Point Reyes Light - October 23, 2003

Utility election issues in Bolinas

By Ivan Gale

Bolinas residents will find five candidates running for Bolinas Public Utility District director on the Nov. 4 ballot, but only three of them are still in the running.

By the time former candidates Andy Blake and Joan Kopfer dropped out of the race, the county had already printed ballots.

That leaves incumbent Vic Amoroso, along with retired engineer Don Smith and computer technician Joel Braverman vying for two open seats.

Paul Kayfetz, who for 24 years used his seat on the utility board to enforce Bolinas’ strict no-homebuilding policy, is not running for re-election.

Ironically, Kayfetz decided not to run after Blake filed election papers. Equally ironic, because of a misunderstanding, Kayfetz and Blake had an angry exchange in Civic Center when both showed up to file as candidates.

Blake last week told The Light that after reevaluating his personal and professional commitments, he concluded he didn’t have enough time to serve on the utility district board. Blake added that his decision was made easier by the fact that three other candidates are running.

Incumbent Amoroso

In a Light interview this week, incumbent Amoroso has said he plans to use his newly reconstituted parking subcommittee to find a solution to downtown congestion. The incumbent said he would favor a parking district under the control of townspeople who would have the right to reserve some parking spaces for Bolinas residents.

Likewise, Amoroso said, a district run by townspeople may be the way to deal with septic systems that are either failing or not up to code. With county government feeling pressure from the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board to improve water quality, some property owners on the Big Mesa fear they may be forced to pay for costly improvements to their septic systems, including expensive inspections.

Amoroso’s proposal "may mean setting up a district to do inspections under guidance of the Regional Water Quality Control Board like Stinson [Beach Water District] does," Amoroso said, stressing that "BPUD should take the leading role to ensure Mesa residents prevail."

Amoroso, a 20-year BPUD director and owner of The Grand Hotel antique shop, said he is also committed to finding new affordable housing in Bolinas.

Newcomer Smith

Challenger Don Smith said his goal if elected will be to learn about his new job. Then he would try to maintain the values that have kept Bolinas virtually unchanged for decades.

"I like Bolinas the way it is. I moved here because of the natural beauty and the strength of the community spirit I felt when I visited.

Smith said he would bring more harmony to BPUD meetings, which can get "pretty contentious and bitter."

Smith’s involvement in Bolinas politics began when townspeople voted against building a bicycle/pedestrian path between the school and downtown. After that proposal was rejected in an advisory-poll measure as too ambitious, Smith worked with other community members including Amoroso to design a new path. That path won a strong endorsement in a second advisory poll.

"By really listening to each other and not getting into bitter controversies," he said, it was possible to "not only get something done but also improve community spirit."

Newcomer Braverman

The third candidate, Braverman, 37, is not only a computer consultant, he performs as a musician and is a bus driver for the West Marin Stagecoach. Braverman said he wants the BPUD board to pay more attention to alternative energy. He endorsed a dormant proposal for building a small, wind-powered generator on BPUD-owned land, along with other new technologies.

Braverman, who has served on the Bolinas Community Center board for five years, said he too wants to protect the town’s water-system-hook-up moratorium, which prevents homebuilding. He called protecting the moratorium a "primary duty" of any BPUD director.

At the same time, Braverman said he wants the community to work more with agencies elsewhere in the county in an effort to solve Bolinas’ problems with homeless people, alcoholism, and drug abuse.

Braverman, however, criticized town merchants that advertise outside of the town, saying they were "capitalizing on Bolinas, and selling out its cultural heritage."

The lack of affordable housing also concerns him, Braverman said. "It’s a big problem."

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