MacDonald, Romney Hold Similar Views : Supervisor Candidates Come Out Swinging With Kid Gloves

Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas can rest easy.

The first head-to-head confrontation between John MacDonald and Clyde Romney--the two would-be heirs to county Supervisor Paul Eckert’s throne atop North County politics--has come and gone.

Wednesday night’s debate, really no more than a joint appearance, will not go down as one of the classic examples of American political oration. The candidates for the Fifth District seat are still too shocked at their victory over Eckert in the June 3 primary to be serious about battling each other.

So amid talk of their families and quips about their names, occupations and habits, MacDonald and Romney spent the evening at a San Marcos restaurant socializing with the local Republican women’s club.

MacDonald offered up a proposal to limit campaign spending to $1 per household, which he said would come to about $130,000--more than either candidate was likely to spend anyway. Romney won a round of applause when he said he’d think it over.

And both candidates pledged to serve no more than two terms, if the voters would have them for that long. MacDonald said he expected to seek a second term if elected to a first. Romney, considered the more politically ambitious of the two, vowed to complete at least one four-year term on the board.

In their short speeches and answers to about a half-dozen questions, MacDonald, an Oceanside city councilman and former president of MiraCosta Community College, and Romney, an attorney and former aide to Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad), began to set the tone for a campaign that is not expected to heat up until the fall.

Unlike Eckert, who repeated until the end that growth was not an issue, MacDonald and Romney agree that development is the dominant issue of the campaign, and both agree that the county needs a new growth management plan--at least for North County.

“Growth and how we manage growth is tops on everyone’s list,” Romney said. “We have to do something to restore people’s faith in the planning process. We have to reassess our growth management policies to see to it that the county is acting in a manner that is responsible.”

MacDonald countered: “Growth, without a doubt, has been the predominant issue in this campaign. The county has a growth management policy but has amended it so many times that it’s difficult now to really know what the policy statements are like.”

With their views on issues so similar, MacDonald, 64, and Romney, 43, have both conceded that the campaign will probably center more on their personal and professional backgrounds than on their political philosophies.

MacDonald showed Wednesday that he intends to stress his experience as a public official.

“This is a very difficult task for the voters in this race. . . . ,” he said. “I think this race is going to come down to background, experience and track record.”

So when MacDonald, who finished first in the primary with 29% of the vote, talks about growth management, he also mentions that he helped write Oceanside’s growth management plan. When he talks about crime in unincorporated areas, he says that Oceanside, once known as “crime city,” has reduced its crime rate to be among the lowest in the county. When the subject of a new North County campus for San Diego State University comes up, MacDonald reminds his listeners that he helped build MiraCosta College from a tiny school to a bustling community college.

His experience as a college president taught him how to manage a large budget, MacDonald contends. And his knowledge of city government and his service as a representative to the California League of Cities gave him expertise he could use to help the communities of Encinitas and Solana Beach in their first years as incorporated cities.

Although Romney, who finished second in the primary with 26%, cites his experience as a trouble-shooter for Packard, he doesn’t have the kind of visible record in public service that MacDonald can boast about. When mobile home owners complain about runaway rents, Romney vows to work on their behalf. MacDonald, meanwhile, recalls that he voted for mobile home rent control as an Oceanside councilman.

Romney has tried to use his relative inexperience as an advantage.

“Most of my experience has been in the private sector,” Romney said Wednesday. “I had experience being in and operating a professional practice. I learned how to balance the books and pay bills, as opposed to John’s experience in the public sector.”

Romney said he senses that without Eckert in the race, the campaign is focusing on “who’s the nicest guy.”

“John MacDonald could probably win the contest for Mr. North County nice guy hands down,” Romney said.

As a result, Romney said he hopes the campaign turns on other issues, such as the pair’s “view of the future” of North County.