Go Joe!


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San Bernardino city clerk faces opponent for first time


10:00 PM PDT on Friday, August 10, 2007

By CHRIS RICHARD
The Press-Enterprise

San Bernardino's city clerk faces her first contested election and a one-time deputy to the controversial city attorney is taking on her former boss.

Those are some of the highlights from a candidates' filing deadline as San Bernardino prepares for the November election. In addition to the city clerk's and city attorney's races, the ballot includes four council seats and an election for city treasurer.

Two incumbents -- City Treasurer David Kennedy and 3rd Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker -- are running unopposed. But for the first time, longtime City Clerk Rachel Clark faces an opponent: anti-illegal immigration activist Joseph Turner.

This is Turner's third foray into local politics. Last year, he drew national attention by urging a citywide vote on an initiative requiring city agencies to fight illegal immigration through sanctions on employers who hire illegal immigrants and on landlords who rent to them.

In June 2006, a judge ruled that the initiative petition contained too few signatures to qualify it for the ballot. Then, in November, Turner finished seventh among eight candidates seeking a seat on the board of education of the San Bernardino school district.

He says Clark has failed to license "thousands" of rental properties in the city. In a brief interview Friday, Turner said he derived that figure by comparing the total rental licenses listed on a city Web page with authoritative estimates of the city's rental market.

This is Clark's first electoral challenge since she was appointed to the position in August 1990. In an interview Friday, she said she's kept business licenses current.

In another race likely to draw attention, both City Attorney Jim Penman and a former deputy, Marianne Milligan, filed election papers Friday. Milligan, who now oversees enforcement on city building codes, says Penman has made his office a tool of his political ambitions.

But Penman said his campaign will stress his public service.

"I think it's an opportunity for me to compare my lifelong commitment to the city of San Bernardino to my opponent's record," he said.

Other city races include some seasoned candidates and a couple of novices.

In the 5th Ward, incumbent Chas Kelley faces three challengers, including former mayoral candidate Rick Avila; Carolyn Tillman, a special assistant to the county schools superintendent and city library trustee; and Randall Lee, a local tavern owner.

Lee said he wants City Hall to do more to attract business.

In the 6th Ward, incumbent Rikke Van Johnson will run against Betty Dean Anderson, whom Johnson unseated in 2004. Stewart Cumming, a Westside community activist, also will run.

In the 7th Ward, incumbent Wendy McCammack faces challenges from Jim Mulvihill, whom she defeated in 1999, and Paul Sanborn, who lost to McCammack in 2003.