Point Reyes Light - October 30, 2003

The Light Endorses

Here are The Light’s endorsements for Tuesday’s election

BOLINAS UTILITY DISTRICT BOARD

(Two seats open)

Incumbent Vic Amoroso, who is running for his sixth consecutive term, is a seasoned BPUD veteran. Because of the departure of Director Paul Kayfetz, whose permanent residence is no longer in Bolinas, Amoroso has lost a long-standing ally in battles to keep the town’s status quo.

Vic Amoroso

"I maintain activism in keeping control of growth and tourism even though it’s against my best interest financially," said Amoroso, owner of the Grand Hotel inn and gift store, during a candidates’ debate last Wednesday.

"We’re losing, in Kayfetz, one of our greatest assets that kept people from Bolinas," Amoroso said. "His nasty reputation kept people from wanting to move here."

A key part of Amoroso’s platform is the creation of a district to relieve parking congestion downtown. In his campaign four years ago, Amoroso also focused on parking congestion, but a parking committee created by BPUD faded away only to be recently resurrected.

Joel Braverman

Challenger Joel Braverman has lived in Bolinas off and on for the last 16 years, fulltime since 1997. At 37 he would be the youngest member of the board. As an African American, he would also be its only minority member. A jack of all trades, Braverman is a computer engineer, a musician, a driver for the West Marin Stagecoach, and a director of Bolinas Community Center.

Braverman has promised to be sensitive to the needs of townspeople and, to the extent possible, maintain the town’s independence from county government. However, he is not especially well-versed in the district’s history and lacks some of the technical know-how that directors must acquire.

Don Smith

The third candidate, Don Smith, is a retired chemical engineer who moved to Bolinas from Palo Alto four years ago. He wants to get more involved with the town’s civic affairs. Like Braverman, Smith is logical, non-confrontational, and has populist sentiments.

While there is no formal "ticket" in this race, Braverman drew the lines clear this week when he told The Light, "There is an old-boys club that exists on the board. It would be a good thing if myself and Don Smith are elected. We’re running with the idea to keep the town intact but not destroy the lives of local business owners."

Smith is running for a spot on the board to "help control the rising cost of housing." If elected, he said he wants to work with the county to "loosen up the second-unit laws." Smith also said he’s interested in looking into septic regulations, and "reviving the rental market" in Bolinas.

"One of the things that makes us such a rich community is the cultural diversity," Smith said. "Rich culturally, not monetarily."

No doubt Smith, who first got involved with the district by helping create an off-road bicycle and pedestrian path beside Olema-Bolinas Road, would make a good and fair-minded director. If he is not elected, there is little question that he’ll find a way to help out by serving on other boards and committees in town.

While Amoroso is making the same campaign promise to improve parking that he made four years ago, he is an integral part of the town’s recent history. We think that either Braverman or Smith would make a good addition to the board, which is starting to see Bolinas in a different light.

BPUD has never limited its activities to sewer, water, and road issues, and we like Braverman’s proposal for the district to steer assistance toward the mentally-ill and drug-dependent street people downtown. We hope he can succeed. The Light endorses: incumbent Vic Amoroso and Joel Braverman.

LAGUNITAS SCHOOL BOARD

(Two seats open)

Incumbents Trustees Richard Sloan and Denise Bohman are contending with gadfly Doug Frazer of Lagunitas, a stay-at-home dad.

Richard Sloan

Carpenter Richard Sloan whose great-great-great-great-great grandfather was one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, has fought to keep the state and federal governments from interfering with the district’s academic programs.

Sloan sees standardized testing as a potentially damaging barometer of a student’s success and this week said, "I would rather not have the federal money than adhere to its ‘No Child Left Behind Act.’ I compromise a lot, a lot of people don’t think I do, but I do. Some things I won’t. This is one of them."

If the district does not do the testing, it could lose some federal or state funds, but Sloan said he’s not worried about the school remaining fiscally solvent. He also said he is confident that the current drop in enrollment, which has reduced state revenues based on attendance, will also change.

"I’m running again because I have grandchildren coming into the district," Sloan said. "I want them to have the same opportunities that my children had. Opportunity for students to learn as individuals is what I’ve always worked for."

Denise Bohman

Stay-at-home mom Denise Bohman was elected to the board four years ago and is its current president. In contrast to Sloan’s idealistic stands, Bohman lends a pragmatist’s point of view to the district. With two children enrolled in Lagunitas School District, Bohman said she is on campus "at least one hour most days." This helps her "see where each dollar spent in the district goes," she said

"Financial responsibility is going to have to be front and center. With this school we’ve always been able to deal with these problems well. We hope that continues."

Bohman said she’s the only candidate who believes that even in dire economic times the district’s teachers need a pay raise.

Doug Frazer

She added that challenger Doug Frazer might be a "good board member in two years" after spending more time observing the trustees in action, just as she did prior to her candidacy.

Frazer has spent the last few months researching the decline in the district’s enrollment and those test scores that were low. Critics of Frazer see him as part of the district’s problem. Both of his children are enrolled in the neighboring Ross Valley School District. If elected, Frazer said, he will not put his children in the Lagunitas School District.

