Beeler bounced

Butte County voters in the 1st, 4th and 5th districts chose their county supervisors Tuesday and for the most part stuck with the status quo. But in Oroville’s First District, a grass-roots coalition of friends and family members pulled off a major upset, unseating current Board of Supervisors Chairman Bob Beeler in favor of political novice and roofing contractor Bill Connelly.

At a jubilant celebration party in Thermalito, Connelly, decked out in a star-spangled button-up shirt, likened his campaign to a 10-round boxing match.

“The ups and downs have been extreme,” he said. “It’s just been a roller coaster ride. I’m lucky to have had a broad cross-section of support. No one party got me here. I’m very grateful to all my supporters.”

Connelly, whose endorsements from six of seven Oroville city councilmembers certainly played a part in his victory, said he looked forward to a smooth transition into office but hadn’t yet heard from his opponent as to how they would facilitate that. Connelly won’t officially join the board until January 2005 but seems in no hurry.

“It just gives me eight months to prepare. I do learn quickly, and just like we learned how to run a campaign, I’m going to learn how to run county government.”

Connelly brought in 62.5 percent of voters to Beeler’s 38.5 percent. His campaign volunteers said the experience had reaffirmed their faith in grass-roots efforts, but many complained that the opposition had run a “dirty” campaign and accused Beeler’s camp of intimidation tactics, such as taking photos of campaign workers’ children. One worker said somebody had called dozens of 1st District voters Monday night and given out Connelly’s home phone number in an apparent attempt to harass the candidate.

Beeler, whose campaign was managed by Assemblyman Rick Keene’s chief of staff, Cliff Wagner, said his campaign had been conducted in an ethical manner. Beeler said he had “no regrets” and was looking forward to getting into “carpenter work.”

“I’m just glad it’s over. I can go on the next phase of my life. Maybe it’s time I built a house.”

As the celebration wore on, Connelly was seen moving from one quiet spot to another so he could take congratulatory phone calls, one coming from Paradise-area Supervisor Kim Yamaguchi, who had just finished trouncing his opponent, Stirling City hotelier Charlotte Hilgeman.

Hilgeman ran an idealistic, no-budget campaign, seeking no endorsements or contributions from anyone. Her platform was based around boosting tourism in the county. When reached for comment the next day, an upbeat Hilgeman said the hardest thing about losing was disappointing her supporters. Still, she said, “I got almost 3,400 votes almost not doing anything. That’s not bad. And I’m not going anywhere—I’ll still be a voice for the 5th District and an advocate for Butte County.”

Yamaguchi handily won his second term by running a traditional, conservative campaign heavily financed by local developers and businesspeople. He took 72.6 percent of the vote despite being the subject of a bitter recall campaign over redistricting just two years ago.

The 4th District incumbent, Richvale rice farmer Curt Josiassen, garnered 57.1 percent of the vote, running mainly on his record. A campaign worker who was feeding him election results Tuesday night speculated that his opponent, Gridley auto shop owner John Busch, may have alienated the influential ag vote with one of his recent mailers.

When called for comment Wednesday morning, Josiassen said he was exhausted but pleased with his showing.

“I’m happy with it, considering how the campaign got started and how it went,” he said, referencing the fact that he had initially decided not to run, then jumped back in the race, much to Busch’s annoyance. Josiassen said voters responded both to his experience and to his positive campaigning.

“Voters in this district are very conservative in that they don’t mind talking about issues but they don’t like a negative campaign. I think that’s what cost me my first election back in ‘92.”

Busch could not be reached for comment Wednesday morning.

It remains to be seen how well the new supervisors will work together. Connelly has pledged to put his own district’s issues—blight and the relicensing of the Oroville Dam are the main ones—first but has yet to indicate how he will vote on issues outside of District 1. He will certainly have to live up to his claim of being a quick study, as the board will face a potentially calamitous budget crisis next year.

On the state level, voters narrowly supported the school facilities bond, Proposition 55, with 50.6 voting “yes,” but in Butte County only 41.7 percent of voters wanted the $12.3 billion measure.

California voters went along with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $15 billion bailout bond, Proposition 57, and the accompanying Proposition 58, giving the measures 63.3 percent and 71 percent “yes” votes, respectively. Butte County voters were less sure, with 56.2 percent voting “yes” on Prop. 57 compared to 66.4 percent in favor of Prop. 58.

Statewide, 65.9 percent turned thumbs down on Proposition 56 (the same percentage as Butte voters), which would have let legislators pass a budget with a 55-percent vote but they wouldn’t get paid until they balanced it.

Democrats also decided, with 49.8 percent in favor, to send Mike Johnson to face off against 18-year incumbent Wally Herger, R-Chico, for a Congressional seat. As for U.S. senator, Bill Jones got the nod from 52.5 percent of Republican voters here.

Democratic voters, like their peers across the nation, cast their ballots in support of presidential candidate John Kerry, who garnered 62.6 percent of the vote in Butte County, compared to John Edwards’ 22.1 percent showing. Among Republicans, 100 percent of the vote went to George W. Bush.

The voting itself, observed as it was being tabulated at the county Elections Office, went smoothly save for a knee injury sustained by a county worker. After the counting machines were checked for accuracy, absentee ballots were processed just before the polls closed at 8 p.m. Around 9:25, boxes of ballots began trickling in from local precincts. As each box was brought in, the ballots were certified and checked by volunteers before being handed off to a counter. As stacks of ballots were being fed into one of three chattering machines, campaign workers and reporters hobnobbed, gawked and fished through a basket of candies as they waited for each “unofficial” printout that showed how the vote was shaping up.

County Clerk and Registrar Candace Grubbs, who by this time had traded in her pumps for a much more comfortable pair of jogging shoes, bemoaned the low turnout as she moved about the office, checking on workers and delegating tasks. Shaking her head, she relayed a “ridiculous” rumor someone had earlier informed her of—that her office was throwing away absentee ballots. In fact, the county sent out more than 34,000 ballots but by Tuesday morning had received only about 23,500 back.

Fewer than 45 percent of the county’s 113,766 registered voters even bothered to show up to the polls, a fact that prompted Grubbs to propose that registered voters who don’t make it to the polls be charged $25 to cover the cost of an election.

“That’s what they do in Australia," Grubbs explained.