Cunningham leads in early Poway campaign fundraising
By Steve Dreyer
City Councilman Jim Cunningham raised more November election cash during the first six months of 2012 than any of his three declared opponents, but Jeff Mangum had the most money on hand as of June 30, according to campaign statements.
Councilman Jim Cunningham
Cunningham, seeking his second four-year term, reported raising $5,524 during the six-month period. Mangum raised $5,240 while Vaus reported collecting $4,650, according to the reports, which were due to the city clerk’s office last Friday.
Gary Vineyard, the fourth declared candidate, filed a form stating he was starting his campaign in July.
The four are running for two seats on the five-member City Council. Merrilee Boyack, who has served two terms, is not seeking re-election and has endorsed Vaus. The top two vote-getters will win the seats. The candidate filing period closes Aug. 15.
Cunningham spent the most during the reporting period, $2,209.11. About $1,332 of that was on expenses for a fundraiser. Mangum reported spending $417.27 while Vaus reported $340.75 in expenditures.
City election codes allow individuals to contribute a maximum of $100 to a municipal political campaign.
Cunningham’s statement shows 70 contributions, including 39 people making the $100 maximum in either one or two payments. Of the listed contributors, 14 list addresses outside of Poway.
Cunningham and his wife, Chris, each made $100 contributions, as did the following people:
Van Craig Abbott, Ginger Abbott, Tonia Bates, Sabrina Butler, Sharon Cafagna, Mary Castle, Richard Castle, Jodi Cantillo, Paul Dolan, Annie Draper, Caroline Draper, Paul Draper, Valerie Draper, Elizabeth Duris, Joseph Duris, John Duris, Mary Duris, Bob Emery, Mari Gutschow, Todd Gutschow, Sue Herndon, June Kaminski, Stan Kaminski, Debbi McNamara, Kevin McNamara, Barbara Merkley, Scott Merkley, Patrick Millay, Mike Sheehan, Cleata Spear, Phil Spear, Brian VanHatten, Jackie VanHatten, Benjamin Wood, Thomas Wood and Virginia Wood.
JEFF MANGUM
Mangum reported 56 contributions, including three from outside Poway. His statement lists 48 people giving the $100 maximum, including:
Kathleen Mechling, Donald Mechling, Sue Herndon, Sharon Cafagna, Tony Rubino, Bruce Tarzy, Richard Lyles, Martha Lyles, J. Tim Konold, Kathy Konold, Marc Davis, Karen Davis, Richard Bramwell, Jennifer Bramwell, Craig Schell, Lenore Mosteller, H. Stewart Nielsen Jr., Alan Sorkin, Louarn Sorkin, H. Glenn Sallenbach, Lyman Clark, John Huish, Kathy Huish, Kelly Burt, Laurie Burt, Lori Simon, David Stone, Belva Stone, Elizabeth Tarzy, Carl Kruse, Harry Rogers, Dave Brunson, Bobbie Brunson, Alfred Westall, Peggy Westall, Chris Ewell, Holli Ewell, Victoria Gowey, Dennis Gowey, Donald L. Higginson Sr., James A. Davies, Rebecca Davies, Wayne Mullin, Evelyn Mullin, Richard (Buck) Hite, Sallie Hite, Todd Gutschow and Mari Gutschow.
Vaus reported 51 contributors, including 22 with addresses outside of Poway. His statement lists 38 people, including himself and his wife, Corrie, giving $100 to the campaign. Others included:
Cynthia Maher, Jason Cooper, Gail Kaciuba, Marc Klingner, Debi Klingner, Verne Widden, Steven Wagner, Pamela Moore, Darol Caster, Rachel Gershwin, Diane Eagan, Cathy Haessig, David Haessig, Steve Boyack, Merrilee Boyack, Jim Dominique, Trish Dominique, Col. C.W. Bud Cheatham, Teresa Yelverton, Michael Rubin, Christina Kane, Robert Kane, Paul Kassel, Cindy Kassel, Colin Driscoll, Kari Capito, Caroline Gilbert, John Gilbert, Jill Peckinpaugh, David Peckinpaugh, Jane Houston, Christine Romano, Bingham Stickney, John C. Hinkle, Michiko Johnson, Patrick Johnson, Deborah Cavanaugh, Edward Jolley, Valerie Brown and Alisha Kassel.
STEVE VAUS
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Posted by Steve Dreyer
on Jul 30 2012. Filed under Local News, Poway.
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Mr. Cunningham has done one heck of a job during his 1st term as councilman. It's nice to know we have a man with a proven track record, once again devoted to serving the citizens of Poway. And the best part of all, he has no ulterior motive behind his decision to run. I tip my 10 gal to you sir.
Cunningham has done well. What I want to know is will he absolutely, positively commit to serving his full term. Because if he decides to run for Mayor in two years and wins, and let's face it he'd beat Higginsen, then we would be stuck with another appointed Council member or an expensive special election. Not good in either case. Give us the straight scoop Jimmy.
I think Councilman Cunningham would make a great mayor. His election cycle just happens to be out of sync with the Mayor's. Besides which, Mayor Higginson has stated he would not be running again for office.
In two years, 3 seats will be up for election. (2 council and 1 mayor) If Cunningham were to run in two years and become mayor, would it be necessary to have an appointment or special election, or would the 3rd place finisher for the two council seats take the vacated seat?
It's a shame that despite getting enough signatures on the petition, Poway won't get the chance to vote for or against term limits in this election. If passed, it would have shortened the time before there were a true test of an appointee's approval by the voting public.
If I recall correctly, Mr. Higginson said he wouldn't run again (or implied it) when he was appointed interim mayor.
PeterD whether or not Mr Cunningham would make a bad, good or great mayor is in the eye of the beholder. However there is no doubt if he wins another Council term and then runs for Mayor and wins, the vacancy he would leave on the Council would be required to be filled by appointment or special election. In current muni code there is no third place finisher provision. If his seat is filled by appointment, that robs the public of their opportunity to select their representative. If his seat is filled by special election that robs the City of tens of thousands of dollars. Either way the residents lose. At the very least Cunningham should be honest about his intentions so the residents can weigh the risks and/or rewards.
Cunningham intends to run for mayor. His ego won't let him pass up the opportunity. He is devoted to serving his own best interests. Watch council meetings on cable. The guy will not stop talking. He comments on stuff even if it's not necessary.
Wow, almost half of Vaus' contributions came from outside of Poway (22 out of 51 were NOT Powegians). Even Cunningham had 14 non-Powegians contribute. Mangum is only a few hundred dollars behind Cunningham in the fundraising amount, and almost all of Mangum's contributions came from within the community (only 3 non-Powegians). I guess we can see who actually has the most community support between Mangum & Vaus.
Do you suppose the fact that Mangum is a 4 term, 16 year, professional politician joined at the hip with the old boys network in town has anything to do with the plentiful local cash??? Seriously look at Mangum's contributors: Cafagna, Higginson, Tarzy, Kruse, Gutshow, Dick Lyles, Mechling, Simon, Mullin. Poway's aristocracy. Enough already.
Does it ever occur to you that maybe Poway is the great, fiscally responsible city that it is today because of those dedicated, capable Powegians? No, I don't suppose it would. Any prosperous community has its "pillars" who donate time and money for no reward other than improving things for all of us.
I'm actually thankful for all their contributions over the years because I get to enjoy the benefits of their work . Thanks to folks like those you mention, Poway is a great place to live and I get tired of all the complaints that get posted in these comment sections. If you don't like how things are in Poway, move to Stockton or Bell!
Oh good lord – we're not complaining about their hard work we're commenting because only "they" appear to be considered qualified and then only by themselves. Many many others work tirelessly for this community.
What is interesting is when this wonderful city was incorporated the biggest opponents to our cityhood came from those neighborhoods and some of those very individuals. Now they "manage" us. I'm all for volunteer work but because of their overwhelming presence and capacity to fund (and overfund) some candidates, we (the rest of us) never to get find out if there are any other options – because the cost of opposing your political juggernaut not only in dollars but in physical labor is also overwhelming.
A prime example is Lyles' pontification on Mangum being the only "reasonable" choice with anyone else who considers running as not having the same noble aspirations as Mangum. It's that annointing of successors that creates a bad taste in the mouth.
When a city is held hostage by a few, they ultimately run the risk of being a Stockton or a Bell. No one is deriding their hard work but we do occasionally question their motives.
Does Mangum really have community support or just a lot of rich Poway friends in high places?
You can say the same thing about the Singing Cowboy. Win or lose, all this extra publicity can't be bad for the ole career.
I think I'll be voting for a singing Cowboy that's Authentic & does a lot for the community as it is & made a difference, than vote for a bunch of Wanna-be's that are nothing but terrible actors & full of it. What you see is what you get with Vaus.
