Stop the Recount!

From the Sac Bee, by two Democratic stalwarts. Thanks for letting me reprint:

By Becky Curry and Jamie Beutler
Special to The Bee

Published: Tuesday, Jul. 15, 2014 - 12:00 am

Nearly all who followed the close race for second place in the state controller primary know that Democrat Betty Yee prevailed after the last ballots in Lake County were tallied in late June. But fellow Democrat John A. Pérez has now called for a time-consuming recount in hopes of overcoming his 481-vote deficit.

That’s a decision we hope he reconsiders.

First, the protracted recount process threatens to drag on for weeks. It covers hundreds of precincts in 15 counties and could take long enough to hamper preparations for the Nov. 4 general election.

Second, a recount threatens to undermine what most Democrats consider a core value of our party – putting the public interest ahead of self-interest. This is not the first time Pérez has put his own goals ahead of party unity. This spring he ignored advice from party elders not to demand a vote seeking endorsement over Yee at the party convention in Los Angeles. Pérez, from Los Angeles and then still the Assembly speaker, pressed ahead with the motion to endorse – and lost, capturing less than 50 percent of the ballots. Calling off the recount now would only work to his advantage. It’s not too late to show party unity and back Yee with all the resources he’s got.

Third, Yee, a state Board of Equalization member, should not be left stuck in proverbial limbo. The grace and restraint she has shown amid the questioning of her winning margin and the call for a recount are admirable. In the race for controller, Republican Ashley Swearengin, Fresno’s mayor, finished first and will be a formidable opponent. A complete Democratic slate with Yee getting full and undivided statewide support needs to proceed now, not whenever a prolonged recount wraps up.
We understand the desire by a candidate who comes up short by a very narrow margin to pursue a recount. But existing California law has no provisions for an automatic recount, and the process it does outline raises questions of fairness over who can foot the bill and how long it might last. One candidate can pay to pursue newly counted ballots in some areas and another candidate might then pay for and pursue newly counted ballots in others. The recount could stretch on for several weeks. Even then it could end in court.

Such is the Pandora’s box that Pérez has opened. The middle of a general election season, with county clerks facing a tight timeline to ready and release the fall ballot, is a particularly bad time for this to happen. The Legislature should not be called into special session to adopt new rules now, with the specific circumstances of this race weighing on their judgment.

Pérez can avoid this collateral damage by canceling the recount. The time for reviewing and reconsidering state policy for very close elections is in a future regular session of the Legislature.
Close elections can always inflame passions, especially when counting of ballots takes weeks. But that count happened. Yee finished as the top Democrat and is ready to make her case to win the general election. We strongly encourage Pérez to do the right thing and call off the recount. We would count this to his benefit if he ever seeks our vote again.

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/15/6555863/viewpoints-perez-should-pull-plug.html 

Recount Redux

More on the messy recount going on as we speak in the California Controller race. Think a Controller race is dull? Think the job is a big bore? Think again. The Controller controls the State budget. Whoever sits in that seat has an awesome responsibility. With Emeritus Speaker of the House John Perez unwilling to concede defeat to Betty Yee, who won when all the ballots were accounted for by a slim 481 votes our of more than 4 million cast, he plunged the Party into angst and the State into uncertainty.

Because of the arcane way California's recount laws are written, the loser, in this case Perez, has the right to a recount in what ever Counties and whichever precincts he chooses. He has to pay for it, but with what's left in his Primary campaign warchest, he can afford it.

As you might suspect, this has made the Republicans, whose candidate Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearingen finished in first place with 24% of the vote (Perez and Betty Yee finished with 21.7% each), rub their hands together with glee. Nothing like a divided Party to cast the voting public into confusion and frustration, not to mention deepen an already heavy cynicism.

The result of all this is to suppress the vote, giving Swearingin an edge in what should be a solid Democratic seat. And that edge is like the camel's nose under the tent. Republicans are snorting and pawing the ground with every passing day.

If the reaction to Betty Yee's presence at this weekend's State Executive Board meting is any indication, Perez' tactics are not going over well with his own base. Betty got standing O's wherever she went, including at the Labor Caucus meeting. Perez sits on the board and didn't bother to make the meeting.

Oh, yeah, pressing State business, or vote counting, whatever. As State Party Chair John Burton said in the SF Chronicle yesterday, "John [Perez] is a young guy with a political future ... and I don't think he's going to thwart that for the controller's job."  Make his words come true, Mr. Speaker. Be a gracious loser on this one, and there will be another chance for a solid political career.

Your author and Betty T. Yee ar this weekend's meeting.

Recount!

In a close race, sometimes the one on the short end of the stick asks for a recount. This can be a costly and time-consuming tactic that can delay the outcome from being certified for days, weeks, even months.  If the recount is in a primary election, imagine the chaos ensuing as the November General election day rolls around without knowing which two people will be facing off. Campaigning is either at a standstill or continues as if the primary has not happened.

This is the situation today as California Assembly Speaker John Perez has announced that he is requesting a recount in the Controller's race, usually a sleeper of a campaign, that has attracted attention because of the mere 481 votes separating Perez from State Board of Equalization member Betty Yee in a race in which 4 million votes were cast.

Betty Yee making a fiery speech about the Democratic process at the Cal. Dem. State Convention

Because of California's top two open primary system, put into place just two years ago, these two Democrats are vying for a chance to face off against Republican Ashley Swearingin, Mayor of Fresno.

Many observers feel that Yee has a better chance of besting Swearingin in the General than does Perez, for a number of reasons; she's a popular Bay Area politician whose current seat encompasses the entire north coast from San Francisco to the Oregon border, a notably liberal area, while Perez represents a very small District in Southern California.
 This recount however is a selective recount, counting only those votes in the Counties and the precincts where Perez did well.  It's the law, he has that right, but it ain't right.

He also has the money to pay for the recount. Betty Yee has called foul, and is now weighing her options should he pick up enough undercounted votes in southern California (and Lake County) to pull ahead.

Isn't it only basic fairness to count all the votes, if you really want to know the true count?