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 News from Around the Americas | May 2005 
Surfer-Activist May Win San Diego Mayor's Post
 Valerie Alvord - USA TODAY
| | San Diego mayoral candidate Donna Frye says there are still votes to be counted and that she is "very confident" about the outcome. (Photo: Lenny Ignelzi/AP) |
San Diego — A surfer is riding a wave of populist support that could make her this city's first write-in mayor.
Capitalizing on scandals at City Hall, Donna Frye, a city councilwoman for three years, launched her late write-in bid a little more than a month before Election Day. Now, as write-in votes are being hand-counted, she is leading narrowly in a three-way race.
Her supporters see this upstart rescuing a demoralized city on a wave of courage and optimism. Others predict litigation however the vote comes out.
"Donna Frye is a populist, grassroots candidate, and she's completely upset the race between the old male Republican guys," says San Diego radio talk show host Roger Hedgecock, a surfer himself and a Republican former mayor. "No matter what happens, it looks like this thing is going to a lawsuit. It's a big mess."
Known for sunshine and pristine beaches, San Diego is facing a swarm of troubles, including the downgrading of its credit rating and a $1.7 billion deficit in the public employees' pension fund and health care benefits for retirees. The shortfall, and accusations that Mayor Dick Murphy was hiding the bad news, has earned it the unwelcome nickname "Enron by the Sea." The FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office and Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating.
Three of the nine City Council members were indicted last year on bribery charges, accused of taking money from a strip club owner seeking looser restrictions on contact between customers and dancers. They pleaded not guilty. Two are still serving on the council, awaiting trial next year. The third died in August of a liver illness.
It all puts a tarnish on the city's chosen nickname, "America's Finest City."
Since her election to the council, Frye has complained of a "culture of secrecy." She boycotted many of the council's closed executive sessions and is often the lone vote of dissent. A surfer since her teens, Frye was a technical editor for the Navy until 1988. Then she and her well-known surfer husband, Skip Frye, opened a surf shop. He made custom boards, and she ran the store.
Her husband still makes boards, but now Donna Frye spends most of her time on city issues. She says she was drawn to politics when she began to suspect that surfers were getting sick from polluted San Diego Bay.
Although local races in San Diego are non-partisan, Republican candidates and issues dominate. Frye, 52, a Democrat, entered the mayor's race Sept. 30, after the primary. She needed 200 signatures to qualify. She turned in 4,000.
She ran against two Republicans: Murphy, 61, a former councilman and Superior Court judge, and Ron Roberts, 62, an architect who left his job to serve first on the City Council and then the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
"I compare her candidacy to the perfect wave," says Carl Luna, professor of political science at San Diego Mesa College. "There was Murphy, a wounded mayor from the pension fund environment. And then there was Ron Roberts, a nice guy who never lights anyone on fire. And then there was Donna, and she certainly stands out from the political crowd. She's an independent figure and comes across as the figure of integrity."
Frye says she knows the surfer tag is meant by her opponents to be somewhat demeaning, but she doesn't mind. "The image of San Diego is that we are a surfing community, and I'm proud and honored to have someone call me a surfer," she says. "The surfing community is close-knit and has the most wonderful spirit of giving."
Some of her opponents say that because she skipped the primary election, she ran illegally. San Diego's city charter says the general election is a runoff between the two top vote-getters in the primary. The charter makes no provision for a write-in candidate, but the municipal code does. That confusion, opponents say, guarantees a lawsuit if Frye wins.
Frye says she followed the rules and will "fight back against anyone who tries to overturn the will of the people." If opponents try, Frye says, she will sue to take office.
"If they push, I will definitely push back," she says.
As the counting goes on, Frye and Murphy, her nearest opponent, are going about their daily government duties. "I am satisfied that the registrar of voters is moving as quickly as possible," Murphy said in a prepared statement. "The vote is still too close to call. ... Meantime, I am carrying on with my work as mayor."
County spokesman Michael Workman said teams of counters, monitored by representatives of all three candidates, are hand-counting all ballots with write-in names, as well as hundreds of thousands of absentee and provisional ballots. He says a winner might not be known until Nov. 30, the legal deadline for certifying the election. |
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