Calaycay the chauvinist?

Councilmember Corey Calaycay caught some heat for remarks he made at Thursday’s swearing in ceremony for the new city council members.

At the ceremony, he applauded the ethnic diversity of the new council. He also pointed out its geographic diversity since the 5 council members all live in different parts of town.

But he didn’t mention that there are no women on the council; a fact not lost several women sitting in the audience. It’s the first time since 1962 that Claremont doesn’t have a female councilmember.

After Calaycay’s remarks, a few women in the audience remarked about the lack of female council members and didn’t like that Calaycay pointed that out. Even though he actually didn’t.

At last night’s council meeting, former Mayor Karen Rosenthal spoke during public comment on the topic.

“I think Corey has been flogged enough in the press about diversity on the council, or lack thereof,” Rosenthal said. "He said there was diversity and many of us thought there wasn't enough diversity since 52.8 percent of the population is female."

Calaycay later apologized for remarks disparaging women that he didn’t make.

"It's clear that I had a great offense to Ms. Rosenthal and I believe it was mentioned that Judy Wright was also offended by remarks at the last meeting and so I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to both of them," Calaycay said. "I did not mean to degrade women. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of women in this community who have supported me time and time again coming on to this council and I deeply appreciate all of those women who have supported me and I have no intention of insulting any of the ladies in our community. And I'm sure that the day will come again when women will be back on this council and I apologize that they're not here right now. I did not mean anything in my remarks to offend any women in the community. So I apologize to you."

Spoken like a true man.

Maybe there’d be some women on the council if more women ran for the office. In the last 2 city council elections, only one woman has run in each election, compared to a total of 9 men. That’s not the biggest pool for voters to choose from.

Nude biking okay, says CPD Chief Paul Cooper

Riding your bike around Claremont while naked will not get you arrested, according to Claremont Police Chief Paul Cooper. Well, sometimes it won't.

Cooper said police will not take action against a nude biker as long as witnesses are not offended by the nudity or the biker is not getting sexual pleasure from his/her activity.

"This is a specific intent crime," Cooper said. "The persons exposing their genitals have to receive some type of sexual gratification from this. There's no evidence to support that [in this case]."

The discussion came at last night's council meeting, sparked by public comment from resident Ralph Ruiz, a retired LAPD cop who likes to complain about anything and everything that Claremont cops do.

On a recent Friday evening, Ruiz was driving near the Village with his 14-year-old daughter when a group of 25 to 30 scantily clad college students came riding by on their bikes. Ruiz called the cops, who stopped a handful of the naked riders but let them go on their merry way.

"When you have 25 to 30 students out there naked on their bikes, you have to cite and you have to make arrests ," Ruiz said. "You can't just let them do whatever they want."

Mayor Pro Tem Sam Pedroza called the incident a "shocking reminder that we do live in a college town."

Councilmember Corey Calaycay chimed in on the discussion, saying Claremont is trying to bill itself as a tourist destination and public nudity might harm the city's image. He also seemed offended by what he read in a Pomona College student newspaper about the incident.

"One of the writers referred to one of our officers as a 'douche bag' for apprehending her," Calaycay said. "I just thought that was out-of-line, disrespectful to our officers."

Wait, did Calaycay just say 'douche bag' up on the dais? New Mayor Linda Elderkin couldn't repress a chuckle upon hearing the statement from her colleague. Neither could I.

At any rate, Cooper suggested the possibility of a "public nudity ordinance" that could deter further nakedness around town. The council didn't seem too interested at this time.

Linda Elderkin is Claremont's new mayor

New Mayor Linda Elderkin presents outgoing mayor Corey Calaycay with a plaque from the city.

There's a new mayor in town. Linda Elderkin became Claremont's mayor at last night's city council meeting. Elected in 2007 and a Claremont resident since 1994, Elderkin takes over the reigns from outgoing mayor Corey Calaycay.

