Free Republic

SAN DIEGO -- The City Council certified the results of a hotly contested mayoral election on Wednesday, and Mayor Dick Murphy was sworn in for a second term. The council voted 6-1 to accept the county registrar's results from the Nov. 2 election that showed Murphy, a Republican, leading write-in candidate and Democratic Councilwoman Donna Frye by 2,108 votes. Murphy called on San Diegans "to put aside the rancor of this election" and work for the good of the city. Frye cast the lone vote against certifying the results. A state appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for Murphy...

The hearing is just about the start. John Howard's case will be heard by the 4th Circuit to determine if there should be a new election, if Donna Frye's write-in candidacy was invalid and other related issues.

SAN DIEGO -- A city councilwoman said Wednesday she would not be deterred by the messy legal battle surrounding her write-in bid for San Diego mayor, suggesting that a long fight may lie ahead. Donna Frye said that she is weighing "about 30" legal strategies and may be willing to pay for a recount. "Patience is power," she told reporters. "In a democratic society, things take time and things sometimes become uncomfortable for people. It's nice to have the easy solution, the happy ending, for everything to go quickly and easily, but it doesn't always work out that way." Frye...

SAN DIEGO -- A lawyer seeking a new mayoral election for San Diego told a federal judge Tuesday that the city violated its own charter by allowing a write-in candidate to run for mayor and a new vote should be held between the top two finishers in the primary. Blair Krueger argued that the city clerk never should have permitted voters on Nov. 2 to write Councilwoman Donna Frye's name on a blank line below the two men who finished first and second in the March primary -- incumbent Dick Murphy and San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts. "There's a...

A judge refused yesterday to order the counting of ballots in the San Diego mayoral race in which voters wrote in the name of Councilwoman Donna Frye but neglected to fill in a small oval-shaped bubble next to it. The decision by retired Judge Eric Helgesen was a crucial victory in a post-election legal battle for Mayor Dick Murphy, who has claimed victory after finishing with 2,205 more votes than Frye in results announced Friday. The judge ruled against the League of Women Voters of San Diego and two Frye supporters who contended there are thousands of such ballots the...

Frye's Mayoral Hopes Begin To Fade New Lawsuit Expected In Disputed Mayoral Vote Count POSTED: 7:41 PM PST November 15, 2004 UPDATED: 1:55 PM PST November 17, 2004 SAN DIEGO -- A third lawsuit is expected to be filed later today in the still-undecided San Diego mayoral election, NBC 7/39 reported. The new suit will be filed by the League of Women Voters and will focus on write-in ballots that have Councilwoman Donna Frye's name written in but don't have the oval next to it filled in, according to NBC 7/39. Election officials say those votes are invalid, but the...

Frye candidacy ruled legal; vote count won't stop Judge says attorney waited too long before challenging write-in bid NANCEE E. LEWIS/Union-TribuneCity Clerk Charles Abdelnour smiled as Judge Charles E. Jones announced his ruling yesterday. A Superior Court judge gutted an attempt to invalidate the San Diego mayoral election yesterday by ruling that Donna Frye's write-in candidacy is legal and refusing to order a halt to the vote-counting. Judge Charles E. Jones also turned aside requests from San Diego business lawyer John Howard to prevent the election results from being certified and to order a new election without Frye. Jones said...

Shrinking Lead May Spell Doom For Frye Narrow Race May Require Recount POSTED: 5:17 pm PST November 11, 2004 UPDATED: 6:11 pm PST November 11, 2004 SAN DIEGO -- Although it's unknown if the San Diego mayor's race outcome may be decided in court next week, one thing is certain -- the race is getting tighter every day. The latest count from the registrar's office shows that write-in votes -- most of which have been cast for City Councilwoman Donna Frye, are 34.8 percent of the total cast. Meanwhile, incumbent Mayor Dick Murphy has moved up to 34.2 percent, and...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The presiding judge of the San Diego Superior Court recused all 124 judges on the bench from hearing a lawsuit attempting to block write-in candidate Councilwoman Donna Frye from becoming mayor. Judge John Einhorn said he made the decision Wednesday because one of Frye's election rivals, incumbent Mayor Dick Murphy, was a judge for 15 years before he was elected mayor in 2000. Several judges have contributed to Murphy's campaigns, and Einhorn wanted to avoid any appearance of favoritism. Einhorn arranged with California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George to have the case heard by Charles...

San Diego's mayoral race is headed to the courts, where a lawsuit filed yesterday contends that the write-in candidacy of Councilwoman Donna Frye – who appears to hold a slender lead – violated the City Charter. The lawsuit, filed by attorney John Howard, seeks an injunction halting the vote count by the county registrar of voters, a finding that the Nov. 2 ballot with a space for a mayoral write-in was "improper and unlawful," and a runoff election pitting Mayor Dick Murphy against challenger Ron Roberts. Hours before the lawsuit was filed, Frye held a midday news conference outside City...

Donna Frye, a surfer who sports long blond hair and refuses to get a driver's license, is riding a wave of write-in votes for mayor that could sweep aside two graying 60-something Republicans and carry her into City Hall. The surf-shop owner has capitalized on a confluence of circumstances, including a pension scandal that has shaken the city financially. The votes have not been completely tallied, but so far, the write-in ballots lead with 35 percent of the vote; Mayor Dick Murphy has 34 percent. The write-ins are expected to be overwhelming in favor of Frye, 52, who said she...