|
news
Mayor
meets write-in challenge against Baker
By Cynthia Tom
Daily Forty Niner
Long Beach Mayor
Beverly O'Neill's star power was shown in this week's primary
mayoral election, a Cal State Long Beach political science
professor said Wednesday.
"The fact
that Beverly O'Neill won as a write-in shows that she has
a lot of star power," said Paul Schmidt, a CSULB political
science professor.
O'Neill, who has
served two terms as mayor, won in unofficial results with
27.5 percent of the vote to Vice Mayor Dan Baker's 24 percent.
Results were especially
significant, since O'Neill could not have her name on the
ballot because of term limits. However, a provision allows
for one more four-year term for an incumbent as a write-in
candidate.
Schmidt does not
think Baker's position as an openly gay male was an issue
with voters in the election.
"I think the
gay community is like any other," Schmidt said. "They
vote what they perceive to be in their interest. Just because
a voter is gay does not mean they will vote for Dan Baker.
"Politics
is a positive-negative game. Ultimately, I think voters see
Baker's personal life as just that--personal."
However, Schmidt
does not discount Baker's sexuality from his successful fundraising.
"Baker spent
and raised more than any other candidate," Schmidt said.
"Just because members of gay organizations do not live
in Long Beach does not mean that they cannot contribute money.
There's natural networking."
The election results
may have been the direct result of voter turnout. The highest
figures came from Long Beach council district three, which
includes the Belmont Shore area, where O'Neill, Baker, and
third-place candidate Norm Ryan, who has 22.2 percent of the
vote, all live.
"This is a
very low-key campaign, and there hasn't been a lot of controversy,"
Schmidt said. "There's nothing terrifically aggravating
voters, and that's generally very good for an incumbent."
Graduate student
and assistant Noel Morelos, agreed.
"Beverly O'Neill
had a large enough voting block to win as a write in, and
that says a lot about her and the also about the voters,"
Morelos said. "It shows voters aren't walking into the
polls blind, and that residents are generally happy with her
performance in office."
Up-to-date mayoral
primary elections results can be found online at the city
of Long Beach Web site.
|
