The list of qualified candidates for the ballot has been posted on the Ventura county Elections page. If an incumbent did not file to run again the deadline is extended to this Wednesday.

I post unscientific polls for a variety of reasons including to gauge the intensity of support for a candidate. In the election for Clerk-Recorder my poll wasn't widely off from the official election results:

Here is my analysis of why Mark Lunn won:

1. Low Voter Turn Out Among Democratic Voters.

Republicans had two statewide primaries of consequence, the gubernatorial primary and the senate primary. Democrats didn't have tough choices to make nor could they go out to defeat major Republican candidates. Barack Obama won Ventura County but those same voters didn't have as many reasons to show up to support Jerry Brown when he was the only candidate running or to vote in races like Clerk / Recorder.

2. He ran a great campaign.

He was able to get early endorsements from people like former Ventura County Democratic Central Committee Chair Hank Lacayo and other impressive figures. He didn't identify Lacayo as a Democrat on all of his materials but his name does appeal to some people. Mark Lunn was able to attract support from a Democratic Chair and from Tea Party activists that think Barack Obama was born in another country. That is impressive for a candidate running for a nonpartisan seat. I wonder if they asked him if he will be checking birth certificates?

3. Name ID.

Mark Lunn had many more signs across Simi Valley than Jim Dantona did. Signs don't win many elections but in a contest with so little interest from average voters they can be very effective. I wouldn't advise candidates to rely upon them at the expense of other more important tools but they do help.

4. He had a better ballot designation.

Running for a position that many voters cannot properly identify the responsibilities forcs a candidate to either spend money and time explaining the position or as Mark Lunn did effectively work on building trust. His ballot designation lets voters know many people trust him.

5. A weak Ventura County Democratic Central Committee.

The VCDCC didn't draft a candidate early nor did they all rally around Jim Dantona as their candidate. For those committee members that did rally around him they didn't have the same financial resources or organization that the Ventura County Republican Party is able to use to help their candidates. The VCRCC might rely upon toxic interest groups like tobacco companies but they have money to support their candidates.

6. The backgrounds of the candidates.

What I like about Jim Dantona is he is willing to work hard when everything isn't given to him. Other candidates only run for safe positions but Jim Dantona ran against an incumbent supervisor and a powerfully connected Chief of Staff to a supervisor. That said he does have weaknesses that make it harder for him to get his message out. Although he has explained factors that contributed to his bankruptcies they obviously cost him more votes than he gains back from his explanations. And those explanations require resources from the campaign.

7. An early start.

Mark Lunn started his campaign earlier. That allowed him to build up a strong list of people endorsing him before Team Dantona could either ask the same people to endorse him or at least stay neutral. That's a tip for a novice candidate. If you can't get someone to endorse you then you can ask them to stay neutral. It flatters people to think they are so important they could tip an election and it is sometimes less risky than endorsing a candidate.

Both candidates ran strong campaigns and I appreciate them putting their name on the line for us to have a choice. I don't like to vote for a candidate when there is only one choice. I almost always skip voting or write-in a different candidate. I am thankful Jim Dantona gave us a choice.

What are your explanations for the outcome of this election? Which of my observations do you agree with?

For months I have been questioning why Mark Lunn didn't include increasing voter registration and participation in his platform but I am glad to see this in a recent article:

Turnout in Tuesday's primary election was about 27 percent, something he wants to see improved. "I will continue to work to do my best to get people to come to the polls," he said.

Click on continue reading for Mark Lunn's thank you to his supporters.

At a recent League of Women voters event Jim Dantona said ( all quotes paraphrased, watch the video for yourself for the full context):

"my opponent on April the 12th was on the Ventura Tea Party site proudly being honored as their candidate for that site , making a comment he was happy to have it."

Dantona then brought up an article that appeared in The Acorn that says:

Lunn said he supports smaller government and lower taxes, but that he's not a member of the tea party, nor is he Foy's "clone." Political preferences are irrelevant in the race because the job of a clerk recorder is to enforce existing laws, not create new policies, Lunn said.

