By Michael Armijo

Eastvale – Its election time again so you’ll see many candidate signs, flyers, mailers and people knocking at your door. But it’ll only be in certain areas as the City of Eastvale had converted to the “district” option of voting instead of their traditional “at large” option of voting. This means a few things:

1. The city will have representation by all parts of the city. So as the city is cut up into 5 areas. There can only be a candidate who lives in those district areas that are up for election.
2. The marketing costs will be more affordable. So if a “rich” candidate, or someone who has the ability to raise more money than the others, dominated past elections they can no longer do so. It levels out the political playing field financially.

What has also changed is the election cycle. State law now requires all elections to be held in November, with the exception of Primary elections, which are historically held in June. This has been a great cost saver to cities who ran their elections outside of the county election cycles. Now cities who paid for elections in odd months can now streamline their costs.

In Eastvale there are 3 districts up for election: District 1, 3, and 4. In District 1 the current council representative is Todd Rigby. He was unchallenged by the deadline last month so he will retain his seat. In District 3, Howard feng, Chris Hook and incumbent Councilman Clint Lorimore square off. In the final District, 4, Bart Moreno and Jocelyn Yow will compete. The elections are set for this November.

A little history on the decision to divide the city into districts: The City Council previously took action at the April 27, 2016 City Council meeting to initiate the process of converting to by-district voting beginning with the November, 2016 election. The Council approved Resolution No. 16- 09 initiating the by-district process.

The City Clerk is the local elections administrator and coordinates with the County of Riverside in the conduct of Municipal elections. This includes, but is not limited to, the preparation of necessary resolutions calling for General and Special Municipal Elections and declaring the result of the election, the coordination of the candidate nomination process and the receipt and processing of initiative, referendum and recall petitions. Regular elections are consolidated with statewide elections, scheduled on the first Tuesday of November of even numbered years to fill expired City Council terms. All election services are provided according the California Elections Code, according to the city of Eastvale’s website.

Council Members receive $400 per month stipend as compensation for their service.

Qualifications for Candidacy; to qualify as a candidate for member of the City Council, you must reside and be registered to vote within the jurisdiction at the time nomination papers are issued. More specifically, you must be:

Be registered voters at their current residence in the City of Eastvale

Residing in the district in which they are running

A citizen of the United States

18 years of age or older

Not disqualified from holding office by the Constitution or laws of the State of California.

To become a candidate, you must first be issued a Nomination Paper which specifies the office you are seeking. You must obtain the signatures of at least 20 and not more than 30 registered voters within the City of Eastvale. A number of additional forms are required to be filed.
The nomination period ran from July, 2018 through early August, 2018. Write-in candidates must file a statement of write-in candidacy, a nomination paper and a Statement of Economic Interests, as well as other forms, during the period of early September through late October. Signatures and voter registration information on the nomination paper are verified in the same manner as a regular nomination paper. Write-in candidates’ names do not appear on the ballot or in the sample ballot pamphlet.

Voter registration forms are available at all public libraries, post offices and City Hall. To receive a registration form by mail, please call the Riverside County Registrar of Voters office at (951) 486-7200 or the City Clerk’s office at (951) 703-4420. Completed registration forms can be hand-delivered to the Registrar’s office located at 2724 Gateway Drive, Riverside, CA 92507 or Eastvale City Hall located at 12363 Limonite Avenue, Eastvale, CA 91752 or dropped off in any U.S. mailbox. No postage is necessary. For additional voter registration information visit www.voteinfo.net.