File photo, a drop box location at City Hall is accepting ballots 24/7 through Election Day. // CH Sentinel
Sentinel staff report–
Beginning Oct. 10 and continuing through Election Day on Nov. 8, voters can now drop off their vote-by-mail ballots at one of three secure drop box locations in Citrus Heights.
According to the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters’ website, the following locations are now open in Citrus Heights for voters to securely drop off their vote-by-mail ballots. A prior drop box location at Raley’s was available during the Primary Election in June, but is not open for the current election.
City of Citrus Heights City Hall
6360 Fountain Square Dr.
Citrus Heights, CA
Open 24/7, with video monitoring
Open Election Day until 8:00 p.m.
Rusch Park Community Center
7801 Auburn Blvd.
Citrus Heights, CA
Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., (closed 12-1 p.m.)
Open Election Day: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed 12-1 p.m.)
Sylvan Oaks Library
6700 Auburn Blvd.
Citrus Heights, CA
Tues-Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closed Oct. 13)
Open Election Day: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Those wishing to vote in person can do so beginning Oct. 29 at the Citrus Heights Community Center, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., with extended hours from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Vote Center locations will also open Nov. 5 for early voting at Citrus Heights Fellowship, Holy Family Community Center, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and Sylvan Oaks Library.
Trash reportedly left behind at a homeless camp on Sycamore Drive in Citrus Heights. // Reader photo submission
All eight Citrus Heights city council candidates were recently given an opportunity by The Sentinel to submit written statements on a variety of local issues, including homelessness. Seven of the eight candidates submitted statements by the Oct. 22 deadline, and their answers are provided in their entirety below.
On Nov. 8, voters will pick two of the candidates to represent them on the five-member Citrus Heights city council. Each candidate was allowed up to a 100-word response per question.
Q: Homelessness is ranked among the top issues faced by businesses and residents in Citrus Heights. What is your plan to address this and what role do you see private organizations playing? (Be specific)
Jeff Slowey: “I truly believe the homeless ‘issue’ is a regional issue and will not be solved alone by Citrus Heights. That aside, for the current budget year, the City Council doubled the budget for our Homeless Navigator program. This program has proved very successful last year with over 50 percent of those requesting assistance moved into some form of permanent housing or ongoing services. All in all pretty good results for a start-up program. Additionally the newly formed HART group (Homeless Assistance Resource Team) made up of business representatives and City resources is looking for ideas to dive deeper into this arena.”
Bret Daniels: “We must be proactive in our approach and not simply reactive. Let’s find the homeless that are searching for a way out of that lifestyle and help them get there by providing assistance with basic human needs, resume preparation, and even some limited income helping clean up the city. Those that simply want to live a lifestyle of drugs, garbage, and panhandling need to be shown the way out of our city.”
Rick Doyle: “For now, the newly funded ‘Navigator’ program started by the HART team seems to be getting great results in ‘navigating’ a large number of the homeless into programs that can help those that want to help themselves onto a path that can help to transition them to self sustainment. We can’t help them all, and will never eliminate homelessness, but this seems to be a program that is working to reduce the numbers significantly. On a small city budget, there is only so much we can do, but this seems to be getting the best results.”
Marcel Weiland: “People are homeless for different reasons and need help in different ways. Our approach to homelessness should first seek to understand the complexity of the problem and then develop a two-prong approach that addresses the immediate urgent needs of the person, such as food, clothing, and housing in bad weather, as well as the long-term needs such as medical care, mental health care, job training and housing assistance. The City cannot provide all or even most of these things, but we can partner with local private organizations in order to connect the homeless with the resources they need to improve their lives.”
Tim Schaefer: “The City’s role in the homeless issue is to coordinate with other cities in the region to support programs and agencies for documenting the homeless. Two existing programs are Homeless Assistance Resource Team and the Winter Sanctuary program, which is limited to 20 homeless participants. With about 200 homeless people in the city, this limited space serves two purposes. It creates a bit of a competition which helps to identify the individuals who are truly ready to take advantage of available services and secondly it makes facility security more manageable. This program should be expanded to more than just the winter months.”
