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| Gary Ernst "Why Not" |
The new City of Oceanside Treasurer for 2016 is voted in and....it's a dead guy. Gary Ernst, a long-time financial adviser, was appointed to the city post in 2010 after former City Treasurer Gary Felien was elected to the City Council. “I knew that he’d been ill, but I didn’t realize it was life threatening,” Felien said. His running mate Nadine Scott, whose career includes work as a lawyer, an activist and a government agency treasurer, tells NBC San Diego that despite losing to Ernst by a vote of 17,659 to 15,500, she should be appointed to the position. To hear the audio statements and commentary made that day visit 76radio.com
When Ernst's death was first publicly announced, the city of Oceanside said it was mourning the late treasurer, and it also said that because he had died less than 68 days before the election that the ballot would go/remain unchanged. "If Mr. Ernst prevails, the office will be declared vacant and the City Council can fill the vacancy in a sixty-day time period following certification of the results," the city said.
Then on November 9th 2016, the votes were counted in and a dead man was elected into office, yet not since the city stated previously that the position would be declared vacant. Following the announcement, Scott filed a complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, stating the city had improperly helped her opponent's campaign. Furthermore, Scott told voters shortly before the election that she's more qualified, and that Kern wanted to put a fellow conservative in the post; she also pledged "to keep the office independent and non-partisan." In an interview with ABC 10 SD Councilman Kern confirmed that suspicion by stating, "Vote for him anyway, because that way we can get somebody that's qualified there." That interview occurred a week after Ernst's death. That is why Nadine Scott accused Jerry Kern of urging voters to choose a dead man, so that Kern could hand-pick a successor, ensuring his access to the city's budget.
Because of state election rules, Ernst name will remain on the November ballot. If he is elected (and was), "the council will have to appoint a replacement", City Clerk Zack Beck said. The vote to initially appoint Ernst followed a failed attempt by Councilmen Jerry Kern and Jack Feller to appoint retired insurance broker Larry Hatter. Former City Treasurer Felien said Kern then recommended Ernst because he had been a member of the Treasurer's Investment Oversight Committee and was therefore familiar with city finances.
So what is a City Treasurer anyway, what's their definition?
The City Treasurer is a part-time position responsible for overseeing the city investments, handling cash transactions and banking services. The treasurer also prepares quarterly reports for the City Council. The pay range is around $24,000 annually for this part-time position.
So what about Gary Ernst what's his background?
His financial management career began in 1978 as a bank management trainee when he was finishing his business degree at Cal State Los Angeles. Ten years later, he was a vice president and branch manager at Great Western Bank’s main office in Los Angeles when he decided to form his own financial services company, Ernst Financial Services in Oceanside. In 2010, Ernst was chosen from among eight people who applied for the Oceanside treasurer's job. Ernst served the remainder of Felien’s term and then ran unopposed in 2012, clinching a four-year term. In 2013, he was hired at Samuel Scott Financial Group as a mortgage adviser.
