Ten are running for Poway City Council
A record 10 candidates – two incumbents and eight challengers – have qualified to run for the City Council in the Nov. 8 election.
Councilmen Jim Cunningham and Barry Leonard will face Julie Bendinelli, Joe Calabrese, Sean Finley, John McConnin, Christopher Olps, Torrey Powers, Amy Romaker and Jonathan Ryan in the at-large election, where the top two finishers will win the seats.
The order the candidates will appear on the ballot will be determined today (Thursday) by the Secretary of State’s office, according to City Clerk Nancy Neufeld.
Cunningham is seeking a third four-year term on the five-member council. Leonard was appointed in January to complete the term of Steve Vaus, who was elected mayor last November.
Since the city’s incorporation in 1980, there has never been an election when two seats were to be filled and 10 candidates applied. Eight candidates ran in 1996 and 2004. In 1986, when there were three openings, 13 candidates ran for office.
Eight of the 10 candidates running this year filed candidate statements that will be included by the county in voter information booklets to be mailed later this year. Each candidate submitting a statement paid a $750 fee to do so.
Bendinelli, 51, is a self-employed commercial property inspector. She is a 12-year Poway resident and described herself in her statement as an “avid volunteer and involved parent” who would like to “represent our community with a fresh voice and a different perspective.” She is a former president of a homeowners association in Danville, an experience she said “taught me how to bring opposing sides together to affect positive change.”
Calabrese, who did not list his age, is a business owner and 23-year city resident. He is president of the Pomerado Business Park Association. Poway “has gone off track,” he wrote in his statement, with “long, drawn-out debates over … usage of the city’s parks, height of lighting, and extensive review of already established Poway Road.” According to Calabrese, “More important tasks like properly collecting rent and wage charges from businesses has receive little to no attention.”
Cunningham 59, has lived in Poway for 23 years and is an attorney. While on the council, he notes in his statement, the city has delivered “eight balanced budgets, with no new taxes, the best roads in the county, improved parks and sports fields for our kids, and honored our veterans by building Poway Veterans Park.” The statement says Cunningham is a captain in the California State Military Reserve and has been endorsed by the Poway Firefighter’s Association and the deputy sheriff’s association.
Finley, 41 is a 12-year resident and computer security professional. In his statement he wrote the city faces several challenges ahead, including “finding an equitable water rate structure, revamping the Poway Road corridor, attracting businesses that make Poway a destination for consumers and enhance the quality of life of all Powegians and preventing the City Council from pursuing increased housing density without proper infrastructure to handle the extra traffic.”
Leonard did not list his age. He is a retired business owner who has lived in Poway for 13 years. “My top priorities are to continue Poway’s outstanding record of public safety, conservative fiscal policies, well maintained infrastructure and enhance Poway’s business community,” he wrote in his statement. “I’m known for being available, demonstrating empathy, (and) bringing common sense to problem solving.” He is endorsed by Vaus and Councilmen John Mullin and Dave Grosch.
McConnin, 53, is a homeowners’ rights attorney and Realtor who lives across from the StoneRidge Country Club. “We are strongly motivated to save StoneRidge and keep Poway great for everyone,” he wrote in his statement. (The country club’s owner is reportedly considering building homes on the golf course.) McConnin is critical of the council’s decision to place on the November ballot a measure that if passed, would clear the way for the owner of the Maderas Golf Club to proceed with submitting plans to the city for a hotel on the property.
Olps, 33, is a senior systems engineer and co-chair of the city’s Budget Review Committee. He is a former Navy nuclear engineer who grew up in Poway. “I want to ensure that the future of Poway continues to offer the same opportunities and quality of life that it has afforded me,” he said in his statement. Olps ran for a council seat last November.
Powers did not file a statement. She listed her age as 37 and her occupation as “security.”
Romaker, 57, holds two law degrees and a business degree and sits on the boards of four nonprofit boards. She manages a law firm. “My knowledge of law, finance, business and real estate makes me uniquely qualified to protect, preserve and plan for Poway’s future,” Romaker wrote. “I intend to use my community connections to promote Poway as a world class location for business, home life, and recreation.”
Ryan, 45, did not submit a statement. He is a small business owner (Realtor/broker.)
