TMCnet News
Challengers look to shake up West County Wastewater District board [The Oakland Tribune](Oakland Tribune (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 29--MARTINEZ -- Three incumbents with three quarters of a century of combined tenure on the West County Wastewater District board are opposed by five challengers, three of whom say the board is out of touch with constituents and doesn't reflect the demographics of the district, which covers San Pablo, parts of Richmond and Pinole and the unincorporated areas of El Sobrante, Montalvin Manor and East Richmond Heights. The incumbents in the Nov. 4 election -- Len Battaglia, George Schmidt and Paul Soltow -- have served on the board since 1975, 1992 and 1998, respectively. The three say they should be re-elected because the district has run efficiently and transparently under their stewardship and kept rates the lowest in the area -- currently $381 a year for single-family homes, to increase to $407, $435 and $465 in subsequent years. All five board members are white men, four of them in their 80s. Challengers Antonio Medrano, a former West Contra Costa Unified School District board member, and Leonard McNeil, a political science professor at Contra Costa College and former San Pablo councilman, say the board needs an infusion of diversity. The other challengers are Audrey Comeaux, a longtime wastewater control representative with the East Bay Municipal Utility District; Shirley Wysinger, a former San Pablo councilwoman who also worked for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, retiring as senior project manager in 2004; and Sharon Thygesen, an information systems manager for the city of Berkeley and a member of the El Sobrante Municipal Advisory Council, as well as its secretary. Thygesen ran unsuccessfully for the wastewater board in 2012, trailing incumbents Alfred Granzella and Michael Caine in a three-way race for two seats. Medrano, Comeaux and McNeil all made reference, with varying degrees of specificity, to comments made by Battaglia last year that were widely viewed as offensive. During an interview with this newspaper in October 2013, Battaglia disparaged Asians and African-Americans, characterizing the latter as slow-thinking, adding, "They can't help it. It's the way God made them." Said Comeaux: "You can't serve a community which you do not respect." She was speaking during a recent candidates' forum at the Contra Costa Television studio, moderated by Bay Area News Group columnist Tom Barnidge. Later, during his summation, Battaglia dismissed the comments about his past statements as "not true," without elaborating. Wysinger and Thygesen joined the incumbents in giving the district good marks for transparency and dissemination of information to the public, especially through an overhauled website. Medrano, Comeaux and McNeil, however, said the board lacked transparency and that communication was mostly one way, from the board to the public. They also said 9 a.m. Tuesday board meetings are inconvenient for the public, especially working people. While all eight candidates exhibited a working familiarity with the functioning of the district, its plant and other infrastructure, parts of which are aging and need replacement, the incumbents showcased their expertise with all facets of the district's day-to-day operations and governance, especially Soltow, who was engineer-manager of the San Pablo Sanitary District, the predecessor of the current district. Four of the challengers criticized the amount of board pay, which totaled $182,000 for the five members in 2012, including benefits, and $167,747 last year; Wysinger stopped short of criticizing the pay but allowed that it should be reviewed. The incumbents vigorously defended the pay, saying they spend long hours reading up on developments in the wastewater industry and preparing for meetings. Battaglia led all board members in salary and benefits with just over $50,000 in 2012 and $44,500 in 2013. Schmidt's salary and benefits came to $39,200 last year, and Soltow's came to $20,000, the lowest among the five board members. Said McNeil: "Some incumbents ... have a warm smile toward their own enrichment and a cold heart toward the workers who actually do the work." Off-and-on negotiations, beginning in early 2012, between the district and Public Employees Union Local 1 so far have not resulted in a labor agreement. In his summation, McNeil urged voters to "wholeheartedly reject" the three incumbents for defending "their excessive compensation." Candidates disagreed sharply on whether a ratepayers committee should be formed to advise the board, an idea championed by Medrano and McNeil. Comeaux said the possibility should be explored. Wysinger and Thygesen rejected the idea, as did Schmidt and Soltow. "We have a committee that sets rates," Soltow said. "They are the West County Wastewater District Board of Directors." The round table will air on CCTV at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, 8:30 p.m. Friday and 8:30 p.m. Sunday. For other broacast times, go to http://ca-contracostacounty2.civicplus.com/2118/Election-Preview-Shows. Contact Tom Lochner at 510-262-2760. Follow him at Twitter.com/tomlochner. ___ (c)2014 The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.) Visit The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.) at www.insidebayarea.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |