Mann, August, Edgerton Winners in Menifee City Elections

SCOTT MANN There is a definite changing of the guard today in Menifee city politics. Former city councilman and current school board m...


SCOTT MANN

There is a definite changing of the guard today in Menifee city politics.

Former city councilman and current school board member Scott Mann defeated council member Darcy Kuenzi by an overwhelming margin, becoming the first Menifee mayor elected by the public. In addition, Greg August decisively defeated incumbent Sue Kristjansson for the District 1 council seat and incumbent Wallace Edgerton beat Bill Zimmerman in District 3.

Beginning Dec. 4, they will join District 4 council representative Tom Fuhrman and District 2 rep John Denver -- the outgoing mayor and an opposing vote to Fuhrman and Edgerton on many issues in the past -- on a city council that will have a very new look.

"It's definitely a shakeup at City Hall, but I don't think it will be as bad as the naysayers think," said August, a longtime Sun City resident who has been vocal in his displeasure with the existing council.

Mann, who will resign his seat with the Menifee Union School District when the results are certified, joined August and Edgerton in disputing the perception by some that their election will result in a virtual end to further development in the city.

"Menifee remains open for business," said Mann, who received 56.39 percent of the votes to 35.18 percent for Kuenzi. "The kind of business we want is quality commercial real estate and quality homes. We want development that will help increase the value of our homes.

"We have an inventory of distressed properties in our city, but the situation is improving. As that inventory depletes itself, home values will increase. We need to ensure large lot sizes and a good housing mix to sustain those values."

GREG AUGUST
Mann said he has no concerns about being able to work with Denver, who has been outspoken in his support of Kuenzi on many issues and appeared to support her, Kristjansson and Zimmerman in an open letter posted on Menifee 24/7 Sunday night.

"John and I worked together well on the council before," said Mann, who served on the original city council following the city's incorporation in 2008. "I hope this puts an end to a city council that can't get along. We'll have a whole new council and focus, and I think people will be pleased and surprised with what we accomplish."

Kuenzi said that while admittedly disappointed, she was proud of her accomplishments on the city council and wished the new council well.

"I'm happy and proud to have been on the first city council in Menifee," Kuenzi said. "I'm honored to have served Menifee for the last four years and I wish the new city council the best.

"I ran a positive campaign; I have no regrets. God has other plans for me. I just love my city and want it to succeed."

In District 1, August said he was surprised he won by such a large margin -- 50.56 percent to Kristjansson's 23.15 percent -- but that he credited much of his success to personal visits at virtually all the homes in his district.

"Truthfully, I didn't know whether I would win or not," he said. "I think touching base with the community was a big factor.

"I don't think you'll see much change in what the council does. All this does is remove the rubber stamp given to special interests. It's not true that we want to stop development. We want to sit down with the developers who already have a plan to come here and revisit those situations."

Kristjansson admitted that her work schedule, which requires her to commute to downtown Los Angeles every day, affected the number of households she was able to visit. She also felt, however, that her campaign was hurt by anonymous fliers distributed in the community, making what she said were false accusations about her conduct as a public official.

"I'm fine," Kristjansson said. "We were both out there doing our thing, and it just didn't go my way. But there was a lot of negative stuff put out there. People probably had a skewed perception of me because of the hit piece.

WALLACE EDGERTON
"I ran a clean campaign. It's disappointing that people believed the negative stuff that was out there. I believe it was a major factor, because when I went knocking on doors, so many people mentioned it. I was able to rebut the information for those people. But for every one I rebutted, how many did I not get the chance to rebut?"

The other two candidates in the District 1 race -- Nick Martin and Carol Sullivan -- finished far back in the voting.

Edgerton, who was Menifee's first mayor by receiving the most city council votes in 2008, said he is confident the new city council members can work together to get things done.

"I have no concerns about working with John or about anything else," said Edgerton, who defeated Zimmerman by about 400 votes. "We've all been elected to do a job and we will work together to do that.

"We don't have to agree on everything, but we have to be agreeable."