The challenger has received a better reception for suggesting the district "market itself" in order to attract more students. Indeed, Trustee Bohman also agrees that the district needs to be more active in "recruiting new students to the district."

There is no other race with candidates that are more distinct. Sloan is the wildhorse, Bohman the workhorse, and Frazer the darkhorse. Although Sloan often argues with other trustees, his ideas are usually worth considering. Moreover, he continually puts enormous effort into merely maintaining the campus.

Bohman has demonstrated her dedication to the district, sometimes by having to do the "dirty work" for other board members who are reluctant to air unpopular truths. As for Sloan, she said, "we’ve clashed before, but that’s why the district works."

The Light endorses: Richard Sloan and Denise Bohman.

COLLEGE OF MARIN

(Four seats open)

Incumbents Eva Long, Larry McFadden, and Phyllis Metcalfe are clear choices for reelection. In her first four years on the board, Long has helped steer the junior college toward solvency. While her goals have not been realized, the school is much closer than it was before she took office.

Incumbents McFadden and Metcalfe have also jumped in and been key parts of a more-responsible college board that had to take a hard look at how it was spending money and dealing with its administration. McFadden and Metcalfe have focused on ensuring College of Marin graduates can move on to four-year schools, although reduced budgeting for state universities and the UC system has made that transition more difficult.

We believe challenger Carole Hayashino, who works for San Francisco State, could be an invaluable liaison to the state university system. The Light endorses: Eva Long, Larry McFadden, Phyllis Metcalfe, and Carole Hayashino.

NORTH MARIN WATER BOARD

(Three seats open)

Ever since the last general election, Marin County political circles have been rife with rumors that incumbent Director Dennis Rodoni of Olema will try to unseat Supervisor Steve Kinsey next year. Rodoni, however, insists his only concern is being reelected to the water board.

Dennis Rodoni

In his time on the North Marin board, Rodoni has helped bring seven significant water projects to West Marin, the most projects the district’s ever taken on at once in this area. He has also become the board’s financial watchdog and environmentalist. Roadside Cleanup Day that Rodoni co-sponsors annually has become the major way West Marin roadsides get cleaned up these days.

John Baker

Incumbent John Baker, an engineer from Novato, has helped guide the board through technical aspects of all its projects.

Steve Petterle

Incumbent Stephen Petterle, a midterm appointee, is still getting to know the job. As a park planner, his knowledge of West Marin’s parklands and open space helps the board understand the lay of the land in West Marin.

Rick Fraites

Novato resident Rick Fraites is running for the board’s two-year short-term seat. He works as an administrative aide in county government and may be able to focus more county attention on some North Marin problems.

The Light endorses: Dennis Rodoni, John Baker, and Steve Petterle for the full-term seats, and Rick Fraites for the short-term seat.

BALLOT MEASURES

Measure A in Bolinas is a second attempt in six months by the Bolinas-Stinson School District to get a parcel tax passed. June’s Measure A, which was a $248 parcel tax to be collected annually for six years, failed by only 14 votes to garner the two-thirds majority needed for approval. The minority "no" vote took $250,000 from the school’s 2003-04 budget.

While trustees were originally gun shy about submitting another parcel tax to Bolinas voters so soon, the board eventually proposed a $198 parcel tax to be collected for five years. If adopted Measure A will not cost landowners more than they were already paying. The new tax would replace a $40 "baby" parcel tax which expired last June, and a $158 parcel tax which will expire next June.

The district is in desperate need of some additional funding. Last June’s parcel tax should have passed. After the election some Bolinas and Stinson Beach residents accused trustees of taking a "yes" vote for granted. This time around they have not. Trustees even enlisted opponents of June’s Measure A to help write the argument for the new parcel tax. Trustees also did a better job this time of informing townspeople about the parcel tax. The $198 is a small price to pay to keep the schools afloat. Yes on Measure A.

Measure E in Stinson Beach will not itself raise or lower any taxes regardless of the vote. The measure simply allows Stinson Beach Fire Protection District to keep all the property taxes collected in the district instead of having them shared with other government agencies. Yes on Measure E.

Measure G in Bolinas is an advisory measure written by Bolinas resident Jane Blethen (AKA Dakar). Couched in "stream-of-consciousness" rhetoric, to quote The Los Angeles Times, the measure declares that the town should live in harmony with nature (including such nature as blueberries that don’t grow naturally in Bolinas). Blethen is eccentric in dress and behavior, and while some people find her and her measure’s wording intriguing, it costs money to hold elections such as this. We appreciate BPUD’s letting all of its constituents be heard, but it would be better if utility directors merely voted on a resolution and did not put such issues on the ballot. No on Measure G.

Measure H in Inverness does not itself raise or lower any taxes. Like Measure E in Stinson Beach, passage will merely allow Inverness Public Utility District to keep its own property tax revenues rather than share some of them with other governments. Yes on Measure H.

Measure I in Bolinas would renew for four years the $36 annual parcel tax used to support Mesa Park. Mesa Park’s annual budget is a measly $24,000 per year, so the money is crucial. There is no waste in the park budget. A yes vote would not increase property owners’ taxes but merely keep them as they are. Yes on Measure I.

Point Reyes Light Cover | News | Coastal Traveler