Miller, Duffy to Run Unopposed in June : Candidates File Papers for Primary; Mitchell Bids for Bates’ Seat

San Diego County’s top law-enforcement officers--Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller and Sheriff John Duffy--will be reelected without a fight because no one filed papers by Friday evening to oppose them in the June primary.

Also running unopposed will be county Supervisor Leon L. Williams, who has represented the 4th District on the Board of Supervisors since 1982, and Gregory J. Smith, county assessor.

Bill Mitchell--the idiosyncratic former San Diego city councilman who represented the 1st District for eight years before he was narrowly defeated by Abbe Wolfsheimer in November--will take on Congressman Jim Bates (D-San Diego) for the 44th Congressional District seat.

Bates, who has recently waged a crusade against Navy procurement abuses, will be opposed by at least three other people, according to documents filed at the county Registrar of Voters by 4:30 p.m. Friday. The deadline to qualify for the June primary ballot was Friday, but a complete list of candidates will not be released until Monday.

Also running against Bates are Michael London, no profession listed; Gene Pierson, a public accountant/auditor, and Dennis Thompson, president of a computer company.

In the race for county supervisor in the 5th District, which spans the county’s northern edge, incumbent Paul Eckert has attracted a crowd of prominent challengers eager to keep him from winning a third term.

Eckert, a van and storage company owner from Vista who has served on the board since 1978, is best known for his support of private property rights. That philosophy has endeared him to the development community but at the same time attracted opposition from people who say flower fields and hillsides have steadily given way to tract homes and apartment complexes.

Eckert’s opponents include Oceanside City Councilman John MacDonald, who served for 20 years as president of MiraCosta College; Carlsbad Councilman Richard Chick, a Realtor; Vista Mayor Michael Flick, and attorney Clyde Romney, who is the former chief aide to Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside).

Also in the race will be Richard Repasky, a former U.S. Secret Service agent from La Costa who now runs a Cardiff private detective agency, and Edmund Fitzgerald, an Escondido resident who manages the parts department for a Poway auto dealer.

Other candidates who had filed papers with the registrar’s office by 4:30 p.m. Friday include:

County Clerk: Robert L. Price, a superior court clerk; Robert D. Zumwalt, incumbent.

County Recorder: John Kelley, a perennial candidate; Vera L. Lyle, incumbent.

County Treasurer and Tax Collector: Paul Boland, incumbent; Jan Janette, property tax coordinator; Robin G. Low, a government employee; Art Samuel, a data processor; Gene Smith, no occupation listed, and Lance Vollmer, a businessman.

County Board of Education, 3rd District: Martin Block, San Diego State University administrator; Carl Forrester, incumbent.

Superior Court Judge: E. Mac Amos Jr., municipal judge; Thomas R. Waddell, no occupation listed, and S. Charles Wickersham, a deputy district attorney.

41st Congressional District: Dan Kripke, a doctor; Bill Lowery, incumbent; Alex Maruniak, aerospace engineer, and Dick Rider, stockbroker.

43rd Congressional District: Joseph Chirra, an attorney, and Ron Packard, incumbent.

45th Congressional District: Duncan Hunter, incumbent; Hewitt Fitts Ryan, a doctor, and Lee Schwartz, engineering consultant.

San Diego Community College Board of Trustees:

District A: Joe Abrahams, physician/educator; Dan Grady, incumbent, and Rich Riel, finance officer.

District C: Louise Dyer, incumbent, and Maryann C. Zounes, research scientist.

San Diego Unified School District Board of Education:

District B: Al Korobkin, supervising deputy attorney general; Mary Pollick, education; Jim Roache, no occupation listed, and Steve Vaus, businessman.

District C: Kay Davis, incumbent; John De Beck, teacher; Dave Guthrie, computer consultant; John Primavera, writer.