Registration deadline looms for June primary

May 18, 2008
By Will Oremus / Daily News Staff Writer

Voters who want a say in the June 3 statewide primary election have until Monday to register.

In central and northern San Mateo County, the ballot is highlighted by a hot three-person contest for the Democratic nomination in the race to succeed state Assemblyman Gene Mullin, D-South San Francisco. Richard Holober, Jerry Hill and Gina Papan have all spent several hundred thousand dollars on their campaigns.

The undercard includes a Republican battle between Greg Conlon and Mike Moloney for the right to challenge U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, in November - assuming she defeats her own Democratic primary opponents.

Also on the San Mateo County ballot is Measure O, dubbed "Parks for the Future," the county's second try at passing a one-eighth-cent sales tax for parks and recreation.

Further down the Peninsula, the top races are less crowded. U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, is running unopposed in the primary, as are state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, and state Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City.

Palo Alto voters hold the fate of Measure A, a $378 million school bond that would pay for improvements at all 17 district campuses.

As of April, about 15.9 million of California's 23 million eligible voters were registered, according to Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

Voters registered with a given party must vote in their party's primaries, while those who decline to state a party can request either a Democratic, Republican or American Independent Party ballot. Residents are encouraged to check their registration information with their local county elections offices.

Free voter registration forms are available at post offices, libraries, city and county offices, and online.

E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com.