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• Supercenter opponents weigh options for initiative

• Nearly 6,000 acres of farmland flooded west of Stockton

• Council candidates may have to pay $1,300 for statements

• Lodi police officers to get new Glock handguns

• Regional Roundup

• City raises fine to $375 for illegal parking in spaces for disabled

• Lodi man back in court over medical marijuana

• State budget revision encouraging news, school district staff say

• Citywide care package to be sent to troops in Iraq

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

ADVERTISEMENT

Council candidates may have to pay $1,300 for statements

If you want to run for City Council this year, you might be asked to write a check for $1,300 to pay for printing, handling, translating and mailing your candidate statement.

The document, which describes a candidate's background and position, is not required to run. However, nearly all candidates submit them and, at least in Lodi, there has never been a fee.

Lodi is only one of nine recently surveyed cities in California that have been picking up the tab for such statements, a practice whose legality has been questioned.

The City Council is expected to make a decision at the June 16 meeting.

City Clerk Susan Blackston wanted council members to be aware of the issue and thought the expense might be better funded through campaign money instead of the city. Her recommendation, made at Wednesday's City Council meeting, is related to the city's budget deficit.

But the new potential cost to candidates is an issue that concerns Mayor Larry Hansen. Both he and Councilwoman Susan Hitchcock are afraid the candidate pool will be drained if the council decides to charge for such statements.

"It's a little bit of a quandary," Hansen said.

"We didn't make a decision (Wednesday) because we need to know if we are in violation of the law."

Until now, candidates seeking election were required to pay only a $25 filing fee, Blackston said. That went into affect in 2002.

The city paid $10,400 in 2002 to handle statement costs for eight candidates, and Blackston is expecting a similar number this year. Candidate statements are designed to acquaint voters with a candidate's qualifications, but they are not required.

"But it's a real disadvantage not to have one," Hansen said.

And, the City Clerk's Office can't recall in recent years a candidate failing to file such a statement.

This year's filing period for candidates opens July 12.

In January 2002, Blackston's office conducted a survey of 75 California cities and found that only nine others paid for the candidate statements. Those included Cupertino, Foster City, Gilroy, Napa, Palo Alto, Roseville, San Bruno, Winters and Yountville.

"All of the cities in San Joaquin County require their candidates to pay (except Lodi)," Blackston said.

Has the city been violating California Elections Code, essentially providing public money for candidates?

Interim City Attorney Stephen Schwabauer said it's more about how the law on accepting public funds is interpreted.

"It's not a simple and clear situation as to whether you're violating state law," he said.

"I will do some investigation as to whether there's case law on the issue. I don't know if it's a violation, but I will report back on what I find out."