Porsche Middleton: “Citrus Heights has a Navigator Program that connects the homeless with local resources and regional programs. The full time Navigator helps to connect these individuals to organizations like HART and regional resources located in Sacramento County. Further development of these programs will be critical to addressing the issue of homelessness in Citrus Heights.”
Amor Taylor: “I believe we can reduce homelessness by addressing the needs of those who seek help. Their most immediate needs are meals and a place to shower. I would like to see a place where they can receive a meals on a regular basis rotating with private organizations and volunteers to assist, then be directed to local services and resources for assistance and a possible work program. As mentioned in Roseville, where they are assisting with street cleaning and other jobs. If an individual had $6, it’s not likely they will take a bus downtown to get services. It’s meeting them where they are.”
Candidates were also asked other questions about enhancing public safety, body cameras, marijuana regulation, fiscal policy, and Measure B. Although agreeing on many issues, candidates hold opposing views on Measure B and police-worn body cameras, and also have differing approaches to enhancing public safety and other issues.
Updated Nov. 12, 10:16 p.m.–
Following a close race, or just want to know which ballots are left to be counted?
Minutes after polls closed, workers at a Citrus Heights precinct count up still-sealed vote-by-mail ballots dropped off on election day.
The Sacramento County Registrar of Voters office estimates it still has around 19,000 unprocessed vote-by-mail and provisional ballots left to count — with additional votes possibly swinging the final outcome for close races like San Juan Unified School District’s board election, where Michael McKibbin currently holds less than a one percent lead over Michael Miller.
Understanding the vote-count process:
Numbers released on election night are part of what’s called a “semifinal official canvass,” and include only “tallying of early-returned vote-by-mail ballots,” as well as any ballots cast in-person at a voting precinct, according to the California Secretary of State’s (SOS) website. Legally, officials can begin counting early-returned ballots seven days prior to the election.
Following this initial canvass, an “official canvass” must be completed within 28 days of the close of the election, during which election officials will process and count provisional ballots cast on election day, as well as any valid vote-by-mail ballots that were received on election day — or ones received prior to election day, but not counted in time to be included in the initial canvass.
The numbers of additional ballots counted after election night can be significant, as one precinct in Citrus Heights reported 201 ballots cast in-person at the polls on November 4, and 107 vote-by-mail ballots dropped off.
Statewide, ballots not included in the semifinal election-night results can be as many as 500,000 to 1,000,000, according to the SOS website.
Updated 11:21 a.m. —
Voters in Citrus Heights gave a nod of approval to their current city councilmembers Tuesday, with all three incumbents leading challengers by 3 percent or more, according to the latest election results from the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters. “IT’S OFFICIAL: 3/3 Gets the job done,” incumbent Steve Miller posted on his Facebook page around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, with 65 out of 65 voting precincts reporting. “Thank you for your votes and kind support.”
Jeannie Bruins staked out a significant lead above the rest, gaining 25 percent of the vote, with Mel Turner coming in second with 22 percent. Steve Miller is in third place, beating challenger Tim Schaefer by about 800 votes, as of the latest County numbers released at 12:33 a.m., Wednesday.
Public disclosure filings show Turner received the most total contributions this year, reporting over $21,000, with Miller reporting slightly over $12,000 and Bruins around $10,000. Schaefer came in far behind, reporting total contributions of just $3,250 and Bridget Duffy announced early on she was intentionally not raising funds.
In mailers and public statements, incumbents largely focused on their past record, while challengers distinguished themselves by opposition to a new city hall building and criticism of incumbents for supporting a 2012 tax measure.
More than 12,000 undervotes have been reported so far for the council race, with undervotes occurring when a voter skipped over the city council part of their ballot, or selected just one or two candidates instead of the full three selections allowed in the race. Undervotes for local races are typically high, as past election results indicate many voters only make a choice in well-known national and statewide races and choose to leave other “down-ticket” races blank.