"I am delighted to be the mayor because I love Claremont so much," she said. "I really believe strongly I never would have run for council anywhere else. Where Corey said he grew up here, I grew up here as a community person."

Calaycay received a plaque and flowers from the city and was thanked for a job well done. As mayor, Elderkin will lead city council meetings and represent the city at public events. Sam Pedroza, also elected in 2007, will take over as Mayor Pro Tem.

Every March, the city council votes on who will serve as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem for the upcoming year.

Budget workshop tonight

Put a smile on the mayor's face by attending tonight's community budget workshop. The event allows residents to learn about the city's finances, vote on priorities for the city and participate in the decision making process as Claremont begins to consider its next 2-year budget cycle.

After less than 15 residents appeared at last week's workshop at the Blaisdell Center, Mayor Corey Calaycay was not happy about the low turnout.

"People often complain about issues after the fact but this is an opportunity for them to be involved and engaged as the process is unfolding," Calaycay said. "I'm hoping to see a much larger turnout on Tuesday."

The workshop will take place in the Padua Room at the Hughes beginning at 7 p.m.

Mayor Corey Calaycay moving forward with bid for state assembly

While nothing is official until the March 15 deadline, you can expect Mayor Corey Calaycay to be running for a seat in the California state assembly. Calaycay has already filed some paper work, opened accounts and formed a team of advisers in anticipation of running for the seat.

Earlier this month, current State Assemblyman Anthony Adams announced that he will not seek a third term in office.

For over 12 years, Calaycay has served in various positions working for elected officials in the state government. Most recently, he worked in former State Senator Bob Margett's Glendora office until he left the senate in November 2008.

Calaycay is already planning some kickoff events/press conferences throughout the 59th Assembly Distric to officially announce his run around March 15.

Before he was mayor

This young Claremonter looks ahead to a bright future. Do you recognize this Webb School freshman? Photo was pulled from the COURIER archives.

Calaycay's Christmas lights solution goes "down in flames"

Last week, the city council spent about half an hour discussing whether to create a new law that would force all residents of the city to remove any holiday displays within one month after the holiday. That's right, if your Christmas lights, pumpkins and other festive decorations are outside too long, city code enforcement would be knocking on your door.

For a long list of reasons, the council voted down the ordinance. In nicer words, council members called the ordinance pointless, unnecessary and even questioned its constitutionality.

So why is the city council wasting time to consider such a proposal? Hundreds of residents have holiday lights mounted on their houses all year round and it's never been an issue before.

Keep in mind, it's not just a 30-minute discussion at the council meeting. City staff has to research the item, write up a staff report and ordinance and a present its findings to the council.

The Planning Commission also had to consider the item. Like the council, the commission overwhelmingly opposed the ordinance, saying it wasn't in the best interest of the city.

Not to mention the fact that the city council has already discussed this matter before, and chose not to take action. Many of the same issues were brought up at both meetings.

The answer is that the mayor has some power to set the agenda for council meetings, picking and choosing items that interest him/her. In this case, Mayor Corey Calaycay brought this item before the council after no doubt hearing an earful from one unhappy resident.

That unhappy resident is Robert Swartz, who's been in an ongoing dispute with his neighbor Richard Viselli. Each year Viselli transforms his home into an over-the-top Christmas lights show. Nothing would make Swartz happier than having the show completely shut down.

So 2 neighbors can't resolve their differences, one goes and complains to the Mayor and now everyone in the city has to take their Christmas lights down?

Even if this ordinance was approved, little would be resolved between the neighbors. The brunt of the conflict between them is about the actual lights show. Swartz complained at the meeting about Viselli setting up lights several months before the holiday. There's nothing in the ordinance that would regulate either of these things.

"We expect people to take their trash cans in at the end of the day, I figured it wasn't too far removed from what we already have in Claremont that we could at least investigate this as a possible solution to the problem," Calaycay said.

