While the presidential race and heated state initiatives at the top of the jampacked November ballot are generating election buzz of historic proportions, elective apathy is turning Sacramento County's local races into a bust.
Wanna be a school board, fire district or water board member? File the paperwork by 5 p.m. Friday, and there's a good chance you'll cruise into office without even a race.
One hundred-eight officeholders are needed to fill the local "down ballot" races. But as of midday Monday, 80 people had filed the needed paperwork. Four days remain before the candidate filing deadline.
"We're just wondering, where is everybody?" said Brad Buyse, a spokesman for Sacramento County's elections office. "We're just hoping that everyone isn't waiting for the last minute."
Placer County officials said Monday that 80 candidates had qualified to run for 111 offices, and that 60 more had taken out papers to run.
Unlike in Sacramento and Placer counties, Yolo County's November ballot is light on local races. So far, 12 candidates have filed for 16 offices. El Dorado County election officials were unable to provide a tally of qualified candidates.
To file for offices, candidates should contact their local elections offices.
As for Sacramento County, Buyse points out there are plenty of opportunities:
• The Sacramento City Unified School District will elect members to represent districts 3, 5, and 7, but so far only one candidate for each of the districts has requested the needed paperwork to run, and none of those potential candidates has completed the application.
• In two of the five Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District races – districts 2 and 6 – nobody has even taken out the preliminary paperwork to run.
• And despite the presence of a $500 million school construction bond on the ballot for those living within the bounds of Center Unified School District, apathy reigns there too.
Getting elected may not even require a race, Buyse said.
"If you were the only one to file by 5 p.m, you will be elected … it will not go on the ballot," he said.
Call The Bee's Ed Fletcher, (916) 321-1269.
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