Poll workers at a precinct near Old Auburn Road and Mariposa Avenue said voter turnout was higher than in the June Primary election, and said about two-thirds of voters on their list were vote-by-mail. An election report for the precinct showed 201 voters cast a ballot in-person on Tuesday, and an additional 107 vote-by-mail ballots were dropped off during the election.
Although ballots mailed in early have already been counted, vote-by-mail ballots dropped off at the polls, as well as others like provisional ballots, are still to be counted.
Elected councilmembers will each serve a term of four years on the five-member city council. The other two members currently on the council will be up for election in 2016.
*Editor’s note: stay tuned for more exclusive local election coverage.
Warning Monday that it’s too late to mail in vote-by-mail ballots, Sacramento County Registrar of Voters Jill LaVine urged voters to make sure their votes count by dropping off their ballots at any polling place in the county on election day, between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
“All ballots must be in our office or dropped off at a Sacramento County Polling Place [by 8 p.m. Tuesday] in order to be counted for this election,” read Monday’s press release from the Registrar of Voters. “Postmarks do not count.”
In the June Primary election this year, Sacramento County election officials said over 1,000 vote-by-mail ballots were delivered too late to be counted, as state law currently does not allow ballots received after polls closed to be counted.
Senate Bill 29, signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown this year, hopes to get these late ballots counted, but doesn’t come into effect until January 1, 2015. The new law will allow for ballots “postmarked on or before election day” to be counted — as long as they are received within three days after the election.
To find the nearest polling place to drop off a vote-by-mail ballot, voters can call the Registrar’s office at (916) 875-6451, visit www.elections.saccounty.net, or use the SacVote mobile app.
Vote by mail voters can also drop off their ballots today — or on election day — at the Citrus Heights city hall, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Local Vote by Mail Drop-off Site
Citrus Heights City Hall
Looking to find out more about who’s running in the local Citrus Heights city council election?
The five Citrus Heights city council candidates sit alongside a League of Women Voters moderator during an October 11 voter forum.
With the election coming on Tuesday, we’ve updated this candidate forum story from October with separate audio clips for each of the eight questions candidates were asked.
Candidate answers show their greatest difference to be on plans for an estimated $18.9 million new city hall, with challengers Tim Schaefer and Bridget Duffy against the proposal, while incumbents Steve Miller, Mel Turner and Jeannie Bruins spoke favorably of the plan to build a new hall during the forum — although Bruins said she’d wait for a traffic study and Environmental Impact Report before committing to a final decision.
Candidates were also divided during the forum on whether they supported a failed 2012 tax increase known as Measure K, with Miller, Turner and Bruins saying they supported it to help pay for roads and police services, while Schaefer and Duffy said they opposed the tax measure.
*Editor’s note: to listen to the candidates’ full answers to any of the eight questions asked, click on the audio below:
1. Public Safety: “Two days ago, the Citrus Heights city council voted unanimously to oppose Prop 47, with our Police Chief stating that the proposition would ‘virtually assure’ the release of 10,000 inmates into local communities. What is your position on Prop 47, and what is your plan to enhance public safety in Citrus Heights?”
Candidate answers (5:01)
2. New City Hall Proposal “What is your position on the City of Citrus Heights’ proposal to relocate city hall and can you tell and explain why this is — or is not — beneficial to taxpayers?”
Candidate answers (5:27)
3. Taxes: “The local tax increase known as Measure K was shot down by Citrus Heights voters in 2012 — although it was supported by councilmembers at the time. Would you support future tax increases, and did you support Measure K? Why, or why not?”
Candidate answers (5:47)
4. Special Interests: “Each election, there’s a lot of talk about special interests controlling candidates. On October 6, you all filed a campaign disclosure form, showing who donated to you and how much. Take a minute to share with voters who your top two donors are, and how these donations would — or would not – have an influence on decisions you would make.”
Candidate answers (5:01)
5. Homelessness: “Vice Mayor Sue Frost has said she questions whether it is the proper role of government to solve the problem of homelessness – or whether most aspects of the problem are best solved by private charity. Given the complaints about homelessness in Citrus Heights, what do you believe the proper role of government is in regard to homelessness in our community?”
