9th dist. Council Candidate Shore Lodges Complaint w/ City Clerk's Office Over Putting Polling Place

LBReport.com (March 30, 2010)
News (www.lbreport.com)

9th dist. Council Candidate Shore Lodges Complaint w/ City Clerk's Office Over Putting Polling Place At Same Address Shared By Vice Mayor Lerch's Field Office (& LB Health Dept.); City Clerk's Office Says Site Has Been Used Previously, No Changes Planned, City Att'y Says It's Legal

March 30, 2010) -- 9th dist. Council candidate Brad Shore's campaign has lodged a complaint with the City Clerk's office over the location of a polling place at the same address as shared by incumbent Vice Mayor Val Lerch's field office.

The site in Houghton Park, which has been used in previous elections, is in a city-owned building at 6335 Myrtle Ave. that serves as a NLB office for LB's Dept. of Health & Human Services and also houses Vice Mayor Lerch's Council district field office (inside same building but different interior office space).

The City Clerk's office notes that the sign identifying the Houghton Park location as shared by Vice Mayor Lerch's field office is over 100 feet from the building's entrance...and says the same location was used in the 2006 elections without any incidents.

The Shore campaign responds that a lack of complaints four years ago doesn't justify using the location now and notes that the Jordan High School auditorium is nearby and presumably would have been available.

In an email to the City Clerk's office, Shore campaign consultant Tracy Kittinger asked that "any signage in or near the building be eliminated during the time of the election and any workers of the Val Lerch campaign be kept away from the polling place."

The City Clerk's office informed the Shore campaign that it doesn't plan to make any changes...and Assistant City Attorney Heather Mahood has told the campaign via email, "The existence of signs identifying the Council Office does not constitute 'electioneering' under the Elections Code. Therefore, this office will not require the City Clerk to move the polling place, or the office to cover up its identifying signs."

Shore campaign consultant Kittinger says that although the sign indicating Lerch's field office is more than 100 feet away, the office is in the building right next to the polling place. "Any activity in the Field office during the election, is a problem to us. Just because no one noticed the problem in 2006, does not mean that it didn't exist."

The Shore campaign has also raised the issue of another polling place located nearby at 6301 Myrtle Ave...which the City Clerk's office notes is over 300 feet away.