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Thursday, May 15, 2008

Mill Levy Renewal Voters Allege Coercion

By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
      Several East Torrance Soil and Water Conservation District constituents who recently voted in a mill levy renewal election are hopping mad.
       “The biggest thing was that (the polling officials) just kept asking how I was voting. When I didn't tell them right off how I was voting, they were really persistent that voting for it was the best option rather than voting against it,” said Anita Burns, warehouse commissary manager at the Torrance County Detention Facility.
       A renewal of the mill levy passed with a total of 147 votes counted out of a total of 3,125 possible voters, said Cheri Lujan, district manager, who was supplied with an eligible voter list by County Clerk Linda Kayser.
       Of the total votes counted, 92 voted for the levy and 55 voted against. The polls were open from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Officials only were required to keep the polls open for eight hours. The votes were counted by a canvassing board that included a landowner from the district, a member of the governing body and a local elected official, Lujan said.
       The state authorizes conservation districts, which are organized like counties or school districts, to have a levy up to 0.001, called one mill, on every $10,000 of appraised property value.
       The successful election on May 6 renewed the mill levy, included landowners in municipalities and added 3.3 cents of tax for every $10,000 in appraised property value, according to Ryan Schwebach, vice chairman.
       According to Lujan, the district chose to include municipalities because of a vote held two years ago for supervisor.
       “The majority of people who came to vote lived in municipalities and they were upset (because) they could not vote,” Lujan said.
       The several employees of the county prison who went to vote in a group last week had concerns that included coercion, inadequate poll hours, lack of information and not enough notice of the renewal vote.
       A table staffed with two polling officials was what voters saw when they arrived at either one of two polling locations in Estancia and Encino.
       The prison workers alleged that Schwebach, who was sitting at the Estancia table, attempted to influence their vote.
       “(Schwebach) was asking people how they voted, then he told them they really should vote yes,” said Tracy Strand, who works in the jail's education department.
       “That is 100 percent incorrect,” said Schwebach in response to the allegations. “I was sitting at the table because I was a polling officer. I did ask every individual who walked in, 'Do you know what you're voting for?' If the answer was no, then they were welcome to talk to Cheri (Lujan) before they voted.”
       According to Lujan, she answered questions for several voters who had been directed to come into her office.
       Burns said that the information provided by the district was “more pro than con,” which did not help voters make a balanced choice.
       “In these times everything is going up, our food, our taxes. I don't think (residents) would have voted for it if they'd had the information. (ETSWCD) was not transparent about (the election),” said Josie Chavez Richards, who recently won a seat on the Estancia Board of Trustees by a game of chance.
       “For those individuals who have a bad taste in their mouths, I'm sorry you have it. But I would invite you to come see everything we're doing,” Schwebach said.
       District board meetings are held at 3 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month at the USDA Service Center in Estancia.
       If the public wants to be included on the agenda to address specific issues, they should contact Lujan at 384-2272.
   

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