Sunday E-dition: 2024 primary election preview: Rare circumstance may determine races
Sunday E-dition: 2024 primary election preview: Rare circumstance may determine races
By John Dunbar
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — The 2024 election season is upon us.
Across the country, primaries and caucuses will be held over the next several months to determine major party candidates for the office of president of the United States.
In California, primary election day is March 5 for candidates for president as well as state and local races.
Primary voting determines the top two candidates running for local and state offices. For local offices only, if any individual candidate receives 50% plus one vote in the primary, that candidate wins outright and no vote for that office will be held in the general election on Nov. 5. State candidates are elected in November even if the top candidate receives 99.9% in the primary vote.
Napa County has a unique situation in the races for three seats on the five-member Board of Supervisors. Only two candidates have filed to run in each race: in District 2, Liz Alessio and Doris Gentry; in District 4, Amber Manfree and Peter Mott; and in District 5, Mariam Aboudamous and Belia Ramos.
Since each of those elections has only two declared candidates, one candidate is expected to reach the threshold that would elect the primary winner to that office. An exception mathematically could occur if any prequalified write-in candidates receive enough votes to keep the top vote-getter from achieving the threshold required to win election in March. If no candidate reaches that vote threshold, the top two vote-getters would face off again in the Nov. 5 general election. The filing period for write-in candidates to qualify is from Jan. 8 to Feb. 20.
“Having all three supervisor contested seats decided in the primary election has not occurred for many decades,” Napa County Registrar of Voters John Tuteur said.
In 2018, Napa County became one of the original five Voter’s Choice Act “vote-by-mail” counties. Those five counties now have been joined by 27 other counties that account for more than 60% of all registered voters in California, according to Tuteur. Voters have the option to submit their completed and signed ballots by mail, in person at the Napa County Elections Office, in official drop boxes or at vote centers in designated locations.
Napa County registered voters will start to receive ballots mailed by the Napa County Elections Office the week of Feb. 5, Tuteur said.
“The March 5, 2024, presidential primary election is an opportunity for Napa voters to have a say in who will be the next president of the United States, a privilege that people have given their lives to protect. Please exercise your right to vote,” Tuteur stated. “You should receive your ballot in the mail by Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. If you have not received a ballot by then, please contact the Napa County Election Division at elections@countyofnapa.org.”
Voters can track the status of their ballot, see the Voter Information Guide for that ballot and locate the nearest vote center at this link: Voter Information.
Napa County has adopted the state campaign contribution limit for county offices of $5,500 per source per election. That amount was increased since the 2022 election due to “an inflationary adjustment,” Tuteur explained.
In addition, California Senate Bill 1439, signed into law in 2022, changed the obligations for local elected officials to disclose campaign contributions and recuse themselves from proceedings involving certain donors.
The State of California Legislative Information website defines the law this way: “A campaign contribution of more than $250 to a local elected official can now create a conflict of interest. Local elected officials who have willfully and knowingly accepted, solicited, or directed a contribution of more than $250 from a party, participant, or their agent, within 12 months before a proceeding involving that contributor’s contract, license, permit, or use entitlement must disclose the contribution on the record and recuse themselves before the proceeding unless the violation was properly cured.”
SB 1439 applies to votes including real estate developments, land use, trash-hauling contracts and other matters where there is a direct link between an official’s vote and the financial interests of the donor. The legal burden to disclose donor connections falls on the elected official who accepted the contributions. Failure to properly recuse from a vote likely would nullify the action taken.
Elections for city and town council open seats in American Canyon, Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga will be part of the general election held on Nov. 5. Candidate filing periods will open in July. Individual jurisdictions have the authority to adopt lower campaign contribution limits in those races, Tuteur added.
New terms of office do not begin until January 2025 for all local races decided either in March or November 2024.
If Napa City Council member Liz Alessio wins her election in the District 2 county supervisor race, she would remain on the City Council until she vacates that post to assume her new office in January 2025. The possible vacancy for the two years remaining on that unexpired City Council term, per City of Napa Charter, would be filled by appointment unless the City Council fails to fill the vacancy within 45 days of the vacancy, in which case a special election would need to be called, according to Napa City Clerk Tiffany Carranza.
