Poway council candidate a protege of long-term incumbent

By: DARRYN BENNETT - Staff Writer
Cunningham says Emery talked him into seeking seat | Monday, March 3, 2008 10:54 PM PST ∞

POWAY -- Jim Cunningham probably wouldn't be tossing his hat into the ring for one of the two Poway City Council seats up for grabs Nov. 4 if slow-growth advocate and 28-year Councilman Bob Emery hadn't talked him into it.

"Without his support, I would not likely run," Cunningham said at a mid-morning press conference on the City Hall lawn, where he announced his candidacy in front of about 20 supporters. "I'm not quick to speak about my own attributes, but I know that will be necessary for the community to get to know me better."

Emery reaffirmed Monday that he's not seeking re-election this year and that Cunningham is his hand-picked successor.

"(Cunningham) is a man of his word," Emery said Monday to a round of applause. "He's a smart guy and he'll support many of the things I've supported."

Emery was a leader in the drive to incorporate the city in 1980, an effort driven by local sentiment to be free of county zoning regulations that permitted development at a rate Emery and others living in Poway said they considered unacceptable.

In the last 28 years, Emery has earned a reputation as a vigilant defender of the city's general plan, a blueprint for future growth approved by the council in 1983 that caps Poway's population at 53,338.

Cunningham told Monday's crowd he supports the general plan.

"My commitment to the (Poway) general plan, the footprint set for Poway during Bob's tenure, is unyielding," said Cunningham, a 15-year Poway resident. "The people of Poway have thrived with strong fiscal management and intelligent, measured growth for the past 28 years."

Cunningham said he hopes to raise from $25,000 to $35,000 for his campaign by July.

Standing with his wife and three of his children, Cunningham promised supporters a "grass-roots" campaign focused on upholding the reputation of Poway schools, keeping local neighborhoods safe and preserving the city's quality of life.

He called the Poway Unified School District's strong reputation a "selling point" for the city that drives up home values, and he said he would be "extremely" fiscally conservative with city taxpayers' money.

"We're in hard times," Cunningham said. "We need innovative ideas for raising funds in the private sector instead of through tax increases."

The city's 2007-08 budget included Poway's first-ever deficit for the fiscal year that started July 1, and city officials have said decreases in tax revenue and interest on investment accounts are expected to continue because of an economic downturn across the country.

Cunningham said his experience balancing budgets as the executive director of the Riverside County Deputy Sheriff's Association and his fundraising as a board member of the nonprofit Leukemia Lymphoma Society have prepared him to manage the city's budget and to seek private money for things such as parks and trails instead of relying solely on dwindling tax revenues.

He said voters don't have to worry about being bombarded with mailers and fliers during his campaign.

"I abhor campaigns that fill mailboxes, leave stuff hanging over doors and plaster the streets with signs and posters," he said, adding that he plans instead to walk precincts and introduce himself to voters. "I'm going to bring the handshake back to politics."

Cunningham also said that he and his supporters will plant 1,000 oak trees throughout the city while walking the campaign trail as a reminder of "all that is great about Poway."

Councilwoman Merrilee Boyack said Monday she plans to seek a second term in the November general election and plans to formally announce her candidacy later this year.

-- Contact staff writer Darryn Bennett at (760) 740-5420 or dmbennett@nctimes.com.

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