wildomar, with three open seats, will have just six candidates on the ballot down from the fourteen who ran for the first city council. Two incumbents are running while one has decided to bow out.

Murrieta, with three seats in play as well, will host eight candidates on their ballot. While that’s the most for any city in the region this year, it is well down from the dozen or more candidates Murrieta has often fielded in the past. All three incumbents are standing for re-election.

Temecula voters, also faced with three open seats, offers the shortest contest with only five candidates running including all three incumbents. But while there might not be as many candidates confusing the issues this year, there is no shortage of quirks and special requests facing local voters. Both Menifee and Wildomar are facing decisions on district representation. Both cities voted for district representation when they approved cityhood, both are rethinking that option and have asked voters for a do-over. Murrieta will answer questions on term limits and a cap on City manager pay.

In Wildomar an anti-cityhood candidate who finished mid-pack last time around is in the chase again. A perennial candidate for Temecula City Council (and local tonsorial specialist), does not appear on their ballot this year but Murrieta voters will see a familiar name, one that has appeared on the past four ballots (and probably not the one you’re thinking about).