When it was clear the proposal was "going to go down in flames," he added, "To those neighbors who were hoping that this might work, I apologize. And to those who think this is the most stupid idea in the world, I also apologize to you."

The council voted 4 to 1 against the new law.

"I hope this doesn't come back [to the council]," Councilmember Sam Pedroza said. "I hope this is something that you guys figure out and take care of it."

I couldn't agree more.

Happy Birthday Mayor

Photo Courtesy of the City Website

The COURIER staff would like to offer warm birthday wishes to Mayor Corey Calaycay, who turns 39 today.

Yesterday, the crowd sang 'Happy Birthday' to him at the Chamber of Commerce breakfast and last night at the city council meeting, he received a special gift from his fellow council members.

"Mayor Calaycay, on behalf of your council, we'd like you to replace your malfunctioned alarm clock with the one we're about to give you," Councilmember Peter Yao said.

Calaycay graciously accepted his gift, had a good chuckle and moved things along at the meeting.

July 4th notes

It was a great fourth of July once again in Claremont. COURIER photographer Gabriel Fenoy was out and about from 8 a.m. to the last firework to capture all the great moments.

Here's a few of his photos that didn't make it into tomorrow's paper. You can also view a photo gallery of his best shots tomorrow on our website.







I ran in the Claremont Freedom 5000 race, as did my colleague Brenda Bolinger. I put up a decent time of 23.17 that I'm pretty proud of and wrote a column about the run for tomorrow's paper. Click here for the race results.

For some it was a very long day. City staff and countless volunteers worked hard to make July 4th a great success. We thank them for all their efforts.

But one man was noticeably missing for much of the day's activities. Mayor Corey Calaycay, pictured below, pulled a no-show for the Flag Raising and Opening Ceremonies at 10 a.m. and was still absent for his 11 a.m. address at the Speaker's Corner.

By 11:30 a.m., city staff was getting seriously worried about his safety. Police, fire fighters and assistant city manager Tony Ramos were sent to Calaycay's house to make sure he was okay.

They found him, alive and well, if not a bit sleepy-eyed. The mayor had simply overslept. He eventually made his way down to Memorial Park to join in the fun and apologized for his earlier absence.

"It's never a nice thing to have to begin a speech with an apology but I must do that," he said at the Speaker's Corner. "It's tradition for the mayor to open the speaker's corner and I was truly looking forward to that and I'm embarrassed to say I overslept this morning."

Mayor Corey Calaycay and Mayor Pro Tem Linda Elderkin wave to the crowd at the 4th of July parade.

Claremont swap meet?

At the last city council meeting, the council voted to allow a Village business owner to place a display just outside his business.

The display from men's clothing store, Tally For Men, consists of a couple mannequins, a table displaying the store's latest products and a clothing rack.

We all know the shop from the massive and disingenuous "Clearance Sale" signs that owner Michael Talaee draped across the store's front windows for months on end. Strange marketing plan if you ask me, but maybe the gimmick got a few extra people to walk into his store.

In any case, it was an unusual item to be on the city council's agenda. These kinds of squabbles will generally be worked out between business owners and city staff well before the council has to step in.

But Talaee insisted on having his outdoor display despited being cited repeatedly by city code enforcement. Then the Planning Commission got involved and voted heavily against the outdoor display. Talaee appealed the decision, which is why the council got involved.

Tally For Men recently moved from a location on Second Street to a spot on the west side of Indian Hill Boulevard. Talaee had been complaining about a lack of foot traffic on Second Street and other problems with the management of the Village Expansion project.

From nearly the beginning, Talaee was threatening a lawsuit against Jonathan Tolkin, developer of the Expansion, in order to weasel out of his lease. We covered the issue back in February 2008.

Threatening his landlord with lawsuits and fighting with the city over the outdoor display, Talaee doesn't seem like the nicest fellow to deal with. Nonetheless, he got 3 out of 5 council members to vote his way.

