Spoiler alert: The loser of this year’s election will be truth. And it’s not going to be very fun.
We are entering another local election season – full of too many candidate debates and endless histrionics.
While our local elections are technically non-partisan, in Laguna Beach everything is political.
Which means it’s going to get ugly. There will be name-calling. There will be misrepresentation (aka lies). Debates will devolve into easy accusations of us and them.
But perhaps this year will be different. Maybe truth will prevail, and people will remain thoughtful, fair and kind.
And yet, in the back of my mind I keep thinking “Jerry Springer.”
Nonetheless, I guess we have to suck it up, educate ourselves and vote. To that end, the official nomination period for City Council candidates runs from July 18 to Aug. 12, which means that we won’t know the complete list of candidates until then.
There are three open seats. Right now, they are occupied by Sue Kempf, Peter Blake and Toni Iseman. Bob Whalen and George Weiss get a pass until next time.
A few people have already announced their intention to run (as far as we know): Louis Weil, Mark Orgill and Ruben Flores. Chances are, there will be others.
We are withholding our judgment on these new candidates for now. But we will see how they hold up.
Also, there will be four ballot initiatives:
We’ve skimmed these initiatives and our early impressions are not favorable. Why are the first two even on the ballot? Isn’t that why we have council members? Does the public have to do everything?
We’re busy too, you know. We surf, eat hamburgers and actually have a life.
Yeah, no, this is not going to be a fun election. But let’s hope it doesn’t get too out of control.
