On July 22, 2014, candidates running for City Council met for a 3rd and final time before the election. The event was hosted by Catherine Rendahl and her husband Don who rented the Waterwood clubhouse and set up tables and chairs for people.
“Air Conditioning!” said Rendahl. “It should keep people calmer than last time.”
The clubhouse soon ran out of available chairs as more than 85 people showed up to listen to the candidates give reasons as to why they should be elected.
Candidates stood along 1 wall with a row of tables in front of them displaying the names of all 9 candidates running for office. 6 of the names remained empty for the entire meeting. The only people to show up were Micki Ball, Cathleen Recio, and David Tremblay.
“Where’s our mayor?” said someone from the crowd.
Jim Clement is running unopposed for mayor, but he did not show for the meeting. Neither did Pedro Orduno, Douglas Tomasini, Dale Burmaster, Earnest Gay, nor Joel Ortega. All 6 of them are members of the Sandy Oaks Political Action Committee (SOPAC)
“I emailed Jim, Earnest, and Dale about this meeting. I told him people are wanting answers” said Rendhal, the host of the meeting.
Rendahl provided the email she sent to Clement:
So, I’m asking you all to attend the next meeting, set for Tues. July 22. in the park again. Look, guys, at least 2 of you will be councilmen and, Jim, you will be mayor, as you a[re] running unopposed. If any of you have an interest in forming an effective government for our city, these concerns need to be addressed. Come to this next meeting, speak to the people you want to represent, and have some answers… As I don’t want to e-mail Doug at work, and have no e-mail addresses for Joel or Pedro, I’m counting on some of you to share this e-mail with the others.
Clement did respond, but ignored the topic of the meeting.
The 3 candidates that did show up answered questions on various different issues. There was no debate between the 3 and each of them expressed concerns about the level of communication in the community. Each said they did not want taxes established for the first year.
Many of the questions from the audience were about incorporation, but they were left unanswered. The two key members of the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO) are Pedro Orduno and Jim Clement.
Early voting starts Monday, July 28th and lasts till Monday, August 4th. The day of election is Saturday, August 9th.
All voting will be at the Waterwood Clubhouse, 4418 Hickory Haven
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