State Assembly, City Council Races, Ballot Measures Face Voters

Voters in parts of San Diego County will decide a special state Assembly primary, two Del Mar City Council races and three North County ballot propositions today.

Polls in the 78th state Assembly District and throughout the county will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Persons uncertain of where to vote or who experience other Election Day problems can contact the voter registrar’s office at 565-5800 for assistance.

In the 78th District primary, the names of nine candidates will be on the ballot, but three have withdrawn from the race for the Mid-City Assembly seat vacated by Democrat Lucy Killea’s election to the state Senate last December.

The third special state legislative election here within the past six months, the 78th District contest has drawn only cursory attention from both the news media and potential voters. As a result, most campaign consultants predict a turnout of only about 20% of the district’s about 173,000 voters. If that projection proves valid, roughly half of the votes in the race may have already been cast via absentee ballots, nearly 17,000 of which had been received by the registrar’s office as of Monday.

Under the unorthodox procedures governing special elections, all candidates of all parties will appear on today’s primary ballot. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top vote-getters of each party will compete in a June runoff for the remaining six months in Killea’s unexpired term.

If there is a runoff, Republican Jeff Marston, a former aide to San Diego City Councilwoman Gloria McColl and Sen. S.I. Hayakawa (R-Calif.), is all but assured of a spot in it, because the only two other GOP candidates withdrew in the race’s closing weeks.

Four Democrats--former San Diego City Councilman Mike Gotch, lawyer Howard Wayne, county probation officer A. L. (Bud) Brooks and lawyer Judith Abeles--also are seeking the seat. Peace and Freedom Party candidate Jane Rocio Evans, a teacher, is also on the ballot.

In Del Mar, three candidates--architect Lew Dominy, management consultant J. Rod Franklin and investment researcher Chris Helton--are competing for two City Council seats. Voters there also will decide on Measure A, a ballot proposition dealing with building height and size regulations.

Two school financing measures will be decided in Encinitas. Proposition B would authorize the construction of two elementary schools, and Proposition C would establish a $95 annual tax per property parcel for the next five years to help reduce class sizes and fund other programs in the Encinitas Union School District.