Somewhere a Davis historian is breaking out the book to figure out the shortest lived Davis City Council campaign. This might take the cake.The Vanguard reported on UC Davis Student, Abe Matsui’s council candidacy over the weekend. We learned that it may be in doubt. At the time we believed it a signature issue, but it seems to have never even gotten that far.
Davis City Clerk Zoe Mirabile told the Vanguard on Monday that Mr. Matsui did not qualify as a candidate due to him not being registered to vote in Davis.
When asked to elaborate, we were informed that the County Elections Office processes voter registration forms and they keep certain details confidential.
She told the Vanguard, “I confirm the registration status of each candidate with the County. Abe Matsui was not registered to vote in Davis as of the close of the nomination period.”
Abe Matsui told the Vanguard late on Monday, “Back when I registered to vote, I must have written the wrong address on my registration card. I called the country clerk’s office, but they said that there was no way for me to rectify my address in time in order for me to run.”
He added, “This is incredibly disappointing.”
When we had talked with Mr. Matsui over the weekend, he believed that the main problem was the individual circulating the nominating signatures went through campus asking for students to nominate him, even though he had given instructions that nominators must be registered within the City of Davis.
However, the individual assumed that this meant Yolo County.
“Well it turns out that since the University is considered an unincorporated part of Davis, any student that registered on campus is NOT registered to vote for within Davis, but ok for Yolo County. Therefore, all of those nominators do not count as valid signatures,” he wrote.
So, while he got 27 signatures, he believes that many of those signatures will not count and therefore he will not get the 20 that is needed.
We never even got that far.
The fifth year political science student had hoped to raise some interesting issues in the election.
Currently he is in Washington, D.C., finishing off the University of California, Washington Center (UCDC) program as an intern with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo in the 14th Congressional District in California.
He had previously worked for Congressman Mike Honda, CircleVoting.com, and the UC Davis Political Science Department as a research assistant.
“Washington D.C. is a great city, but it is very easy to get homesick for Davis, and I am eager to return,” he told the Vanguard.
He said he is running for the council because of the large student contingent in this community, and he says that “there has not been a student to serve as a council member to ensure that this majority receives fair representation.”
He added, “As I was keeping up to date on local Davis issues out here in D.C., I further noticed that there was not [one] student that had submitted their candidacy for a spot on city council. This truly upset me, especially in the wake of recent events that seemed to alienate the students of Davis and the residents of the community.”
“Picnic Day serves as the pride of Davis. it is a long withstanding tradition that everyone I have met recalls with great enthusiasm. However, there exists a stark contrast between the students’ expectation of Picnic Day festivities versus the family friendly portion of the event,” he said.
“This has caused community and university leaders to question the existence of future Picnic Days; an outcome which I feel should be avoided at all costs. Therefore, in order to bridge the gap between students and the community of Davis I have decided to submit my candidacy for Davis City Council,” he added.
If elected, he said that he would work “to foster a harmonious environment where students and residents alike can enjoy the wonderful fruits Davis has to offer.”
Other issues that he plans to run on are the preservation of open spaces and parks within Davis, securing safe and affordable housing for students, and the promotion of bike safety and accessibility.
He is against the Woodland-Davis water supply project.
“With the increasing cost of tuition for students, the last thing we need to worry about is a spike in our water bills,” he said. “Yes, we always complain that the semi-sweet taste of Davis water is disgusting, but that is what Brita filters are for. Also, preventing this project would allow us to better pass a balanced budget.”
He also said he is in support of the UC Davis Domes.
He called them “an integral part of our campus and community, and while I recognize that it is more of a university matter, any policy that would come across me in restoration of the Domes would have my full support.”
While Mr. Matsui was clearly a longshot candidate, raising issue of importance would have served the process well. Unfortunately, due to his distance away, it seems that his candidacy will have to wait for another day.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
