San Clemente 2019 Special Election Voting Guide

Special Election

e d i u G g n i Vot

San Clemente’s special election to fill the fifth and vacant city council seat is less than a month away, and voters are now expected to receive their mail-in ballots from the city. This Nov. 5, the city’s voters will be asked to select one of five candidates running in the election, which was prompted after the unexpected death of Mayor Steve Swartz in May. We’ve put together this brief guide to highlight candidates’ statements. We’ve also asked the candidates two questions regarding local topics. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

The last day to register to vote in the upcoming election is Oct. 21. For more information on how to register to vote, head to OCVote.com, contact the city at 949.361.8200 or visit San-Clemente.org.

CANDIDATE STATEMENTS

DEE COLEMAN

JACKSON HINKLE

GENE JAMES

MICKEY MCLANE

CHRISTINA SELTER

San Clemente’s homelessness is my primary platform. My goal is to ensure the highest quality of life for San Clemente residents, businesses and visitors.

Once in office, I will act quickly/effectively to develop a uniform plan with state and neighboring cities to address the issues that threaten all cities nationwide. I want to work with law enforcement on a comprehensive plan to address the homeless, crime and fears that our residents have.

I can create action/funding solutions that produce results to benefit residents and voters of San Clemente. I also see other areas of government in San Clemente that I can address where residents will see better results (i.e., traffic flows, wasteful government spending, toll road, etc.).

As CEO of a real estate company and Classic Auto Sales at south San Clemente, I have been identifying/creating/ executing winning plans for success in business, real estate developments and endeavors with proven results.

My 30 years “Out of The Box” experience with multimilliondollar budgets, legal experience, working with different governments around the country at many levels, oversight of many employees/vendors/contractors etc., and my excellent organizational skills make Dee Coleman the highly qualified candidate for you to get the job done.

As a candidate who was born and raised in San Clemente, I have a deep understanding of what it takes to preserve and protect our Spanish Village by the Sea. I know that residents do not want overdevelopment in our beautiful beach town, and I will fight to ensure that outside interests never have a voice on council. My valuable experience serving as a public advocate makes me the best candidate to represent San Clemente in the fight against the TCA and their disastrous toll road plans, the removal of nuclear waste and in demanding the county fund a regional solution to the homelessness crisis they created.

As San Clemente’s local advocate, I have represented our town on a national level, briefing the United States Congress on the removal of nuclear waste from San Onofre. I served as a lead organizer in the 2017 No Toll Road protest, led an initiative that saved our local school district millions of taxpayer dollars, and cofounded a coalition aimed at lowering energy rates locally.

As your councilman, I will bring our community together to preserve and protect San Clemente, and ensure that residents always have a voice on city council. Vote Jackson Hinkle—JacksonHinkle.org.

I am running to be your next city councilmember with an emphasis on public safety, fiscal prudence and quality of life.

Public Safety—We need to look at adding deputies to Police Services to improve the safety and security of our children, families and the elderly. The ever-growing number of chronically addicted and the untreated mentally ill not only pose a public safety crisis, but they pose a potential public health crisis if left unchecked.

Fiscal Prudence—Our city budget continues to grow, and the madness must stop! We are projecting budget deficits going into the future.

Quality of Life—Strikes at the heart of those of us in San Clemente. From the ever-growing numbers of unsheltered to the quality of ocean water to the ticking time bomb of nuclear waste to stopping the toll road, we must face all these challenges with competence and commitment.

I am a veteran of the United States Army. I possess a master’s degree in Public Administration and a BA Degree in Criminal Justice. Call me at 949.637.8286. Email me at GWalkerJames@gmail.com.

GeneWalkerJames.com. I want to earn your vote.

Warm Regards, Gene James.

No toll road!

Greetings. I started life on a dead-end dirt road in the South.

My solid family was not well-off, yet ethics, and personal standards, were typical dinner-table conversations.

Based on those principles and others, I was admitted to the good schools. I might not have been in the top of my class in high school, but by college I was. At age 23, I was a Shakespearean actor at the best theatre in Virginia. During that six-year stint, I helped organize Shakespeare In The Schools.

Much of my life has been in service to my community. Volunteering is a McLane Family tradition. My frequent volunteering in schools included five years as the only male “Room Mother” in the Norfolk School System (my daughter’s grades one through five); the Poetry Guy during Culture Week; Assistant Basketball Coach; most recently, lectured 12th-grade students on how literature mirrors society.

Professional: I started my first business at age 12, my second at 19, my third at 40, my fourth at 50; I served as a uniformed police officer and adult probation and parole officer totaling over sixteen years.

I respectfully encourage your vote for the new guy, Michael (Mickey) McLane.

San Clemente is a unique place—an award-winning community—where residents enjoy a special quality of life. To ensure San Clemente remains a great place to live, we need dedicated, proven and experienced leaders to serve on our city council.

When elected, my primary goals are to enhance our city’s financial security and our special quality of life. I’ll ensure you’re always protected by the finest police and firefighting forces. I’ll support policies promoting safe neighborhoods, reduced traffic, conservative fiscal policies, strong families, vibrant local businesses, and transparent, efficient government.

I’m a proven, effective, resultsoriented leader—I believe our city is strong and its future bright.

I’m well-qualified to serve: Small business owner/entrepreneur.

Owner of occupant safety firm.

Licensed manufacturer of Clean Electric Vehicles. Licensed realtor (First Team Real Estate).

Board Member, Orange County Office on Aging. Senior Resource Ministry Volunteer Leader.

For years, I’ve been an active member/participant in community organizations, including: Clean Up the Beach, Voter Registration and Breast Cancer Awareness Drive.

My husband and I have been married for 14 years, we have one daughter, and for more than 10 years our family has been proud to call San Clemente home.