Ballot measures in three jurisdictions
Measure D in the Howell Mountain Elementary School District proposes to authorize the issuance of $9 million in bonds for facility upgrades, including technology, early learning and safety improvements.
In Yountville, Measure U proposes to increase the appropriations limit by $3 million, plus additional Transient Occupancy Tax revenue. Yountville’s current appropriations limit was increased to $4,815,000 for the fiscal year 2022-2023, based on the percentage growth in TOT revenue. This increase was approved by voters in November 2018 and remains in effect through June 30, 2024.
In the Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement District, Measure U (unrelated to the Yountville measure) would establish the district’s appropriations limit at $510,000 for 2024-2025, which can be increased based on the cost of living or population growth.
Last week
Community members participated in service activities as part of Napa’s annual “Celebration of Our Beloved Community” to honor Martin Luther King Jr. A commemoration was held on Sunday at Crosswalk Community Church. For the annual “Celebration of Compassion and Action” community service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, volunteers took part in activities including park and trail cleanups, habitat restoration and public engagement.
In its first submission as a Napa Valley Features contributor, Napa Climate NOW! covered the debut of the Green Screen Film Series at the Napa County Library. The free monthly screenings will alternate between the Napa branch and the American Canyon branch, starting with a 2 p.m. showing on Sunday, Jan. 28, at the Napa Library.
Napa Valley Features introduced "In their own words," a new platform for candidates campaigning in the March 5 primary races for three seats on the Napa County Board of Supervisors. Candidates are invited to submit letters to present their vision and election goals directly to our readers. Our first submission was from Amber Manfree. Submissions can be sent to napavalleyfeatures@gmail.com with “In their own words – [candidate's name]” as the subject.
Dave Stoneberg provided an update on the Napa Valley Vine Trail segment between Calistoga and St. Helena. Construction is on hold until spring and the section remains officially closed, though many people have been seen taking advantage of walkable areas along the route. The grand opening of that Upvalley section is scheduled for early summer.
Pat Hitchcock explained how gardeners impatiently waiting for an end to January’s dark, cold and wet weather can turn the challenge into an opportunity by planting onions. If home gardeners did not plant seeds in the fall, now is a good time to head to local nurseries for onion seedlings in cell packs or order plants online. Also, UC Master Gardeners of Napa County is holding a workshop for “Pruning Deciduous Fruit Trees” on Saturday, Jan. 27, from 10 a.m. to noon at Las Flores Learning Garden, 4300 Linda Vista Ave., Napa.
Sasha Paulsen paid tribute to Betty Rhodes, Napa Valley’s ardent defender of senior citizens and the right to age with dignity, who died on Jan. 9 at the age of 96. Paulsen looked back fondly at the many contributions made by Rhodes as a community activist and writer dedicated to advocacy for healthy living for seniors and families. A celebration of life is planned on Feb. 29 at the Napa Senior Center.
Tim Carl examined the impact of AI and robotics on industries, emphasizing their potential to revolutionize tasks and the risks they pose to job security and ethical standards. The piece highlighted the need for balancing technological advancements with traditional values in sectors like winemaking and underscored the importance of education and ethical AI development. Polls invited readers' perspectives on AI's societal implications, and a chart listed AI companies launching new platforms in 2024.
Next week
Andrew Healy is going to raise a glass to the history and art of crafting the perfect Irish coffee. Healy will describe the origin — and the debate if fact or fiction — of a drink created to warm weary travelers in Ireland that has become one of the world's most iconic cocktails with its own day of celebration. Irish Coffee Day is served up annually all over the world on Jan. 25. We will also hear from another candidate, Belia Ramos, as well as some new contributors, along with Dave Stoneberg on the power of forgiveness, Kathleen Scavone about hiking in the Napa Valley, a wrap-up of the recent SVB wine industry report and much more.
John Dunbar is former mayor of Yountville, and he served on the Yountville Town Council for 18 years.
Greetings! I heard a rumor that if Mariam Aboudamous wins District 5, she will still do her American Canyon job plus private practice one day per week and 4 days being a BOS. Is a Napa County Supervisor role a full time job? The one thing I know for sure is that anything done part-time delivers part-time results!