Perhaps the pressure to appear business friendly in tough economic times got to Mayor Corey Calaycay, and council members Peter Yao and Sam Pedroza.

"Do we prefer seeing an empty building there or do we welcome a business that has proved to be successful in Claremont by surviving 5 years?" asked Yao at the meeting.

But some observers are questioning their decision, calling it "short sighted." It could very well set a precedent in the Village and across the city with outdoor displays popping up everywhere.

We'll see if applications start pouring in for similar outdoor displays from other businesses. Hopefully, Claremont's Village doesn't begin to look like a swap meet instead of its current upscale look.

Mayor who?

The COURIER had a major boo boo in its most recent crossword puzzle, published on Wednesday, June 10. The clue for "political decision maker" should have been answered with CoreyCalaycay, mayor of Claremont, but somehow our crossword publisher came up with the name CoreyCallaway.

The only defense I can think of is that our crossword man Myles Mellor simply had a case of mistaken identity. As the photos above show, there is a distinct similarity between our mayor and Cab Calloway, the famous jazz singer from the 1930s and 1940s.

All jokes aside, we sincerely apologize for the mix up and understand how frustrating a mistake like that can be. We'll do our best to avoid similar errors in the future.

The council's unique decision making process

It was quite a pathetic display in the civic process by the Claremont city council tonight. Not because of the decision they eventually came to, but the process they used to arrive there.

The council had a special meeting tonight to consider changes to the affordable housing project on College Avenue. The council had 2 options to consider.

Option one was to leave the project at 45 units for families and 30 units for seniors. Option 2 would lower the density by taking out some family units and replacing them with the smaller senior units.

I’ve never seen a race to make a motion before, but that’s exactly what happened. The first to make a motion wins.

Being the first councilmember to make comments after hearing from the public, Sam Pedroza won the race and his motion carried. The motion carried unanimously, even though 3 out of 5 council members were in favor of the alternative.

Pedroza was in such a hurry to make his motion so he could win the race that he didn’t even bother to share his thoughts about why he’s making the motion or hear what his colleagues had to say.

After a request from Councilmember Peter Yao, he did make some comments. In the name of compromise with area residents, Pedroza pushed for a project with less density and less family housing units.

The project will now have 36 family housing units rather than the 45 that were originally planned. The trade off was an increase of 10 senior housing units, upping the number to 40 from the original 30.

Yao, Mayor Pro Tem Linda Elderkin and Councilmember Larry Schroeder all wanted to keep the project in its original form. But Elderkin seemed more concerned with having consensus on the council than voting for her beliefs. When it came down to the vote, Yao and Schroeder followed suit.

One thing fiscally prudent mayor Corey Calaycay did not mention is that the changes he supported will cost the city an additional $485,000. After squabbling with Yao about Pedroza’s motion, Calaycay threatened to kill any consensus if the motion on the floor was changed.

So in summary, the city council decided to squeeze 9 low income families out of Claremont and pay half a million bucks to do it.

On a positive note; they did it by unanimous decision, even though a majority wanted no changes at all. Good work council.

And your new Mayor is ...

Corey Calaycay is the new Mayor of Claremont or "the guy who was born to be Mayor" as Councilmember Sam Pedroza put it. He was sworn into office last night by retired State Senator Bob Margett, Calaycay's former boss.

Linda Elderkin was nominated for the Mayor Pro Tem position, which she happily accepted. There was no wrangling over who would get the 2 posts this time around.

After the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem nominations, all 5 council members spoke positively about Claremont's future and working together to accomplish goals for the city.

New Councilmember Larry Schroeder mentioned some of his hopes for the city, including the "arduous task of attracting and retaining businesses in Claremont."

"With hard work, we will have a thriving local economy that provides jobs, provides shopping opportunities and sales tax revenue to our community," he said.

Also at the meeting, outgoing Mayor Ellen Taylor bid the community a farewell. During her speech, she outlined a lengthy list of accomplishments for the council during her tenure in office. She lamented over some goals not accomplished, like the affordable housing project on Base Line Road.

