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Five Potrero planners recalled by a 2 to 1 margin
By Miriam Raftery
The Alpine Sun
Recall Jerry
Johnson:
Yes 187 votes 67%
No 93 33%
Replacement:
Terry Stevens
176 votes 100%
Recall Mary Johnson:
Yes 189 votes 67.5%
No 91 votes 32.5%
Replacement:
Janet Goode
77 votes 100%
Recall Gordon Hammers:
Yes 196 70%
No 84 30%
Replacement:
Carl Meyer
179 votes 71.4%
Brenda Wise
68 votes 28.5%
Recall Janet Wright:
Yes 186 votes 66.4%
No 94 votes 33.6%
Replacement:
William Crawley
177 votes 78.7%
Edward Boryla
48 votes 21.3%
Recall Thell Fowler:
Yes 176 votes 62.7%
No 104 votes 37.1%
Replacement:
Tina Brown McCunney
161 votes 74.5%
Anita Meneses
55 votes 25.5% |
POTRERO — “The people of Potrero have spoken with a loud voice
on Blackwater,” said Carl Meyer, newly elected chair of the
Potrero Planning Group and organizer of Save Potrero, a
citizens’ group founded to halt Blackwater Worldwide from
building a private military training camp in Potrero.
Nearly 59 percent of Potrero’s 509 registered voters
cast mail-in ballots in an election, which has resulted in the
recall of all five planning group members who voted for
Blackwater’s controversial project. By a two-to-one margin,
voters approved recall of Jerry Johnson, Mary Johnson, Thell
Fowler, Janet Wright, and chair Gordon Hammers. Voters also
chose candidates Terry Stevens, Janet Goode, William “Billy”
Crawley IV Tina Brown McCunney and Carl Meyer to replace the
recalled board members.
Results were unofficial as of press deadline at
midnight Tuesday, with all but 10 of 306 ballots counted. Two
Sheriff’s deputies and a pair of Registrar of Voters employees
escorted a locked ballot box containing the final ten votes from
the Potrero General Store to the Registrar’s office, where votes
were hand-counted in front of witnesses, including several
candidates.
San Diego Registrar Debra Seiler allowed videotaping of
ballots during the counting, establishing a new precedent for
transparency in San Diego’s election process. The election
should be certified Wednesday or Thursday, Seiler confirmed.
At a press conference held during the vote counting,
Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs announced plans to launch a
statewide campaign to keep Blackwater out of not only Potrero,
but the state of California.
“This is the first up or down vote on Blackwater
anywhere in the country,” he said. “It’s huge. This little
community has stood up to one of the biggest, meanest companies
in the country. What we want to do is get the people of
California behind the people of Potrero,” added Jacobs, who
announced launch of a new website,
www.blockblackwater.com.
“We also think the legislators of California should
take a hard look at laws to prevent mercenary training in
California. Now that the people have led,” he concluded,
“perhaps politicians will follow.”
Jerry Johnson said people who voted to recall him may
be unaware of other important issues besides Blackwater. But he
maintained a stoic outlook in the wake of the recall. “After
losing my house,” the Harris fire survivor concluded, “this
doesn’t matter.”
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