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One of the more important local elections this fall will be fore
Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Water District. This is all the
more critical as we are in the 3rd year of what appears to be an
extended drought... maybe even the establishment of a new normal
climate for our area. <br>
<br>
The following Director terms end in December, 2014:<br>
<ul>
<li>District 1. Dennis Kennedy</li>
<li>District 4. Linda J. Lazotte</li>
<li>District 6. Tony Estremera</li>
<li>District 7. Brian A Schmidt</li>
</ul>
If you don't know what district you are in, check the maps on this
page:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.valleywater.org/About/Board_of_Directors/District_Boundaries.aspx">http://www.valleywater.org/About/Board_of_Directors/District_Boundaries.aspx</a><br>
<br>
I live in District 1, the most rural of all the districts and know
Kennedy since he was Mayor of Morgan Hill. I will publicly
endorse him this time, in particular after reading these commenst
about his role as an elected official: <br>
<br>
From one email:
<blockquote type="cite"><span
style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">We,
as water wholesalers, are limited by the enforcement measures
available. We must rely on the retailers; cities and water
companies to enforce our goals.<o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">I
am angered by the careless disregard of some water waisters
and will do my best to get them to stop.</span></p>
</blockquote>
and from another:
<blockquote type="cite"><span
style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">One
of the toughest challenges for elected officials is changing the
mind set of some bureaucrats who have been “hunkered down” for a
while.</span></blockquote>
<br>
I have seen this tendency to "hunker down" before. I have also seen
bureaucrats who will trust the consultants that they hired to
justify a project before they listen to the public when it is
critical of their efforts. If for no other reason than this, I
would not consider that a Director's experience working for the
District to be a plus. It is not necessarily a detriment but voters
should consider whether the long time associations might be like
blinder keep them from seeing the real problems. <br>
<br>
I don't know the other Directors all that well. But if they are
your director, you should. You should also begin to pay attention
to such issues as the planned water bond that will give the state NO
NEW WATER. <br>
<br>
We also need to pay close attention to ground water use. The State
of CA has no system to inform planners as to how much ground water
is being pumped nor how much is left. As a result, we have some
areas in the Central Valley that are experiencing nearly a foot of
subsidence per year. Santa Clara County's experience with ground
water pumping is very evident in Alviso. This community was not
always below sea level, even without the sea level rise we know is
coming. <br>
<br>
Finally, we also need to be sure that the District Board is up front
considering the impact of sustained drought on their financial
status. As Kennedy wrote, they are wholesalers. That means they
get revenue by selling water to retailers (cities, water
companies). When usage drops there is less revenue and so rates
will necessarily have to rise just to cover the real expenses of
supplying water. Droughts of short duration can be handled by
incurring more debt. However, that can not be sustained. District
long term financial plans must be transparent. <br>
<br>
You know what to look for. Challenge the candidates in your
districts to do the right things. <br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
"Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you
don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth"
- <i>Roberto Clemente</i></div>
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