Ruling Pits Four Against Struiksma

The field of challengers facing San Diego City Councilman Ed Struiksma grew to four Wednesday when a Superior Court judge ordered that candidate Bob Switzer’s name be placed on the ballot, despite his failure to secure enough valid signatures on nominating petitions.

Ruling that Switzer substantially complied with the intent behind the petitions, despite falling 17 signatures short of the 200-name requirement, Judge William Pate ordered city election officials to include Switzer’s name on the Sept. 19 primary ballot in the 5th District race.

Pate’s ruling followed a precedent set in a 1987 case in which a local judge ordered that candidate Wes Pratt’s name be included on the council ballot after city officials had disqualified him for submitting only 179 valid signatures. Pratt went on to win that year’s 4th District contest.

Signatures Disqualified

Although Switzer, a recruiter for a technical vocational school, had submitted 399 signatures on his petitions, election officials ruled 216 of them invalid, most because those names were not registered to vote at the listed addresses.

In asking that Switzer be kept off the ballot, city attorneys argued that the 200-name requirement--designed to demonstrate a candidate has at least minimum community support--is not onerous, as evidenced by the fact that none of the 12 other candidates in this fall’s four council elections had difficulty complying with it.

But, with the circumstances of Switzer’s case so closely paralleling those of Pratt’s challenge, the judge decided that Switzer also deserved a place on the ballot on the same “substantial compliance” grounds.

The city decided not to appeal Wednesday’s ruling, partly because the county registrar of voter’s office plans to begin printing the primary ballots today. Though Election Day is still a month away, absentee voting in the four council primaries will begin next week.

The other challengers to Struiksma, who is seeking a third four-year term, are former City Councilman Floyd Morrow, lawyer and county planner Mike Eckmann and former City Council aide and land-use planner Linda Bernhardt.