North County Hopefuls Scrape to Find Issues : Politics: With growth stagnant and the controversy over it dead, it’s tough for council candidates to identify something to stand for.

Ah, for the good old days in North County politics, when candidates for City Council would focus on one issue--growth--and voters could take that litmus test into the ballot booth as a way of clarifying and crystallizing the candidates’ positions.

But, unlike the decidedly more definable and pitched battles of the ‘80s, the candidates for the six city council elections in North County next month are scrambling to identify issues--any issue--to win votes.

“There just aren’t any issues to attack,” said Scott Packard, a home builder and the son of U.S. Rep. Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) who wants to be elected to the Vista City Council. “Growth isn’t an issue anymore, because nobody’s growing. You can always talk about traffic being bad--but everyone would agree with you, so that’s not an issue, either.”

In Poway, it’s so quiet that City Councilman Don Higginson almost had the mayor’s race sewed up as an unopposed candidate until William Hickey, a political newcomer, decided to make it a two-man race. “Nobody was going to run against him, and I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t believe someone can just walk into something,” Hickey said. “If anybody else had run for mayor, I wouldn’t have.”

The 6-year-old city of Encinitas may have the most contentious election, but even there, says retiring City Council member Anne Omsted, “The great definitive issue is lacking, and that’s why there seems to be so much confusion among the candidates. It’s a fascinating phenomenon.”

In Carlsbad, the hottest issue isn’t rising crime or deepening potholes or some other conventional City Hall flash point, but continued debate over a piece of public art alongside the strand that critics say looks like a fence.

Here’s how Ann Kulchin, who’s seeking a third term on the Carlsbad City Council, characterizes her race: “Nine of us are running for two seats, and eight of them are very fine people.”

Not exactly down-and-dirty mudslinging.

Even in Oceanside, North County’s most congested contest with 17 candidates for three City Council openings, the players are stretching to look for issues beyond the political infighting that traditionally colors the city’s politics.

“Most of the candidates are saying they want the same things for Oceanside,” said Colleen Richardson O’Harra, one of the hopefuls. “It’s making it more difficult to campaign, because all the candidates are saying pretty much the same thing, and the voters are going to have to figure out which people can produce the goods.”

Said one North County city manager about the region’s political landscape: “The candidates are struggling to come up with sexy issues to attack the incumbents on. So we’re seeing a more esoteric, more ambiguous election.”

Indeed, the paramount North County Issue of the ‘80s--growth--has been preempted this time around, either because the economic downturn has made it moot or because municipal politicians have, by now, successfully addressed the growth issue.

Most cities have adopted some sort of growth-control ordinance to suit their constituents. Oceanside, for instance, adopted laws that numerically limit the amount of new housing construction that can occur. Vista and Poway pledged to their citizens that the housing densities identified in their general plans would not be amended without public vote. Carlsbad’s law says there will be no growth until the requisite infrastructure is already in place to handle it. Escondido rewrote its general plan, downsizing what was to have been the city’s ultimate population.

So, absent the growth issue, candidates are looking for other ways to win votes. Here is a synopsis of North County’s six municipal elections. (Del Mar held its City Council election last April, and Escondido conducted its in June.)

CARLSBAD

There are nine candidates for two seats. Ann Kulchin is seeking reelection, but Councilman Eric Larson is calling it quits.

Candidates have talked about how to encourage local business growth and reduce bureaucratic red tape. Some have second-guessed the renaming of Elm Avenue as Carlsbad Village Drive and have criticized the beachfront public art work, but by and large there have been no divisive issues among them.

“It’s been a real ‘A’ race, real high road,” said one city official. “The candidates are discussing the issues to the best of their abilities, and they’re asking City Hall for lots of data.”

ENCINITAS

With 14 candidates, including just one incumbent, trying for three City Council seats, this city has perhaps the most contentious election in North County, with City Hall-bashing surfacing as the election year sport.

Anne Omsted, who is retiring as one of the original City Council members six years ago, said this year’s election has turned from the past.

