Busy day at the polls in La Cañada
Elaine La Marr of La Cañada Flintridge got up early on Tuesday to vote, but her ballot might be among the last ones counted.
La Marr’s sample ballot and registration instructed her to vote at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy. But when she arrived she was disappointed to discover that her name wasn’t on the voter registration list, forcing her to cast a provisional ballot.
“I’ve voted for 34 years, and it’s not [the volunteers’] fault, but somebody doesn’t know what they’re doing somewhere,” La Marr said Tuesday. “This election, when people disappear from lists, it makes you wonder.”
Poll volunteer Lyle Wroan said the snag with La Marr’s ballot was the only error at the Sacred Heart polling station in early voting Tuesday.
La Marr said that she was hopeful her vote would be counted, because she wants to see Republican Assembly candidate Greg Krikorian elected and Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to raise taxes to maintain funding for public schools, approved.
“I just like what [Krikorian] has had to say,” she said. “I’m not a, ‘Do-as-I-say-because-I’m-a-Republican-or-Democrat,’ voter. I pick and choose what I feel,and obviously I feel schools need money.”
Krikorian is running against Democrat Mike Gatto for the 43rd Assembly District seat, an uphill battle considering that Gatto is the incumbent and has a sizeable campaign war chest. The 43rd District includes Democrat-friendly Burbank and Glendale, and La Cañada is a Republican stronghold among 43rd district communities.
La Cañada resident Andy Williams, voting at the public library on Oakwood Avenue, said Krikorian got his vote because Krikorian is a firm Republican.
“I vote along the party lines, and I just like [Krikorian] better,” he said.
Williams said he was also voting for Republican Gil Gonzales in his attempt to defeat incumbent Democrat Carol Liu representing the 25th state Senate District.
As for the presidential election, soon-to-be La Cañada resident Jeff Sullivan said that he was hoping that by the time he finishes his move from Tahoe, Mitt Romney will be in the White House.
“The Democrats are all about spending money they don’t have,” he said. “The federal government should take itself out of local government.”
La Cañada couple Priya and Stephen Harder said they are concerned about Proposition 37, which would mandate that genetically-modified foods be labeled.
“We shop at the farmer’s market, so we’ve seen a lot of signs pushing for either way. I’m concerned with how much it’s going to cost” if the measure passes, Stephen Harder said.
At Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, Wroan said that when the polls opened at 7 a.m., the line of voters snaked out the door of the school’s lounge. More than 60 residents came to get their vote in before heading to work.
“We had a great big turnout, so that was good to see,” said Wroan.
-- Daniel Siegal, Times Community News
Twitter: @ValleySunDan