She was showered with flowers and thanks from community members and city staff before leaving the podium for the final time. She was able to have an early dinner with her husband on a Tuesday night, a rarity for her over a very busy last 4 years.

With her work on the Youth Master Plan, the board of Tri City Mental Health Center, on senior programs and her support of youth sports, Taylor was praised as a champion of Human Services in Claremont by fellow council members.

For a full report on the evening, be sure to pick up a copy of Saturday's paper.

Deciding Claremont's Mayor

At tonight's city council meeting, Corey Calaycay and Larry Schroeder will be sworn into office, a new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem will be chosen and a farewell is planned for Mayor Ellen Taylor, who will preside over her final council meeting. Taylor will likely have a few words to say about her tenure in office.

There is no set guidelines for determining who will be the next Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem based on tenure or any defined criteria. One council member will nominate a fellow councilmember and then a vote takes place.

The mayor is largely a ceremonial post. They moderate the council meetings and act as the face of the city at public functions. But all council members eventually want the position, if nothing more than to tell their grandkids that they were once Mayor of Claremont. Over the last couple of years, there has been some wrangling on the council over who gets what position.

In 2007, Calaycay nominated Taylor for the mayor position, even though Peter Yao made it well known that he wanted the post for a second straight year. Calaycay explained his rationale in nominating Taylor over Yao. The position should be rotated annually so that all council members (including himself) have a better chance to serve as mayor during their tenure in office, Calaycay argued.

Taylor declined the nomination, knowing that Yao wanted to serve one more year as Mayor. She nominated Yao for Mayor, who accepted, and she became the Mayor Pro Tem.

A year later, Mayor Pro Tem Taylor was bumped up into the Mayor position, following the traditional pecking order. When voting came up to nominate the Mayor Pro Tem, Yao nominated Sam Pedroza instead of Calaycay, who had 2 years seniority over Pedroza on the council.

Yao never offered an explanation for the snub of Calaycay. Perhaps Yao harbored some lingering resentment from Calaycay's decision the previous year to push Yao out of the Mayor spot earlier than he'd hoped.

In any case, Pedroza respectfully declined the position, and Calaycay was then nominated for Mayor Pro Tem. He accepted.

We'll see tonight if any more jostling goes on. Calaycay's supporters have been calling him "the next Mayor of Claremont" throughout the campaign. He would be the logical choice, having already served 4 years on the council and earning the most votes in the recent election.

If Calaycay becomes Mayor, Pedroza would make the most sense as Mayor Pro Tem, having received the most votes in 2007.

But as we've seen before, logic isn't always the rule of thumb on the city council, so anything is possible.

Election results

The final numbers are in. The voters have spoken. Corey Calaycay and Larry Schroeder are your winners, and the 2 will be serving on the city council for the next 4 years.

While the numbers aren't the final talley, it's hard to believe that the remaining absentee ballots will change the end result. For a complete count of the numbers, click here.

Calaycay was the top vote getter, earning 3,083 votes or 40.1 percent. "I feel like I've closed one chapter of my life and started a new one," Calaycay said, addressing his supporters at his campaign party.

Schroeder came in second with 2,767 votes or 36 percent. "It's still very surreal," Schroeder said at his home along side friends and supporters. "I want to thank the voters for giving me this opportunity to serve them. I promise I will do the best I can for Claremont."

Former Assistant City Manager Bridget Healy finished in third place, with 1,842 total votes, or 23.9 percent.

Voter turnout was way down this year, with only 4,717 ballots cast. That's only 22 percent of registered voters in Claremont. Compared to around 30 percent over the last few elections, voter apathy appears to have played a role in this election.

The new council members will be sworn in at the next city council meeting on Tuesday, March 10.

Congratulations to the winners! The COURIER hopes they hold true to their campaign promises and hopes they serve the community well.

