San Diego County Elections : Uncounted Votes May Decide Escondido’s Growth Outlook

A weakened slow-growth majority Wednesday clung to its narrow victory on Escondido’s City Council, but uncounted ballots could still tilt the balance.

Mayor Jerry Harmon defeated his lone opponent, but candidates Lori Holt Pfeiler and Elmer Cameron, who said the council’s slow-growth majority went overboard, apparently captured two council seats, and a virtual three-way tie left a fourth seat in limbo.

If incumbent Rick Foster hangs onto his 107-vote lead for third place, the slow-growth faction probably will maintain its grip on city planning, Harmon said.

But 53,500 ballots are still uncounted around the county--many set aside because voters wrote in Ross Perot for President. Harmon was concerned that “people taking the time to write in Perot might also want to vote anti-incumbent,” which could sink Foster.

Nobody knows how many uncounted ballots are from Escondido, so third place is still a toss-up among Foster, at 6,623 votes; challenger Vivian Doering, a former Escondido Union (elementary) School District board member, with 6,516 votes, and slow-growth incumbent Carla DeDominicis, with 6,463 votes.

Final vote tallies should be in by Friday, according to the county registrar of voter’s office.

If Doering overtakes Foster, the slow-growth majority is threatened, Harmon said. Doering and incumbent Sid Hollins, whose term expires in two years, would be subject to “an awful lot of lobbying by land speculators,” he said.

Doering’s views on growth are unclear. Her campaign focused on themes of wasteful city spending and rising crime. She couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

Apparent council victor Elmer Cameron, a former administrator with the Escondido Union (elementary) School District, painted himself as a supporter of “managed, moderate growth” and said Tuesday’s election results signal voter desire for more balance between business and environmental concerns.

Cameron said the city should lower its developer fees and revise the general plan to protect residents, jobs and landowners.

Pfeiler, an accountant, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Harmon and DeDominicis both warned that Tuesday’s results shouldn’t be seen as a rejection of Escondido’s slow-growth policies. It’s strictly an anti-incumbent phenomenon, they said.

As proof that the slow-growth message hasn’t lost its appeal, Harmon pointed to the plurality won by San Diego mayoral candidate Peter Navarro, whose campaign revolved around slow-growth themes.

Escondido has had a slow-growth City Council since 1988, when then-Councilman Harmon was joined by DeDominicis and Kris Murphy (who decided not to seek reelection this year).

After Harmon became the city’s first directly elected mayor in 1990, Foster was appointed to finish the uncompleted council term.

Harmon’s opponent for Escondido’s two-year mayoral post was P. K. (Patricia) Walker, a bookkeeper, who said she ran only because nobody else did.