Mark Lunn responded by stating:

A couple of things my opponent talked about here briefly in his opening I have never been to a Tea Party Site. I don't know what he's talking about but I have never been to a Tea Party site...say what you want to say but I have never been on that site. I have never been to a Tea Party site. I have never been on that site.

The relevant quotes are around 3:20 and 5:25 into the video.

http://capstv.org/Media/LOWVcandidatedebate_countyclerk.wmv

So which is it? Did Mark Lunn create an account on the local Tea Party site? Did someone else create an account for him? Either way it seems hard to get mad at Jim Dantona for bringing up the account since it has been public for months.

If Mark Lunn wants to distance himself from this group for political reasons he should remove the profile. If it isn't his then he should ask them to investigate who created it and duped them. If it is his then Dantona was right to bring it up and Lunn was wrong to say he was never on that website.

Thanks for your suggestions of celebrity lookalikes for local politicians. Here are the latest lookalikes:

Check out my previous entry on the subject.

For the next challenge which celebrities look like these elected officials?

Mark Lunn is running for County Clerk and Recorder. Among the duties of the office is overseeing elections. That's why it was surprising that his ballot statement was rejected because it violated California Elections Code. His ballot statement was rejected according to the County Elections office because of "prohibited references to other candidates." The prohibited statements implied, but did not directly mention his opponent Jim Dantona when it said:

"As the only candidate who has managed large organizations and thousands of employees, I've proven that I can balance a budget in hard times."

and

"I am the only candidate with first-hand experience in fighting fraud, forgery and identity left."

To see his entire rejected ballot statement click on continue reading. In fairness two other candidates also had their ballot statements rejected. But neither of the other candidates is trying to get elected to run the local elections office.

He will likely get his revised statement on the sample ballot.

I want a Clerk / Recorder that wants to increase registration and voter turnout. So far Mark Lunn hasn't addressed voter registration or turn out on his campaign website. Mark Lunn has an open invite to be interviewed on my blog. That goes for candidates running for any of the offices this June.

Jim Dantona has started releasing some of the names of local leaders that have endorsed his run for Ventura County Clerk Recorder. His press release is in bold below my comments.

Here are my thoughts on some of his endorsements:

I have deep respect for State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. He has consistently pushed for education reforms, even when other educational leaders disagreed with him. I also like his brand of politics. When he was a local legislator he often met with constituents at a card table set up on a street corner. More politicians should follow that example.

Arleigh Kidd is a personal friend of mine and although we disagree on some education policies I know he is a true advocate for the middle class. His endorsement is personal as teachers unions have next to nothing at stake with the county government.

Brad Sherman used to represent large parts of Eastern Ventura County before the last census. He might again after this census. His name might not persuade many voters but it shows Dantona is putting together a credible challenge. In the interest of full disclosure I interned in his office for a few weeks years ago.

I am not surprised supporters of limiting urban growth boundaries wouldn't be supporting Peter Foy's employee as Foy has consistently voted to support the rights of property owners to develop their land. That said it will help Dantona to get support from across the county to avoid being a regional candidate.

We will see how much Firefighters want to spend supporting a candidate for clerk when they have other tough races for supervisor. They do have a great GOTV team which I wonder if it will put to use for a slate of candidates.

Jim Dantona has many contacts across the state and nation from his work in politics but I wonder how they can be used locally. Can he use their endorsements to raise money when the office he seeks doesn't control the types of issues that are important to many interest groups?

He was endorsed by State Senator Alex Padilla who should help him earn more endorsements. He would be smart to work with groups that want to increase Latino electoral participation, especially since his opponent doesn't mention increasing voter registration or participation of any voters on his political website.

It will be an interesting local election season.