But enough from me. We want to hear your thoughts and observations on the election. Feel free to post a comment below.

Follow the money

We're in the final stretch before Tuesday's city council election. The 3 candidates turned in another round of financial data last week. Here's a look at how the candidates stand with their money.

Bridget Healy

Contributions received: $4,429 (during the period 1/18/09 to 2/14/09)
Expenditures: $1,487.71 (during same period)
Current Balance: $10,151.14

Corey Calaycay

Contributions received: $2,248
Expenditures: $8,804.03
Current Balance: $7,748.45

Larry Schroeder

Contributions received: $3,718.12 (including a $1,000 loan)
Expenditures: $3,119.09
Balance: $1,038.68

Election issue: the new police station

The new police station is one of the few topics of interest in this election outside of economic issues.

All acting council members and candidates recognize the need for a new station. We've all heard how the place is too small, falling apart and has the technological capacity equivalent to an Amish farm.

The main job of the Police Commission in recent months has been to pinpoint the best location for a new police station and give its recommendations to the city council. PR work for the CPD seems a far cry from the commission's original mandate, but that's a post for another day.

Back in September, the council wasn't sold on the recommendations from the commission when a presentation was made at a council meeting. The Commission recommended 4 possible sites, its top choice being the Corey Nursery location, just south of the city yard.

But the report didn't offer any financial information about the sites, where the city would have to use eminent domain or financing options for the project. All relevant info for a project with a price tag in the range of $25 to $35 million.

Expect a more detailed report at a future council meeting. My guess is the topic won't come up before the election in March.

Here's where the city council candidates stand on the new police station. We snipped the answers out of our Candidate Q&A (see tomorrow's paper).

Do you support the construction of a new police station? If so, where do you think the best location is and why?

Larry Schroeder

I support a practical, more efficient police facility when financing is available, but not a monument like some cities have constructed. The current facility is cramped, does not meet ADA standards, and does not provide adequate locker facilities for female officers. Financing could come from State and Federal economic stimulus packages.

My preference is that the police facility remains at its current location. The City owns the property, there is adequate space, and people are familiar with that location. The police department also operates an impound yard at the current location which produces revenue that offsets some department costs.

Bridget Healy

Yes. The current site is too small and would require building costly parking either above or below ground and possible relocation of operations during construction.

The Corey Nursery location on the far eastern boundary of the city is problematic. The Towne and Baseline site is more centrally located and we own part of the land. Its proximity to the freeway and the City of La Verne works well for the joint jail, dispatch and practice range operations being discussed with La Verne officials. There is also the potential for partnerships with other public agencies such as the LA County Fire Department.

Corey Calaycay

I acknowledge the need for modernized police facilities due to space constraints and structural issues with our existing police station. An important consideration in site selection, especially with the economics we've already discussed, is potential partnership arrangements that will help reduce everyone's costs. An opportunity exists to partner with La Verne. We may also have an opportunity to partner with Los Angeles County in upgrading its oldest fire station (102 on Sumner near Baseline) to construct a joint public safety facility. If this were to be viable, the proposed site near Baseline and Towne would be optimal.

Photo fun

We were rummaging through some old photos in the office the other day and found a couple of dusty photos of a young Corey Calaycay.

The first one is dated February 25, 1992. Corey was just 21. The one on the right was taken on February 22, 1994, when he was 23.















The shot were taken during Calaycay's early bids for the city council.

In 1990, at the age of 19, he ran and earned 2382 votes. Not bad for a teenager, but not enough to get him elected.

He ran again in 1992 and in 1994 but never broke the threshold. (Perhaps voters were a bit concerned about having someone who looks so young making big decisions for the city.)

In any case, the grown up Calaycay (He's now 38 and has 4 years of council work under his belt) is in the midst of his re-election campaign and appears to be the front-runner.

The COURIER will have a Q&A with the candidates to run in the Wednesday, February 18 issue. Our editorial staff will also be endorsing our top 2 choices later this month.