Candidate answers: (5:58)
6. Schools: “Although the City and San Juan Unified School Districts are two different government entities, many citrus heights residents have expressed concern about the plans for Sylvan Middle School. What role, if any, should city councilmembers have in this matter?”
Candidate answers (5:46)
7. Business: “Citrus Heights has sought to create a City that is business-friendly, with stores like Stein Mart opening earlier this month and HD Supply opening next week. What specifically would you do to keep and attract businesses in Citrus Heights?”
Candidate answers (5:50)
8. Measuring Success: “If you are elected — or re-elected — to the city council, how will you personally measure your success as a councilmember after four years?”
Want to know more about who’s running for Citrus Heights city council this year?
With candidate forums set for October 11 and October 16, voters in Citrus Heights will soon have a chance to learn more about the five candidates running for three city council seats in the November 4 election.
Signs for candidates in the Citrus Heights city council race are seen outside Walmart on Auburn Boulevard.
Contestants include current council members Jeannie Bruins, Mel Turner and Steve Miller, with businessman Tim Schaefer and homemaker Bridget Duffy entering the race this year, both known for their public opposition to moving city hall.
The first forum has been organized by the Sacramento League of Women Voters, and will be a one-hour event held at the Board of Supervisors chambers in Sacramento, with live stream video available on Metro Cable 14. Candidates will respond to various questions offered by a panel of media members and the League, and will also be offered one-minute opening and closing statements.
The second forum is set for October 16 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Citrus Heights city council chambers, and is hosted by the Residents’ Empowerment Association of Citrus Heights (REACH), a non-partisan organization led by the city’s neighborhood association leaders. The forum will be moderated by Dr. Danielle Joesten from the Department of Government at California State University, Sacramento.
The deadline to register to vote in this year’s election is October 20.
Candidate Forums:
Citrus Heights City Council
Sponsor: League of Women Voters Saturday, October 11, 2014 1:30 p.m.
Board of Supervisor Chambers (or live online: http://www.sacmetrocable.tv/)
Sacramento, CA 95814
Sponsor: Residents’ Empowerment Association of Citrus Heights Thursday, October 16, 2014 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. City Council chambers
7117 Greenback Ln.
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
By Dwight Burdette (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsDid you vote at a polling location on Tuesday? If so, the Sacramento County Elections Department wants to hear about your voting experience.
A new survey posted on the elections department website seeks voter feedback on questions ranging from how long it took to cast a ballot, to how satisfied voters were with poll station workers.
Taking about a minute to complete, all but two of the survey’s 13 questions are multiple choice. The two questions that allow extended comments have a space for voters to write in their own comments about their experience on Tuesday, and also a spot for suggestions on new polling place locations for future elections.
Although over half of Sacramento County voters are now registered to vote by mail, the survey questions focus on the experience of voters who went to the polls in person during the 2014 June Primary Election.
With the primary election coming up in just over a month, Citrus Heights voters can expect to receive their sample ballot pamphlets in the mail this week — if they haven’t already — according to a press release by the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters.
An April 28 report by the Registrar’s office shows that Citrus Heights has 40,892 voters, with Republicans leading in voter registration totals.
The report reveals that Republicans hold about 41 percent of registered voters in the city, compared to 34 percent who registered as Democrats. The remaining 25 percent are registered as either “no party preference,” or a third party.
Voters who do not receive a sample ballot this week can check their voter registration status online to make sure they are registered to vote before the May 19 deadline.
The Registrar’s office reminds voters that they must re-register any time they move, change names, or wish to change political party affiliation. This can be done using a form on the California Secretary of State’s website that now allows citizens to easily register or re-register online.
Sample ballots also include an application to receive a vote-by-mail ballot, for those who prefer to vote from home instead of showing up at a polling place on election day. Those registered to vote by mail will begin receiving their official voting ballots starting next week, and must turn them in by mail or in person by June 3 at 8 p.m.
Vote-by-mail ballots can be dropped off in person at several locations throughout the county, including Citrus Heights city hall from May 19 through May 31, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
![By Dwight Burdette (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://citrusheightssentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/I_Voted_Sticker.jpg)
