Murrieta City Council Election 2010 - Final Tally

By Douglas V. Gibbs

City of Murrieta - Member, City Council

53/53 100.00%

	Vote Count	Percent
EMILIA RYCHENER	3,202	6.84%
GARY THOMASIAN	5,942	12.70%
RICK GIBBS	8,802	18.81%
DOUGLAS V. GIBBS	4,017	8.58%
KELLY A. BENNETT	8,491	18.14%
SUSAN A. VOMBAUR	3,434	7.34%
ALAN LONG	10,751	22.97%
DAVID F. LANDRISCINA	2,164	4.62%
Total	46,803	100.00%

After the final count of votes, yours truly finished a solid fifth. For some people, I did better than expected; for myself, I finished a little lower than I had hoped. Considering this is my first time to run for office, however, I feel the results are commendable, and a tribute to the fantastic volunteers and financial supporters that helped me along the way.

As the campaign proceeded, it became apparent I had an uphill climb because at the start I was the only candidate supporting Initiatives C, D, and E. We were made to believe that by supporting those initiatives, my campaign was "doomed" from the start. Rather than listen to the attacks by the incumbents, and current Council Members not up for reelection, we pushed forward, and began to gather statistical facts to prove our cause correct. Throwing the factual numbers at my opponents, however, made things get nasty, and typical "politician" tactics were thrown against me. My signs began disappearing, while the other candidate's signs around remained standing. The debate at The Colony had a stacked audience, and the attendees purposely did not applaud for me, while applauding for the other seven after each answer. Questions in that debate were either to everyone, or singled out to me - and they were often doozies.

I am not crying here, I am simply stating a few facts of the matter. Honestly, if I didn't have a thick skin, I'd have no business running for office. But I had never experienced the political game "in my face" as I did in this campaign, and it was an interesting ride.

Each setback, however, pushed us forward, and I became louder in my support for those initiatives, and in my disappointment for the incumbent's attitude toward the initiatives.

By election day it was clear that Alan Long and I were the two front runners among the challengers. The question was whether or not Alan and I could beat the incumbents. I had a feeling Alan would knock off Gary Thomasian, but I wasn't sure if I could beat Rick Gibbs or Kelly Bennett, both former mayors of the city.

In the end, as the final tally above indicates, I did not win. But, my campaign was a great experience.

And a great launch pad for my campaign in 2012.

to be continued. . .

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Oh, and by the way, those "doomed" initiatives I was supporting won by a landslide.

C - Murrieta - Elected Terms in Office

53/53 100.00%

	Vote Count	Percent
YES	13,549	67.30%
NO	6,583	32.70%
Total	20,132	100.00%

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D - Murrieta - City Council Comp. Limit

53/53 100.00%

	Vote Count	Percent
YES	13,883	69.44%
NO	6,109	30.56%
Total	19,992	100.00%

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E - Murrieta - City Admin. Officials Salaries

53/53 100.00%

	Vote Count	Percent
YES	13,293	66.65%
NO	6,650	33.35%
Total	19,943	100.00%