A slippery slope during tough economic times

The city council did away with deferred compensation benefits for city council members last night. Council members will still have access to health insurance coverage, unlike other part time city employees. They also get a $400 per month stipend and $30 per Redevelopment meeting they attend.

Only Ellen Taylor and Peter Yao spoke out about the issue. No big surprise there, as they are the only active council members taking health benefits.

“Not everybody has a situation where they are covered by insurance, or if they are, they may be paying for it on their own and they can’t get out of their coverage because they’re afraid once they get out of it, they won’t be able to get back into coverage,” Taylor said. “And they may be using that deferred money to pay for the coverage that they are paying for themselves.”

That’s true. We all know that private health insurance is extremely expensive, especially when you get older.

But council members may just sign up for health care through their spouse after leaving the council. Then they could take deferred compensation money (about $40,000 after 4 years) and buy a new car.

I think the latter scenario is what irks citizens the most when the deferred compensation topic pops up. Many people see the council position as a volunteer job and want to believe that city council members have only idealistic reasons for signing up.

Unfortunately, there are some ulterior motives at play. Things like resume boosters (Calaycay, Pedroza), health benefits (Yao, Taylor), influence, control, etc.

Yao downplayed the benefit of getting rid of the deferred compensation. “I think this is probably more a gesture than a cost saving,” he said.

I’m not sure where Yao is coming from here. If all 5 council members were to do the deferred compensation, it would amount to about $50,000 per year. That seems more than just a “gesture” to me.

For now, deferred compensation is off the table for council members. It could always be reinstated in the future when times get better, as Taylor urged the council.

“It is not a wasted benefit for people,” she said. “Just because you don’t need it, doesn’t mean that somebody else doesn’t need it.”

Are the Council elections non-partisan? I don’t think so.

Election fever is underway. For all the election junkies out there, the COURIER City Beat will have plenty of coverage, interviews and opinions about candidates and their fight for every last vote in the weeks to come.

Candidate Larry Schroeder kicked things off on Friday by speaking to the Democratic Club of Claremont. Schroeder is a retired finance director for Glendora and Lakewood. As far as his platform, he wants to push economic development, sustainability and responsible budget management.

In 2007, former Councilmember Jackie McHenry, who was running for re-election at the time, made a big stink about the DCC inviting only party-affiliated candidates to speak to their members.

Regardless of what they said, the Democratic candidates in 2007, Linda Elderkin, Sam Pedroza and Michael Keenan, got the club's unofficial endorsement. The same holds true this time around for Schroeder. They're Democrats after all, and the DCC wants Democrats in positions of power.

“You have to take into account a person's party and their ideas on various things,” said DCC President Bob Gerecke at Friday's event. “We don't give endorsements, but we urge our members to support fellow Democrats because we share the same ideals.”

The problem, according to McHenry, is that city council elections are supposed to be non-partisan. McHenry said her political leanings are plenty liberal, but as a registered Independent, she never got invited by the DCC to share her positions with potential voters.
In any event, the other candidates, Corey Calaycay (Republican) and Bridget Healy (Independent), were not invited to speak at the DDC lunch. They will have their campaign kickoff events on Sunday. Calaycay at the Claremont Place from 2 to 4 p.m. and Healy at the Claremont Forum in the Packing House from 3 to 5 p.m.

Schroeder will have his kickoff event at his home at 619 N. Indian Hill Boulevard. It's also on Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. I will try to be at all 3 places at once.

As the least known of the 3 candidates, Schroeder will have his work cut out for him. To be successful in this election, he may need the wisdom offered by his fortune cookie from Captain KJ, where he spoke to the DCC at their monthly meeting.

“Cut through organizational impediments and get some real work done.”

For complete stories on Schroeder, Calaycay and Healy's kickoff events, be sure to pick the Wednesday, Jan. 14 edition of the COURIER.