Where does Encinitas stand going into 2012

Most people don't even want to think about another election season after having just come out of one. for about two months, we are bombarded on street corners, TV and radio, and even on our telephones with 'information' about who/what we should vote for. Most people are glad to see election season gone.

That being said, Election season does leave me, personally, with some questions about what our now upcoming 2012 election season looks like here in Encinitas.

Now that the state proposition banning the practice of gerrymandering the congressional districts has passed, will the U.S. 50th congressional district continue to be a Republican stronghold? Will the district maybe be redrawn in a manner that includes a large Democrat population? Will 2012 be the year that the perpetual Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby finally wins?

What about the City? A friend of mine and I were discussing Encinitas politics the other day, and she made me smile when she said: 'The funny thing about the City of Encinitas is that there are two distinct and separate factions, and nary will they meet in between.'

With that in mind, who will the factions support in 2012? If you look at the current majority faction, uncertainty ensues. Will Dan Dalager run again in 2012 to get a seat back? What about Doug Long; we haven't heard his name in a while, but perhaps it will resurface? Will the honorable judge Brandenburg make a showing? Will the day finally come that has been suspected for many years that James Bond will retire from public life? I'm fairly sure we can all assume that Jerome Stocks will run again, but will he run on a slate with other people as has been common practice in the last few elections?

Then there's the other faction. In the same way that Jerome Stocks running again is a sure bet, I assume that Maggie Houlihan defending her seat is too (at least from the information I have heard these two are most likely running). I imagine that this faction will likewise have candidates for the two other non-Houlihan seat. Who will those two candidates be? Will we see a Tony Kranz repeat, or will we see a return of Rachelle Collier?

I'm incredibly curious on who y'all think the 2012 candidates will be, please comment to share your thoughts.