Voters agreed with all eleven recommendations of the editorial board of the Ventura County Star. It either has an uncanny finger on the pulse of Ventura County (and the state), or its coverage is so trusted that voters take it to heart when they vote.

The Star endorsed Geoff Dean, Linda Parks, Peter Foy, Steven Hintz, Mark Lunn, and Paul Blatz. All five candidates were the top vote-getters in their respective races (although Hintz will face a runoff in November).

All five of the Star's recommendations on the props came to fruition as well.

It should be noted that the Star isn't trying to predict victory--it's merely selecting who the best candidate would be for each office. Voters overwhelmingly agreed with the newspaper, particularly with the surprisingly large wins for Dean and Parks who were involved in tough races. It's difficult to assign cause-and-effect as to whether the Star's coverage influenced the outcome or ran parallel to voter attitudes. [continue reading]

Thanks for the calls & emails concerning the theft and destruction of my campaign signs. Please know that these unlawful acts were widespread throughout the County-so other than supporting me-you were not individually targeted. For your safety, do not confront anyone who is in the process of destroying/stealing our signs-call your local police agency and be a good witness. I appreciate your continued support!

I decided to check it out for myself, by driving down Los Angeles Ave. in Simi Valley. It took me five minutes to find not just a vandalized Lunn sign, but also a vandalized Peter Foy sign.

The post for Foy's sign is in the foreground. His sign lies nearby, and Lunn's sign is in the upper left corner, and looks like it was squished with a shoe. Someone must really have it in for both men to risk the consequences of getting caught.

It's a bad week for Jim Dantona, who is running for County Clerk-Recorder against retired CHP Assistant Chief Mark Lunn.

On Sunday, the Ventura County Star endorsed Lunn. Perhaps they knew about Dantona's tax problems. Lunn's campaign posted a document on its website that shows Dantona failed to pay $10,000 in taxes on two homes in Simi Valley. The website reports:

The taxes remained unpaid until April 26th. On that day Dantona, who had ignored repeated demands for payment, delivered a check for the taxes and penalties -- just four hours after a phone inquiry from the Lunn campaign confirmed that the taxes were delinquent.

The website also posted documents showing a variety of liens against Dantona, including a 1997 federal tax lien of $124,902. The most recent lien was in 2005 by the Ford Motor Credit Company.  And I don't even want to know what "Forcible Entry/Detainer" entails on page 3 of the lien summary.

Dantona also declared bankruptcy in 1992 and 2000. 

There's some debate to whether Dantona's financial difficulties should be mentioned during a campaign--but c'mon, do you want this guy in charge of your elections and vital records?