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Friday, September 29, 2006

Meet The Los Osos CSD Candidates

On Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, at the South Bay Community Center, 2180 Palisades Ave, Los Osos, the League of Women Voters will be moderating a Public Forum to allow the voters to meet the CSD candidates. The League’s usual format is to collect written questions from the audience which they then group into like topics then read off for the candidates to answer.

There are three seats up for grabs. The candidates running are: Rob Shipe, Lynette Tornatzky, Jeff Edwards, Al Barrow, Ed Ochs, Maria Kelley, Dave Duggan, Joe Sparks, Chuck Cesena and Steve Senet.

Senet and Cesena are incumbents, while Taxpayer’s Watch spokesperson, Joyce Albright, has stated that their group is supporting Tornatzky, Kelley and Sparks.

Those candidates who chose to do so sent their platform and campaign statements to me to post and they’re on the blogsite below if you scroll down a bit.

So, time to get your questions in order. After the forum you’ll also be able to speak with the candidates. I don’t know at this point whether AGP Video will be broadcasting this live or even taping the event for rebroadcast, so I’d encourage everyone to take time to show up and get to hear what the candidates have to say. There’s some new faces, some familiar faces and since there’s some very new issues, the forum will be a good chance to hear what everyone has to say.

See you there.

15 comments:

Shark Inlet said...

It might be a good idea to brainstorm some questions here that could be asked of candidates.

Let me start with my favorite (so far).


Chuck and Steve. The main business of the CSD now would seem to be survival; the recovery from bankruptcy. Why do you feel that you would be good choices for the position of CSD director when it was under your watch that the bankruptcy occured? In particular, I would like you to explain why you choose to spend some half a million dollars on the Ripley study when you should have known by that time that the CSD could not afford such a study.


And maybe a question for every candidate ... Did you vote for or against the formation of a CSD, the 2001 assessment to borrow money to build a sewer at TriW, for or against the recall and Measure B and did you support dissolution? Please explain why you took each position.


Honestly, that is a question that would seem entirely irrelevant when you consider that we have a CSD, the County has the project and dissolution was rejected, but from their answers we might get some insight into the way each candidate thinks through complex issues.

Shark Inlet said...

And ... if anyone's taking bets, I would bet on the candidates supported by TW.

This town was pretty much evenly divided a year ago when we last voted. Since then, bad things have happened on the watch of the "move the sewer" team. I suspect they will be blamed by the general public who isn't following things as closely as some of us. Furthermore, I think that the seven candidates who aren't associated with TW will tend to split the votes between them.

I'll predict that Sparks, Kelly, Tornatzky and Shipe are the top four vote getters, followed by the incumbants. Joe, Maria and Rob seem like good guys and will get votes because they seem to have the "let's roll up or sleves and get to work to fix this" attitude.

I predict that Duggan will trail Barrow at the end of the pack. Oh yeah, Edwards will beat Ochs for the 7th spot. This is all based on a subjective reading of the pulse of our community by chatting with people about the issues in general and based on how the various candidates histories.

On the other hand, my best predictions in the past are based on Murphy's Law, so maybe this prediction is way off base.

Mike Green said...

How about this one,
Will you resign your position if it becomes clear that your preelection promises can not be realised?

Shark Inlet said...

Mike,

By your question I gather that you are not going to vote for Steve or Chuck ... after all, there is pretty much zero chance that their promise of having a plan that will cost us only $100/month will come to pass.

Anonymous said...

Ah come on Sharkey. Everyone with half a brain knows that no one in the PZ is getting a $100 a month bill. Why not support an out of town facility that may come in at a reasonable cost? Sorry but I learned in school (many years)that in America people, by their convictions and determination, can effect change. Go ahead and bow down to the powers that be. Let them intimidate you. What do I care? People that have no vision of change cannot engage me (OK, I am responding...) I lived in Arcata CA before I moved here and they have a fantastic ponding system outside of town that they really had to fight for. And they did it. I believe in people accomplishing great things because they don't back down and they believe in the democratic process.

Anonymous said...

BTW you should vote for Chuck and Steve if you want to see the current process unfold as it should. Come on, dissolution is over. Joyce Albright is so not happening. Let's get progressive, clean up our water, and be a model for the 21st century.

FBLeG said...

Shark Inlet said...
"It might be a good idea to brainstorm some questions here that could be asked of candidates."

My questions would be simple:

"Do you support a MBR treatment plant at TriW?"
"Did you contribute any money to TW or sign a petition to dissolve the CSD?"

Sewertoons AKA Lynette Tornatzky said...

Anon 8:56 said:

"BTW you should vote for Chuck and Steve if you want to see the current process unfold as it should."

What have Chuck and Steve to do with it? The WWTF has gone to the County. All studies, plans, designs will be turned over to the County. The County is spending $2 mil to assess plans. Then we get to assess ourselves with a 218 and WE THE PEOPLE decide which WWTF we want.

The real question is: Are Chuck and Steve the best candidates to manage a bankruptcy? That is what the CSD is doing for the next 4 years. That's it folks. Get over the CSD in the same sentence as a WWTF. Rob Miller might be the guy to influence things, as he might wind up on the technical team.

Hey - who TOLD us the plant would be $100 a month? Wanna vote for a liar?

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 8:56 9/29:

Joyce Albright is "so not happening"? What a brilliant observation, given that she's not even a candidate.

Anonymous said...

Dear Shark Inlet,

"On the other hand, my best predictions in the past are based on Murphy's Law, so maybe this prediction is way off base."

Thank goodness for you and Murphy's Law!

Regards,

Ed Ochs

Mike Green said...

Wow! welcome Ed! I'm short on time right now (its Albacore time) but I hope you hang around, I'd like to ask some questions.
Regards, Mike Green

Shark Inlet said...

To our anonymous friend of 8:53pm on Sep 29 ...

If everyone with half a brain knows that $100/month is nonsense ... why did Chuck and Steve promise us a year ago that they had a plan that would cost us only $100/month?

Out of town having a reasonable cost? What do you say is "reasonable"? If the price is already in the $200+/month range, I don't really relish paying an extra $50-100/month just to get it out of town. If you really believe it is worth fighting for, please realize that you will be fighting with your friends and neighbors who cannot afford the $3-400/month that your out of town system will cost. Some folks, while not loving TriW, don't share your vision of expensive sewers.

Anonymous said...

Seeing how the sewer is moving to the county, who should we vote for? Anderson or Gibson?

Mike Green said...

Sharkey bubbled:
" I gather that you are not going to vote for Steve or Chuck ... after all, there is pretty much zero chance that their promise of having a plan that will cost us only $100/month will come to pass."

Nope, I'm going to write in Ann, Al and Jon Arcuni.
Then I'm going to sit back at my septic tank bar and witness the end of the world!
Come on over!

Anonymous said...

Excellent idea! I'm going to write in Ann, Joyce Albright, and Gail McPherson. My septic tank bar is going to be whiskey, however.