JIM DANTONA PICKS UP KEY ENDORSEMENTS

On the same day Jim Dantona officially filed to run for Ventura County Clerk and Recorder, he picked up some major endorsements. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, Congressman Brad Sherman and State Senator Alex Padilla join a growing list of supporters lining up behind Dantona's campaign.

Joining Dantona at the Ventura County Clerk's office to file were former Mayor of Ventura and author of SOAR, Richard Francis, California Teachers Association Regional Director Arleigh Kidd and Ventura County Firefighter Association President Chris Mahon.

Click on continue reading for the rest of the press release.

Jim Dantona had a long profile of his campaign themes in The Acorn last Friday. His opponent Mark Lunn started his campaign much earlier but Jim Dantona has been working hard to catch up.

He will be announcing that The Ventura County Firefighters Union will be supporting him and I have heard several other prominent announcements will be announced in the next few weeks.

I want a Clerk-Recorder that will work to register more voters and make it easier for them to vote. The legitimacy of our elections is dependent on voter participation. Mark Lunn has many sections of his website with buzzwords about safety, integrity, and character but he doesn't do much to show me he will work with other people to make sure more people participate. I look forward to him addressing this major issue.

Let's see which candidate does the best job of proving they will work to register young people and other underrepresented groups. If a candidate is satisfied with the local voter turnout they aren't qualified for this position.

Mark Lunn sent me a request to post his fanbox so here you go:

Mark, my request is that candidates for this office hold a one on one debate online without a moderator. Each candidate can post their replies to each other and ask any questions they see fit. Let me know as we get closer if you are interested.

When I went to his website I checked out his endorsement page and I was really impressed. Although he has been running for longer than Jim Dantona that doesn't fully explain his long list of supporters. Mark Lunn served on The Ventura County Republican Central Committee that isn't too surprising he has the support of many Republican officeholders. He has been endorsed by 4 members of the Simi Valley City Council which isn't too surprising by itself as Simi Valley officials seem to make it a hobby to endorse candidates. But what is surprising is that past Dantona ally Barbra Williamson is on the list of his supporters.

It will be interesting in the next few weeks to see if Jim Dantona can get the support of prominent Democratic officeholders and if he can make a case he has bipartisan support.

This year is going to be great for blog traffic. I have many races that the print media won't be covering much combined with candidates like Audra Strickland and Jim Dantona who always get massive attention.

Jim Dantona is running for Ventura County Clerk-Reporter. He has shown in the past he is a tough campaigner when he defeated an incumbent supervisor and then came close in a run-off to Peter Foy in a Republican district. His declared opponent is Supervisor Peter Foy's Chief of Staff Mark Lunn.

The Ventura County Clerk-Recorder is in charge of voter registration and running elections. I want to see a candidate that isn't on the central committee for their party and won't use the position to directly influence elections. I wouldn't mind if they resigned from their party and promised to rarely endorse candidates.

I also want to expand voter registration and Vote By Mail efforts across our communities including (but not limited to) minorities, young people, military members and senior citizens. My ideal candidate will rally young people on campuses to vote and see a major duty of theirs to increase voter turn out.

I will be following these candidates closely to see who offers us the clear choice. Jim Dantona has earned my respect for his energetic campaigning. Let's see if he will earn my vote.

In related news Peter Foy might be too busy to help Mark Lunn much. Check back in a few days to see why.

To all of the candidates: If you ever see a comment that is personally offensive or otherwise over the top send me an email to have it removed. I often remove comments and I don't post who requested me to delete the comment.

The Ventura County Young Republicans will be holding a mixer Tuesday night with County Supervisor Peter Foy and Thousand Oaks Planning Commissioner Mark Lunn.

Click on continue reading for details.

In related news voting remains open in the poll for who you would like to see as the nominee of the Republican Party for governor in 2010. Supervisor Peter Foy is behind Tom Campbell by just a few votes. Do you want Peter Foy to run? Vote for him and encourage him to run.