Fifth Candidate Allowed to Enter City Council Race

Resident Kari McPherson will be allowed to join the race for after a judge determined she was denied the chance to provide a sufficient number of valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

A San Diego Superior Court judge ruled for the city Wednesday after seeking permission for McPherson to be added to the election. 

The city explained Thursday that City Clerk Linda Hascup inadvertently told McPherson she had qualified for the race, only to realize her error after San Diego County's deadline to submit supplemental signatures had passed.

The court action allowed the county to consider McPherson's new list, which would have cleared her to qualify had it been presented to the Registrar on time. The county accepted the list Thursday.

“The City of Coronado took this action because there was no other remedy,” City Manager Blair King said in a statement. “This was an unfortunate oversight and we are pleased that the court recognized the unique circumstances.”

McPherson will face incumbent Michael Woiwode and fellow challengers Richard Bailey, Susan Ring Keith and Jean Roesch in the race. 

The election, on Nov. 6, includes the mayor's race, pitting incumbent Casey Tanaka against Councilwoman Barbara Denny, and .

McPherson had been listed on the county Registrar of Voters ballot while the matter was being adjudicated.

According to the city, she turned in her election paperwork Aug. 2, with a list of 30 signatures supporting her nomination. The Registrar notified the city four days later that McPherson had only 13 valid signatures, when 20 are needed.

The City Clerk, Coronado’s elections official, should have offered McPherson an additional form to collect more signatures prior to the Aug. 10 deadline. Hascup did not notice the error until after the deadline.