Zimmerman, who currently serves as chairman of the planning commission, said he hopes the new leadership on the city council will appropriately address traffic concerns -- one of the main points of his campaign platform.

"I'm grateful to all of my friends and supporters," Zimmerman said. "We worked hard because we care about Menifee.

"Our concern is the traffic congestion on Newport and Scott Overpass Bridges. I would have championed those improvement efforts. We'll see what happens under this new leadership. Let's encourage them.

"My wife and I will continue active involvement in our local service organizations, which improve Menifee's quality of life."


Final election results:


Mayor, City of Menifee
50/50 100.00% of precincts reporting
JOHN F. SMITH 1,679 8.43%
DARCY KUENZI 7,008 35.18%
SCOTT A. MANN 11,234 56.39%
Total 19,921 100.00%


City Council Member, City of Menifee, Dist 1
7/7 100.00%
GREG AUGUST 3,468 50.56%
CAROL ''RED'' SULLIVAN 787 11.47%
SUE KRISTJANSSON 1,588 23.15%
NICK MARTIN 1,016 14.81%
Total 6,859 100.00%


City Council Member, City of Menifee, Dist 3
19/19 100.00%
BILL ZIMMERMAN 2,075 45.58%
WALLACE ''WALLY'' EDGERTON 2,477 54.42%
Total 4,552 100.00%


United States Rep, 42nd Congressional District
433/433 100.00%
REP - KEN CALVERT 99,110 61.36%
DEM - MICHAEL WILLIAMSON 62,409 38.64%
Total 161,519 100.00%


State Senator, 23rd Senatorial District
253/253 100.00%
DEM - MELISSA RUTH O'DONNELL 30,822 40.77%
REP - BILL EMMERSON 44,776 59.23%
Total 75,598 100.00%


Member of the State Assembly, 67th Assembly Dist
249/249 100.00%
REP - MELISSA MELENDEZ 50,569 51.32%
REP - PHIL PAULE 47,963 48.68%
Total 98,532 100.00%


Gov Board Member, Perris Union High School Dist, TA 3
32/32 100.00%
BILL GOULD 2,343 37.04%
DAVID NELISSEN 3,982 62.96%
Total 6,325 100.00%


Measure T – Perris Union High School District
112/112 100.00%
BONDS YES 18,990 59.47%
BONDS NO 12,943 40.53%
Total 31,933 100.00%


Related

Wallace Edgerton 2068181632229353862

Post a Comment

  1. Wow. Council looks a lot different now.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sending out a big "Thank You" to all the friends and supporters who worked so hard in this local election.
    I truly appreciate all of your efforts.

    Bill Zimmerman

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What, no congratulations to Mr. Edgerton? No concession remarks?

      Delete
    2. He will need all the help he can get

      Delete
  3. Congratulations to a really differant looking council. We so needed a change. Hopefully they will be able to work together better than the last one Thelma Thompson

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congradulations to Wally. Scott, Greg, and the people of Menifee we finally have the right people in the right positions to move the City of Menifee forward in harmony.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks like your ploy worked..... Congratulations

      Delete
    2. Ann, Thank so very much for your comments. My son, Fred Twyman, would totally approve and I'm sure is celebrating up there for his fantastic home town of MENIFEE. Thanks very much to you for all your past support and good words since my wonderful son's passing. Sincerely, D.J. Williams

      Delete
  5. The most valuable lesson from this election? Menifee is still a small town politically. Future candidates should heed the results here and determine that there is no substitute for walking your precincts and interacting with the electorate. Money is not the determining factor, thank God. Congratulations to the winners, the most important one being MENIFEE!!! We look forward to a Council that will keep us out of the news.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm Elated with the results of Menifee's elections! ! ! I'm Fred Twyman's Mother and know that he must be looking down from heaven and clapping for you all and praising The Lord for the bright future Menifee will reap via its electorates' wise votes. I'm sure Fred would be sending "hugs and kisses" to all. Thank you ! ! ! D.J. Williams.

    ReplyDelete

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