What you see is what you get with Vaus? Lord help us I hope not. He's the guy who said he wasn't interested in running for council a while back. So what's he do, he runs for council. Oh and just a reminder, he lost. In this day and age, the wise citizens of Poway can see right through it. I've lived in Poway for 30 years and had never heard of him until the lynch mob debacle, which he conveniently jumped right into halfway through it. If he wasn't true to his word then, what makes you think he will be now?
People are entitled to change their minds, especially when they see a change that needs to be made. I've lived in this Community for 36 years, and your right the citizens can see right through whose the real thing. Actions speak louder than words, and Steve Vaus has shown some great efforts in our community. Past leaders talk a lot about changes they'll make, I never saw them follow through.
I'm not sure it really matter how many contributors are inside or outside of Poway (family members can be scattered – support bases can be large). I seem to remember Mullin had strong support inside and outside the community. What's clear is that Cunningham spends the most.
However, support bases outside of Poway do not equal votes within Poway.
What happened to Guest 92064's comment? It was a valid, honest comment. Mangum's 16 years is old guard and represents years of entrenched attitudes. Is the Chieftain playing fast and loose with commentary?
Haven't seen the Guest 92064 comment (not sure how Guest #972 did if it wasn't posted). However, those supposedly "entrenched" attitudes have produced one of the best school districts in the county (if not in the state). PUSD improved year after year during Mangum's 16 years on the board. Give me those kinds of attitudes anyday if they produce those kinds of results!
We aren't the best school district in the state and we're third or fourth in the county. Poway has an over inflated sense of value when it comes to PUSD. We're significantly behind districts with the same level of affluence in L.A. and Orange Counties. Not to mention that schools in California rank 43rd in the nation. So while cutting bus service, school resource officers, student services, and a myriad of other essential items and watching pensions soar, I'm not sure that we need 16 more years of that type of service.
Funny, I don't recall saying PUSD was the best school district in the state. But we are ONE of the best. PUSD also consistently has our high schools listed in the top 100 high schools in the nation. And third or fourth in the county? Please. To make an accurate comparison you need to look at K-12 districts and compare the type of demographics in the whole district (not just a few top performing schools). Not all areas of PUSD are "affluent." PUSD does a fabulous job with our diverse demographics. Are we perfect? No. And we don't claim to be. But PUSD has never rested on its laurels. I repeat: During Mangum's tenure on the board, PUSD consistently improved year after year. Families come to the City of Poway for the community and the schools. You appear to be dissatisfied with both. You are in the minority.
Poway Unified is NOT in the top 100 districts in the nation. And I am not dissatisfied with the district at all.
As I said, our egos are little overinflated when it comes to just how "great" we are. As a matter of fact in 2004, we got hit pretty hard with how we really weren't measuring up. More recently there is the U.S. News report that puts PUSD at 445th in the nation. http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools....
And concurrently, Mangum didn't do the hard work to bring up the scores – teachers, kids and parents did that.
You need education on school budgets. Bus service was cut because it was taking money directly out the general budget which meant out of the classroom. Do you want the money spent for travel expenses for some students or left in the classroom for all the students' benefit. And you must be mixing PUSD up with San Diego because we don't have soaring pension problems. In case you haven't noticed, the economy stinks and any prudent organization has had to make cuts. PUSD has tried to keep those cuts as far away from the classroom as possible. You don't see PUSD needing to close schools or putting itself in the position where the state has to take over the district (which has happened to some districts). PUSD has managed to drastically cut its budget and still maintain and even improve its high scores. Mangum has the expertise for hard times.
Hey there is an article in the Chieftain that addresses PUSD's and the grand jury showing how we're slipping.
It would help if you would read more carefully before you reply. I said our HIGH SCHOOLS are listed in the top 100 in the nation.
And once again if you actually read the statistics, Poway HIGH SCHOOLS are not in the top 100 in the nation. They are 445th.
Please re-read the article. It begins by telling how the grand jury commended — not criticized — PUSD for quality education in test scores and exit exams, low dropout rates, blue ribbon schools, collaboration between the teacher's union and the district (this unique collaboration was initiated during Mangum's tenure).
Is it just me or does Cunningham's photo look like he's doing a song and dance?
It may appear that way. Watching Cunningham for many years, not only can he not sing or dance, he can't follow through on his word. He's a great poser & talker, that's all I see when I look at him.
And you could do so much better. At least from behind your computer.
Dale do you ever have anything relevant or positive to say? Anything at all of merit to contribute to the conversation?
Sure, so here goes. Good luck Mr. Vaus in the upcoming election.