Happenings: The Votes Are In

Somewhere, an engraving service has just received an order for a name plate reading “LAURIE ENDER, Councilmember”. It will be a brown-black, aluminum-framed rectangle with white, unserifed type. Along with Bob Kellar (will he be getting a fresh name plate?), Ender can now look forward to four years of service on the Santa Clarita City Council. This means, of course, four years of spending long nights in front of whiny, gushy, or angry Claritans; four years of marking every other Tuesday with a black “X” of doom; four years of taking photos with the all-Valley girls’ competitive walking team that just finished 19th at a national conference; and four years of making decisions that will determine the future of Santa Clarita.

Bob Kellar, the Mayor who speaks with a muffled growl, will bring us more of the same Kellar-ness. Most Santa Claritans will be fine with this. Bruce McFarland is included among these ranks; he now has ample fodder for more one-member-only-organizations-of-outrage[1].

As for Laurie Ender…to be fair, let me begin by saying that I’ve never met her in person. My initial “introduction” was via her blog, which she started writing in May 2007—nearly a year ago. Most of her blogging was dedicated to traffic, school issues, feel-good stories about high school athletics, and plans to improve City life. She weighed in on important local stories like the Jack McClellan threat and October wildfires.

We also got to learn a bit more about Laurie, the person. In the past, she had worked on “Entertainment Tonight” and “Access Hollywood”—the shows that feature Angelina baby rumors, obsese former childhood stars' weight-loss stories, movie premiers, rehab center gossip, and the like. For the past many years, though, she was firmly ensconced in the role of SCV supermom and involved with her kids, volunteering, and school issues. This meant at least a couple teeth-achingly saccharine Mom posts, but that’s fine. As the child-bearing capital of the Western Hemisphere, kids matter a lot in Santa Clarita, and candidates need to appeal to parents with a dedication to safety, schools, sports, etc…

While this high level of involvement in the community was just swell, the ultimately ineffective anti-Ender backlash came when Laurie Ender started trying to set herself apart from other candidates. She actually gave an opinion on HMNMH rather than taking the safer wait-for-the-EIR position, and Ender-associated or Ender-supported mailers generated a controversy to which we’ve all grown bored, bitter, or both.

Ties to Frank Ferry were definitely part of the problem. For those who feel that Ender is going to ape every move made by Ferry on the City Council, I’ve prepared a helpful guide below that shows clear difference between these two public servants. Issues where they diverge are marked with an asterisk.

*Sex Chromosomes
Ferry: XY
Ender: XX
Big League Dreams, the $30M+ potential project that would replicate a famous baseball stadium in SCV.
Ferry: Loves it
Ender: In August 30th blog wrote, "A couple years ago I took a tour of the BLD facility in Chino Hills with some of the Parks & Rec staff and commissioners. All I kept thinking was--WOW do we need one of these in Santa Clarita!”—emphasis is Laurie’s own.
*Hair Length
Ferry: Short
Ender: Long
Stance on Henry Mayo Expansion
Ferry: Let it grow! More medical office buildings…and a new hospital would be great too, if possible.
Ender: Let it grow! More medical office buildings…and a new hospital would be great too, if possible.
*Number of Es in Last Name
Ferry: 1
Ender: 2
Members of Fan Club
Ferry: Buck McKeon, Roger Seaver, himself
Ender: Buck McKeon, Roger Seaver, PTA moms

See? They’re very different people when it comes to the issues that matter. We’ll see how this new City Council gets along soon.

[1]Will there be a recall effort if the 700 forms are satisfactorily resolved?