Manila election settles nothing By Matt Kapko Eye Reporter The Arcata Eye November 11, 2003 As the outcome of last week’s election for the Manila Community Services District settles in, controversy seems to be growing. The criticism is coming from below and above, originating from community members and district directors. Dendra Dengler, Violet Glass and Tim Dellas came out ahead. In a district with 339 votes cast, the vote difference between candidates was as close as four and as distant as 24. Dengler garnered the most votes with 97. Glass received 86 votes, and Dellas came in a near third with 82. Four candidates ran for three available four-year terms. Dengler and Glass, the highest vote takers, will be serving their first term on the board. Michael Fennell, an incumbent, lost the election with 73 votes, nine fewer than Dellas. The misgivings that are surfacing with the election’s results are continuing to unfold. The most publicized concern is with incomplete information printed in the Times-Standard on Oct. 25. The article stated that Dellas, an incumbent, hadn’t filed for re-election. Because of this, the paper has been faulted for potentially leading some Manila residents to believe an election was not taking place. The board’s president, Linda Lee, first made her concerns with the story public in the Times-Standard last Thursday. In that article it is reasoned that the story printed on Oct. 25 was based on information from the county Elections Office. The specific manner in which the incomplete information was retrieved is not disclosed, however, the story claims the information was later corrected on the county election’s website. County Elections Manager Lindsey McWilliams denies that claim, saying that the electronic version of the candidate information was always correct. Further, the Arcata Eye viewed the Web site as early as September 23 and found all four candidates listed correctly. The deadline for filing candidacy was August 8. McWilliams said the incorrect version was in a paper file. “It’s not unusual,” he said, for the electronic [website] version and paper version to be in disparity when the office is putting its candidate information together at first. McWilliams added that the error was corrected in the paper version as soon as it was known. As to the source of the inaccuracy, McWilliams said, “I guess I don’t consider it an error except on the Times-Standard’s part, they need to double check their facts.” Polarity begets scapegoating? Dellas said he sees the controversy over the election outcome as a clear reflection of the divisive split already within the community. Dellas, who is currently awaiting trial on two federal charges for manufacturing marijuana with intent to distribute, has his share of supporters and adversaries. His successful bid for re-election has further polarized a community already divided on many unrelated issues. Dellas said some residents have confronted him and told him he should have stepped down from the board for “appearances sake.” Dellas looks critically upon those who fear his situation will cause the Community Center’s grant funding to suffer. “Many of these people are for a grant moratorium at this point,” he said. “So I just kind of have to say, what’s really at work here? There’s an element of hypocrisy. “It’s really a scapegoating-type of a thing,” he added. “It’s almost like one might actually be able to draw the conclusion that they’re trying to use my suffering to advance their own agenda.” A division has grown between staff and some boardmembers who are pushing for tighter board control and oversight on programs at the Community Center and Parks and Recreation. “Certainly there’s a very strong perception of a clique against the Park and Recreation and Community Center activities. And I think that’s what probably drove the election,” Dellas said. “Nobody really wants to say it, but pretty much what this is really about is [Beverly Prosser] and her position as [Community Center coordinator].” Prosser reports to the General Manager Judy Hollifield, who then reports to the board. “Over the years, and I’ve known her for 20 years, she’s been really a tireless champion for the community,” Dellas said. The district’s small size is why there isn’t much oversight, he added. Door-to-door disinformation? Published inaccuracies on the election’s candidates aren’t the only concern of Lee’s however. “There was some dirty campaigning that I think went on out here,” she said. “There were some people going to door-to-door and spreading misinformation about people.” She outlined her apprehension in a prepared statement: “Regarding the election, I have lingering concerns about untruths that were circulated about (Fennell and Hollifield) during the campaign. I fear that many votes were based on this misinformation,” she said. “But the election is old news and I hope that the new board can move forward with the pursuit of openness and accountability within our programs.” She alleges that people were going door-to-door saying, “(Fennell) wanted to get rid of all low-income housing in Manila” and “(Hollifield) wanted to move all the children’s programs out of town.” She added, “We weren’t expecting the turnout we got and I think the reason for our large turnout was because of this heavy campaigning that went on that was spreading inaccuracies.” Lee sees a divide between staff and board. “I think that the parks and recreation staff is really resistant to some of the changes that we’re trying to make,” she said. “We’re striving for more accountability and the involvement of more people.” Despite these concerns, Lee remains optimistic. “We’re gonna work with the new board,” she said. “I really want to try to move beyond that divisiveness and try to get at the problems at hand.” Changes will not occur on the board this month. All three terms however, will begin before the December board meeting. Home