CARLSBAD: Six vying for two council seats

Filing deadline arrived Wednesday

By BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 13, 2008 4:39 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- There will be six candidates, including a six-term incumbent, seeking two City Council seats in November, the city clerk's officer reported Wednesday as the deadline to file arrived.

Carlsbad's filing deadline was extended three extra weekdays because one of the two current office holders ---- Councilwoman Julie Nygaard, who was appointed to the spot in 2007 ---- did not file to run.

Extending it didn't change the number of candidates, City Clerk Lorraine Wood said. The same list of six candidates with paperwork in by late Friday was unchanged five days later.

A potential seventh candidate, William Jubb, pulled papers early in the filing period, but decided not run.

"Let the other people have at it," he said Wednesday.

The six candidates are:

-- Thomas K. Arnold, 50, publisher of Home Media Magazine.

-- Glenn R. Bernard, 56, a retired Marine who has worked as a real estate agent.

-- Keith Blackburn, a Carlsbad police sergeant who plans to retire if elected to the council.

-- Farrah Douglas, 60, a city Planning Commissioner and co-owner of a print shop.

-- Ann Kulchin, 74, a six-term incumbent and former teacher.

-- Evan Delaney Rodgers, a Cal State San Marcos student who's about to turn 19.

This year's campaigns are expected to be costly and lively.

More than half the candidates already have raised more than $10,000, recent financial paperwork indicates.

Incumbent Kulchin had more than $57,000 in her campaign account at the end of June.

Arnold, who had $10,500 in the bank at that point, said Wednesday that he's going to start distributing 500 bumper stickers advertising his candidacy.

"I'm going to step up my visibility in the next few weeks," he said.

Bernard, who has twice run unsuccessfully for mayor, said he won't be putting up signs or other campaign literature.

He's once again committing to a trash-free candidacy, he said.

Rodgers also has vowed to spend less than $1,000 on her campaigns.

She said her council campaign will give her a chance to pull some issues into the spotlight, including the long-proposed, but unbuilt, Alga Norte swim complex.

"My whole point is, even if I don't get elected, there's a whole bunch of issues that need to be aired," said Rodgers, who has swum competitively since age 5.

Meanwhile, Douglas was planning to meet with volunteers Wednesday night to discuss her campaign strategy, she said.

Kulchin said she planned to start a series of receptions, hosted in homes of her supporters, next week. That's something she has done frequently in her recent re-election bids, she said.

Blackburn couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.