The College Area Community Planning Group will hold a general election on March 9 to fill 14 of the 20 seats on its Board.
Half of the open seats are three-year terms, expiring in March 2025.
The other half are two-year terms that will end in March 2024. The shorter terms are for seats held by board members whose terms were scheduled to expire a year ago but due to Covid-19 were extended.
The volunteer board seeks representatives from all the geographic areas of the College Area, as well as from diverse community interests, said Rachel Gregg, chair of the CACPB elections committee. The board provides feedback to the city about development projects, general or community plan amendments, rezonings, and public facilities.
The College Area is bounded by Interstate 8 on the north, Fairmount Avenue and Collwood Boulevard on the west, El Cajon Boulevard on the south and 70th and 73rd streets on the east.
The CACPB Bylaws and elections procedures require that candidates for the board be:
— CACPB-registered members prior to Feb. 9 of this year;
— Be at least 18 years of age;
— Show proof of being a resident of the College Area or an owner of a business or property in the College Area. The bylaws state that at least 10 of the board’s 17 elected seats must be filled by resident property owners;
— Candidates must also have fully attended (documented), in person or virtually, at least two of the previous 12 board meetings prior to February 2022.
To be a candidate, go to our website, collegearea.org, and download an application (it’s under Membership). Applications must be received by March 4 so the elections committee will have time to review eligibility and print candidate statements. You can email the completed application by hitting the “submit” button, or send it by U.S. mail to:
CACPB
Nominations & Elections Committee
PO Box 15723
San Diego, CA 92175
Eligible candidates also may be nominated or self-nominate as write-in candidates at the Wednesday, March 9 election meeting. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Faith Presbyterian Church, 5075 Campanile Drive (corner of Montezuma Road).
Voting will be by all eligible community members who have submitted a registration form any time prior to Feb. 9 and are in attendance at the March 9 meeting. Voters must be at least 18, show proof of College Area residency, or be an owner of property or a business in the College Area.
Candidates may make a one-minute address to the Board and those in attendance may ask brief questions of the candidates, but electioneering (actively trying to convince voters to vote for a specific candidate at the time of the election) is prohibited, Gregg said.
If you are interested in serving on the Board but do not currently meet the qualifications to run, there will be future openings, Gregg said. So, come to CACPB meetings on the second Wednesday of each month (except August and December), sign the attendance roster and be sure you have filled out a membership form (also online) to be registered and eligible for future open seats.
“The strongest and most desirable communities are the ones where citizens are active and involved,” Gregg said.
Postscripts
“Thank You” to all the College Area residents whose holiday lights and yard displays brightened their neighborhoods last month. They were a joy to come upon as the nights grew longer and darker.
No “Thank You” to the people who turned Christmas Eve into a cannonade of firecracker blasts, and then repeated the performance on the nights of New Year’s Eve and Jan 1.
As the saying goes, “There oughta be a law,” and maybe someday there will be. And let’s not reflexively blame this on “college students,” because on those dates, most were not in residence.
Ellen Bevier is a member of the College Area Community Planning Board.
Photo credit: Pixabay.com