I respectfully ask for your vote. Christina2019.com.

CANDIDATE Q & A

What do you believe to be the biggest issue facing the City of San Clemente, and how will you address it if elected to office?

DEE COLEMAN

GENE JAMES

JACKSON HINKLE

MICKEY MCLANE

CHRISTINA SELTER

City council’s inability to manage the homeless situation is my top issue.

It spills into so many sectors.

There are health and safety issues, it takes financial resources away from our city and the people, it’s affecting our businesses, it demands many layers of city resources, and the return is minimal.

The mismanagement of the temporary emergency shelter has brought more vagrants into our community and displaced them around the city. The problem has grown and spread to our children’s Pico Park, where vagrants have taken over, sleeping on sidewalks, trashing the park, using bathrooms as personal cleaning areas and more.

Meanwhile, we are paying $25,000 per month for a facility that is not accomplishing the goal. Vote Dee for real change!

It is difficult to make a case to limit this question to one issue.

The immediate emergency is chronic homelessness, increased criminal transients and service-resistant mentally ill.

Have no doubt, a forced regional shelter and public housing with no accountability near neighborhoods and businesses along with escalating crime will all be a direct threat to public safety.

We need to remove the roadblocks that prevent our local law enforcement from ensuring our safety. When elected, this will be my priority.

For quite some time, I have been engaged at the city level, with law enforcement, and met recently with Supervisor Lisa Bartlett to address these issues.

There is no simple solution to this complex problem. I will work proactively as a councilmember for resolution.

Without question, the biggest issue facing San Clemente is the homeless crisis and the proposed homeless shelter across from our high school that would put our children at risk.

As a member of city council, I will: 1.) Oppose any permanent homeless encampments or regional shelters within our city.

2.) Demand the county fund a regional solution outside of San Clemente.

3.) Work to bring back a San Clemente Police Department.

The county has squandered millions of dollars while the homeless crisis has spiraled unchecked.

We need more support services, including mental health counseling, addiction treatment and other job preparation aids.

It’s time for a councilmember who will bring about real solutions to the largest issue we are facing.

The biggest crisis we face is the homeless situation. This is not just a matter of dignity, and inconvenience and petty crime and threatened property values; it’s a matter of health and safety.

From locked beach bathrooms to discarded hypodermic needles to waste left behind, it’s a disaster. One hundred people cannot arrive and change the lifestyle of 65,000 residents!

There have been numerous developments, in lawsuits, in new court decisions, new ordinances, debates among cities, etc.—and just last week, the Coastal Commission jumped in with both feet.

We will win this war.

I support adding to our legal staff; if we don’t hire now, we’ll pay the piper, we’ll pay out more in settlements later. I support adding more police officers to San Clemente’s streets.

The biggest issue facing San Clemente is the lack of a solid plan for the homeless epidemic.

Unlike my opponents, the plan that is already working, and has several successful case studies, is my program. My homeless placement program has placed many people in safe housing—in fact, three in the past week.

It has been presented to the County of Orange and police agencies, who call me weekly to get help placing individuals.

How do you plan to represent San Clemente’s interests to the Transportation Corridor Agencies regarding the proposed toll road routes?

DEE COLEMAN

GENE JAMES

JACKSON HINKLE

MICKEY MCLANE

CHRISTINA SELTER

San Clemente does not want a toll road!

The TCA is financially feeding local politics/governments at all levels to push roads through our town. The TCA gave the Chamber $14,500. Those monies are going to help fund its new endorsee, who will, in turn—if elected—make decisions that will affect the TCA. The TCA is buying our city council seat. I spoke to Congressman Mike Levin, and he, too, is investigating TCA’s political actions.

I want to work for our voters and stop the toll roads from coming through San Clemente once and for all. I want to create a permanent moratorium that will block the TCA from coming through San Clemente.

Vote Dee Coleman on your ballot. For more information, go to DColeman4SC.com

The TCA should be audited and dismantled!

It does not represent the interests of San Clemente and has become a mismanaged consultant-driven cash cow for the special interests.

I strongly support AB 1273, the bill that would end the toll road. The toll road needs to be immediately stopped in its tracks now. I will not tolerate a scar of concrete and steel running through our town!

San Clemente does, indeed, have a bright future; that future does not include a toll road or managed lanes on the I-5.

As the only candidate that has consistently supported abolishing the corrupt TCA, I will continue to fight to immediately abolish the TCA; for the 73 to become a free road (as originally promised); and to ensure the TCA does not build any new toll roads, toll lanes or arterial roads.

Despite having built zero new roads since 1996 and owing over $6 billion (according to Ciy of San Clemente) in over-extended debt, the TCA has spent an estimated $20 million lobbying for its wildly unpopular interests.

I am proud that (unlike another candidate) I do not take support from toll road consultants, the TCA, or its reckless developer friends.

I will work to bring our community together to stop the TCA’s disastrous toll road plans.

To keep the toll road from bisecting San Clemente, we should apply the firmest legal resistance possible.

This is another reason we need to add to our legal staff.

Some are trying, or say they are trying, to shut down a whole transportation agency. That’s fluff. No intelligent voter will buy into that dreamt-up drama, since the chances of it happening are virtually zero.

To chase that ghost is failureoriented. Rather, the steady, programmed, strategically planned, success-oriented refusal to budge at every possible stage—and lawsuits (that often take years) against the powersthat-be—I’m enthusiastically including.

San Clemente traffic and Transportation Corridor Agencies are another major issue.

One area we can improve is local mobility by utilizing programs, like the OCFLEX, that have been successful in many cities. It helps move traffic without a toll road and without land-grabbing by taking people’s homes and businesses.