“The first two races were very much devoted to land-use issues, trying to preserve what was left of Encinitas after the county had neglected us for so long. The campaign tone was of vision for the city.

“Now that the basic city structure is in place, we’re seeing lots of different visions of where the city should be going--and where we’re not. There’s tremendous disgruntlement with the system. It’s like the candidates are saying, ‘I think I could do a better job--but don’t ask me how.’ ” Campaign topics have included whether the municipal bureaucracy is unresponsive, plays favorites or needs to go on a diet, and the need for local commercial growth.

City Council hopeful August Anderson said the issues in Encinitas are as diffused as are the candidates and acknowledged the lack of any one divisive issue to separate the competition. “If there’s an issue that will tear people apart,” she said, “let me know, quick.”

OCEANSIDE

Mayor Larry Bagley is retiring after eight years in office, leaving seven candidates maneuvering for his job, including Councilman Don Rodee. Another 10 candidates are on the ballot for two other City Council seats, including incumbent council matriarch Melba Bishop, who wants another tour. Councilman Sam Williamson is calling it quits.

As always, the single biggest issue in Oceanside seems to be the dynamics of the City Council itself, and of alleged power plays and political power brokering by Bishop, who has turned her political grass roots into a finely tuned machine.

If the campaign turns to issue, it usually focuses on Police Department staffing levels and its response to gang violence and prostitution, the pace of local redevelopment efforts and the city’s budget crisis.

Oceanside voters may be preparing for the mudslinging that normally accompanies elections in their city, but so far none has appeared. One campaign manager noted that the recession may be taking its toll on fund-raising--and on campaigning. A single, citywide mailing to all 35,000 voting households will cost at least $8,500, “and most candidates will have trouble raising that kind of money,” she said.

POWAY

In the quietest of North County’s municipal elections, there are two candidates to replace Mayor Jan Goldsmith, who is aspiring for state Assembly, and four candidates, including incumbent Bob Emery, for two council seats.

“It’s been a long time--’84, maybe--since there’s been an election as quiet as this one,” said Emery. “I guess there aren’t that many candidates because not that many people had an ax to grind.”

Indeed, there were twice as many candidates for City Council just four years ago.

Perhaps the only issue sparking candidate forums is the question of where to put more affordable housing in Poway.

Even mayoral candidate Hickey isn’t sure what separates the candidates. “We’re still trying to work that out,” he said. “Well, I live in South Poway, and Don (Higginson) lives in North Poway.”

SAN MARCOS

Two council seats are up for election here; both incumbents want reelection and are up against three challengers.

If growth surfaces anywhere as an issue in North County, it may well be here, because this was the last of the region’s cities to edge toward residential build-out. But the City Council has adopted its own growth-control laws, so the debate now is whether the city grew too much, too quickly and has kept pace with roads, parks and schools.

Absent other issues, some candidates say the current City Council majority is too paternalistic for its own good.

“The same majority has been in office for so long, they’re no longer listening to the community,” complains challenger Betty Evans. “Our community is growing in sophistication, but the council is still condescending to us.”

Incumbent Corky Smith shrugs off the criticism against him and his colleagues. The city is running so smoothly, he says, that if he weren’t already an incumbent, “I wouldn’t even run for office.”

VISTA

Seven people--including incumbent Bernie Rappaport--are campaigning for two council seats; Councilwoman Nancy Wade wants out.

But, in a city that normally produces volatile politics, this year has been surprisingly quiet, the candidates say. A couple candidates are still hammering on the growth issue, saying Vista needs to put on the brakes even more.

Otherwise, talk turns to the continued commercial growth of Vista and the redevelopment of downtown.

“I’m getting a kick out of this campaign because I’ve never seen one so quiet,” said Mayor Gloria McClellan, for whom this is an election off-year. “I’d love to be campaigning this year myself. I’ve been going to community functions since the ‘60s, and I’ve never seen it like this in Vista.”

Said one high-ranking City Hall official, “They’re scrambling for issues, but I’m not sure they’ll find any. The incumbents have done positive things, and that’s a problem for non-incumbents.”