Opinion Could Alter Race for College Board

Evonne Schulze may face a more difficult contest for a seat on the San Diego Community College Board of Trustees than she thought. She is the only person to have submitted nominating papers earlier this month for the June primary ballot.

So, until this week, Schulze--a longtime Democratic activist--knew that while she might face a Republican-inspired write-in candidate, such an opponent would probably fail to get the needed minimum of votes to force a November runoff. She based her view on the fact that the state Election Code requires a minimum number of votes for a write-in candidate to survive a primary.

But under a county counsel opinion issued this week for the registrar of voters, contests for both the San Diego city school board and the community college board fall under election provisions of the city’s Municipal Code.

The Municipal Code says the two top vote-getters in a school primary election--regardless of write-in candidacy or actual number of votes received--will have their names printed as opponents on the November general election ballot.

Good News for Republicans

The opinion should buoy Republicans’ hopes of fielding an official June write-in candidate against Schulze, with whom they have fought many political battles over the years. Though such a candidate could fall far behind Schulze in June vote figures, he would enjoy much greater visibility and name identification in the November election.

Earl Cantos, chairman of the local Republican Party organization, said Thursday that he hopes someone will come forward and take out papers as an official write-in candidate for the District D seat on the college board.

Cantos has talked with Robert Thornberg, retired GOP chairman here, about entering the race, but Thornberg has made no decision. The incumbent, Richard Johnston, is retiring after several terms.

Schulze said this week that the prospect of a full-fledged November contest was “no big deal,” but at the same time she questioned why the Municipal Code and not the state Election Code should apply.

Criticizes GOP Motives

She also said it would be “unfair” of Republicans to field a candidate for partisan reasons who did not have an interest in education as great as hers.

“That in itself would make a statement about who is more interested in education, when something is done out of spite against me,” Schulze said.

Keith Boyer, deputy county registrar of voters, explained Thursday the reasoning behind the county counsel opinion, which supports an initial reading of the various election law provisions by the registrar’s office.

The state Education Code specifies that school elections are conducted under provisions of the applicable municipal charter and that the state Elections Code applies only where the charter does not address specific electoral issues.

The charter of the City of San Diego states that the two top vote-getters in a primary election go into a general runoff. It does not require that a write-in candidate receive a threshold number of votes, Boyer said. Candidates run only in a particular subdistrict during the June primary, but they compete throughout the community college district boundaries in November.

The city charter refers to the school district, meaning the San Diego Unified School District, without mentioning the Community College District, Boyer said. That is because the college district was part of the unified district until it split off in recent years, he said.

“It is still considered part of the charter because the determination is that both school districts were one and the same when the charter was written,” Boyer said.

To qualify as a write-in candidate, an individual must collect from 20 to 100 signatures from registered voters and submit them to the city clerk at least 14 days before the June election, Boyer said. A $25 filing fee may be required, he said.

Schulze is a three-time loser in races for the San Diego City Council and has served in aide positions for former Councilman Mike Gotch, former Mayor Roger Hedgecock and U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.).

Though the talk of a write-in candidacy has been directed at the college board seat, the Municipal Code provisions also apply to the District D seat of the San Diego Unified School District, where incumbent Susan Davis is unopposed for reelection. An official write-in candidate for her spot could also qualify for the November ballot.