http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11 ... 1_8_06.txt

Council winners, mayor differ on illegal immigration

By: DAVID FRIED - Staff Writer

ESCONDIDO -- Illegal immigration may have dominated the election season discourse, but in many ways, the status quo won the day, with voters electing an Escondido council of pro-business conservatives, nearly identical to the current makeup of the dais.

After all of the votes from Tuesday's election were tallied, two incumbents, and a businessman well-versed in city policies and immersed in Escondido's business community, emerged as easy winners of two open council seats and the mayor's seat.

But between the unofficial winners of the council and mayor's races, the common ground among them is economic development, not support of a recently passed city housing ordinance that bars landlords from renting to illegal immigrants.

Councilwoman Marie Waldron was elected to a third term, as was Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler, who had also served previously as a council member. Waldron topped the field of seven council candidates, raking in 29 percent of the vote, with 11,122 votes. Pfeiler earned 59 percent, about 4,000 more votes than her competitor.

Dick Daniels, a public relations specialist who has ties with the business community and is close friends with many of the current council members, was the second top vote-getter with 9,013 votes, or 24 percent of the total.

Daniels has sided with Waldron, who proposed the ordinance, and two other council members who voted to approve it, in saying that it was the will of the community and needs to be enforced and defended. Human rights groups have already mounted a lawsuit aimed at blocking the measure, saying it is unconstitutional.

Pfeiler, on the other hand, voted against the ordinance, and her vote on the measure had become a focal point for her lone competitor, former Councilman Tom D'Agosta, who received 41 percent of the vote.

The mixed results -- two candidates in favor of the ordinance, one not -- shows that voters may well have had more on their minds when they headed to the polls Tuesday, Pfeiler said.

"Although there's an overall sense of frustration over illegal immigration, people are still saying, 'This is my community and we need to think about where the community's heading and vote for people who will continue to make progress for us,' " Pfeiler said.

She added that she believes Daniels will make a strong addition to the current direction of the council when it comes to attracting more businesses to Escondido.

Councilman Ed Gallo, who knows Daniels through the Escondido Chamber of Commerce and Escondido Rotary Club, said he welcomes his friend to the council, and believes Daniels and Waldron garnered so much of the vote because they understood the inner workings of the city, and didn't focus their campaigns on one thing.

"They said, 'Let's talk about economic issues, Police and Fire departments,'" Gallo said. "These are the issues of our community, as well. The other candidates tried to keep it to immigration, and you can't be a one issue candidate."

The other council candidates in the race and their percent of the vote were: Olga Diaz, 16 percent; Elizabeth Gabrych, 9 percent; Darol Caster, 8 percent; Erik Richard, 7 percent; and Carmen Miranda, 6 percent.

Throughout the tumultuous election season, candidates were frequently grilled over their stance on the housing ordinance and illegal immigration. Diaz and Miranda said they initially decided to run based primarily on Waldron's proposal, which was approved by a council majority last month.

Councilman Sam Abed said he believes the strong showing of Waldron and Daniels proves that illegal immigration was the top issue that city voters cared about.

"Lori's 14 years of service (on the dais) has led the city in a very positive way, so she was able to overcome that (her vote against the housing ordinance)," Abed said. "She didn't have a good opponent and had a strong track record."

While certainly a key campaign issue, there is no way to quantify what role illegal immigration played in the final results, said Councilman Ron Newman, who did not seek re-election and will step down next month to make way for Daniels.

Newman said he had received a considerable number of e-mails from people urging the council to address illegal immigration at the local level, but believes people took a larger view in their voting, especially in the mayor's race.

"When you start putting the actual personalities to it, I think you're going to get a much more conservative feel," Newman said of the differences between Pfeiler's and D'Agosta's campaigns. "Maybe people are pretty happy about the way things are getting done."