Ledger-Dispatch

By Jerry Budrick (jbudrick@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

Gwen Johnson waves goodbye from the = Amador County=20 Elections Department to those who didn't file by the 5 p.m. = deadline=20 Friday.

Photo by: Jerry=20 Budrick
With only 84 days until the Nov. 4=20 election, many local races are about to intensify.

Quite a few = incumbents=20 have decided to call it quits, some former office-holders are seeking a = return=20 to public life and at least one local politico is trying to change hats = this=20 year.

In a majority of the contests, filing for candidacy closed = Friday=20 at 5 p.m. As a result, it's known, for instance, that Gloria Stoddard = will once=20 again be the city clerk of Plymouth. No one chose to oppose her for the = position=20 and she filed her papers for re-election as the incumbent.

The = election=20 process in Amador County is as basic as having more votes cast for one = candidate=20 than any other, provided that the number of votes adds up to 50 percent = plus=20 one. Where things begin to get a little tricky is in closing the = application=20 window.

This is how it works: if any incumbent office holder = failed to=20 file for re-election by Friday at 5 p.m., the filing deadline for that=20 particular office was extended until 5 p.m., Wednesday.

Debbie = Smith and=20 Gwen Johnson kept the Amador County Elections Department window open on = Friday=20 until exactly 5. The clanking of the roll-down window sounded the end of = the=20 mayoral careers of Amador City's Richard Lynch and Jackson's Rosalie = Pryor=20 Escamilla. At least for now.

Sometimes mayors mount a comeback = attempt.=20 Jackson's former mayor, Keith Sweet, who didn't file any papers by 5 on = Friday,=20 was granted an extension by Escamilla's decision not to file. Sweet was = observed=20 on Friday night gathering signatures that will allow him to join the = expanding=20 field of candidates for seats on the Jackson City Council. If he files, = Sweet=20 will be at least the sixth candidate for the three seats available on = the=20 council.

There are 17 separate local races on the ballot for Nov. = 4. Of=20 those, six have been extended.

The six races that remain open for = additional candidates are: Amador County Unified School District Board = of=20 Trustees; Amador Water Agency Board of Directors for District 3; Amador = City=20 City Council; Jackson City Council; Sutter Creek City Council; and city = clerk of=20 Jackson.

Andrea Bonham, incumbent mayor of Ione, has filed for=20 re-election. "There are some things that we started," Bonham said, "and = I'd like=20 to see them finished."

Included in the unfinished business is an = Ione=20 General Plan update. "We've hired a consultant and we're looking at the = whole=20 thing all at once," Bonham explained. "We just had our first public = input=20 meeting."

For Bonham, four years was simply not enough. "The = first year,=20 you're dealing with what came before you," she enumerated, "and the = second year,=20 all that stuff is finishing up. The third year, you start working on = what you=20 want and, in the fourth year, things actually start happening and start = to=20 move."

Lynch, on the other hand, decided that eight years is = definitely=20 enough. "I'm following the example that George Washington set," he said. = "Two=20 terms is enough."

Lynch is hopeful for his tiny, hometown city's = future.=20 By leaving room for others, he feels that more residents might step up. = "The=20 more people who participate in the process, the better off we all=20 are."

There is plenty of unfinished business in Amador City. With = the=20 bypass firmly established and negotiations complete for relinquishment = of old=20 Highway 49, the city now controls the future of its main street and its = bridge=20 over Amador Creek. Sort of.

With $2 million in federal funding = "in the=20 bank," the bridge replacement project and any changes to Main Street = that=20 accompany it would appear to be a slam dunk. There is, however, a little = pothole=20 in the road. "The feds left Caltrans involved with the bridge project," = Lynch=20 lamented. This means that all plans are subject to the state Department = of=20 Transportation and its lengthy, labyrinthine approval process.

As = the=20 situation stood at 5 on Friday, there were only two candidates to fill = the four=20 seats available on the Amador City City Council. Council member Aaron = Brusatori=20 is the only incumbent who filed for re-election.

The only other=20 candidate, Michael Vasquez, will be running unopposed for an available = 2-year=20 term. "I'm looking forward to serving with the council, cleaning up the = vacant=20 lots that are fire hazards, helping the merchants and doing whatever I = can do,"=20 Vasquez said. "I'm not trying to unseat anybody. There's a vacancy and I = have=20 some ideas."

The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors is facing = the=20 possibility of major changes to its composition. Four of its five seats = are on=20 the ballot - two for two years and two for four years.

District 3 = incumbent Dave Thomas did not file for re-election, so the deadline for = filing=20 for that seat has been extended. Two candidates have emerged so far: Don = Cooper=20 and Joseph Bonini.

District 4 incumbent Paul Scott will be facing = considerable competition from two candidates well known in their = respective=20 areas of what is arguably Amador County's most diverse = district.

Sutter=20 Creek council member and former mayor Brent Parsons decided not to file = for=20 re-election to his council seat. He has chosen to seek a position on the = AWA=20 board, which will be wrestling with many issues familiar to = Parsons.

The=20 other candidate is Upcountry activist Debbie Dunn. "I think everything = is in a=20 state of change - the county and the state. We need new ideas and new = people and=20 we need to represent the rest of the people," she said.

Over in = Plymouth,=20 there will be a sense of electoral deja vu as well. Both Gary Colburn = and=20 Darlene Estey, remembered for their 2004 recalls, will try again in = November. As=20 of now, they will be joined by Maria Simon-Nunez and three incumbents, = one of=20 whom is Gary's brother, Jon.

"I totally disagree with my brother = on 100=20 percent of the matter," Gary said, one of those issues being his support = for a=20 casino in Plymouth. Gary said he'd also look into the consultant and = attorney=20 fees the city pays.

Calling Amador County a diamond with five = facets, he=20 added that one of those facets - Plymouth - is a community in decline = and one=20 where dysfunction reigns.

The countdown continues. Final filings = will be=20 done in plenty of time for Friday's Ledger Dispatch.

Raheem = Hosseini=20 contributed to this report.

Jerry = Budrick