June 6, 2008

“How this election affects the valley”

By Danielle Seckler

   We’ve been saying this for more than two years; people are angry out there and the political will of the people is to kick out those community leaders who are part of the ‘good old’ boys or girls. It makes no difference if it is nationally or locally, and June 3, 2008 is just another link in the chain of change. In what some believe is an upset, San Bernardino County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger bit the dust on Tuesday, after 12 consecutive years on the Supervisor’s board. Out with the old and in with the new; however how will Supervisor Neil Derry affect changes in the Bear Valley?

   With the changing of the guard, what does a county supervisor have control over? Supervisor Derry will bring in his own staff and place on advisory committees people who believe as he does. There are two major advisory committees and one position on the Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency (BBARWA) within the valley that the County Supervisor will appoint. Both the Big Bear Valley Recreation and Park Commissioners and appointees for the County Service Area (CSA) 53B will be appointed by Supervisor Derry. Historically, all appointees hand in their resignations to the new Supervisor and Derry will either accept the resignations or ask an appointee to stay. We believe that Supervisor Derry should start fresh with new people.

   The County BBARWA representative is Dr. Don Eads, who is also on the CSA 53B board. However, Eads had already stated that he would be resigning both positions at the end of the year, as he and his wife like to travel. The CSA board advises the county on sewer rates and the Park Commission advises on parks. There are five members of the CSA board; however they have had two vacancies for a long time. The Park Commission has seven members, which are all currently filled, though there have been long periods of time where vacancies were not filled as Supervisor Hansberger did not like those people who applied. In fact, Supervisor Hansberger pulled some one from Big Bear City to fill the Park commissioner’s slot for Sugarloaf.

   The advisory commissioners have no power, which was clearly seen when the CSA voted 5/0 to not increase the sewer rates by the county and the county voted to increase them any way. This may not change, as Supervisor Derry will be only one supervisor, out of five. The Park Commissioners last year would not listen to any one telling them they didn’t want the pool project they were proposing. The current commissioner chair, Cassey Benson refused to listen and discounted all objections to the project as just naysayers. After the biggest defeat [76% opposed, 24% approved] ever in the State of California for this kind of project, one would have thought that the commission might have learned something. This was never the case and any one sitting in the Park Commission meeting would have thought from most of Benson’s comments that they narrowly lost. Kind of sounds like Hillary Clinton’s denial of facts, doesn’t it? The local people who live in denial are called the “24 Percenters” for this exact reason, yet they plan as if they are the majority.

   These positions will need to be filled with people who are truly willing to represent the people of their areas they are appointed to and not the above mentioned minority. They must be willing to advise the Supervisor that this is or is not the majority of the people’s will; to do otherwise, will only continue to have the same hotly contested ballots or worse, lawsuits.

   There is a strong, well organized group of people who are against using the water from BBARWA for recharge for several reasons. Agree or disagree, these people have been labeled the ‘naysayers’ by the 24 Percenters. Those leaders in the west end of the valley, who will go thirsty before any one in the east end, really want to go ahead with the project. Currently, Rick Ollila and John Day of the CSD have kept them from going forward. This balance of power might change in November, if Ollila does not run or is defeated.

   Hansberger had many leaders of the valley who fought very hard to get him re-elected. These include Big Bear Lake City Council Bill Jahn, Liz Harris and Rick Herrick. The first two council people are up for re-election this November and both Harris and Herrick are on the BBARWA board currently. From the Big Bear City CSD, Hansberger’s supporters are Bob Colven and Jeff Newsome. Colven is coming up for re-election this year and both CSD board members have consistently objected that for more than two years they have not been placed on the BBARWA board (the “most” coveted appointments, per their statements in the past).

   This week Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought, asking everyone to start major conservation, before stronger tactics will be needed. At the Big Bear Lake Department of Water and Power (DWP) they are loosening up the restrictions. Why? It is simple; the City Council has replaced DWP board members with more ‘business friendly’ or like minded people, ignoring any one who is not part of their crowd. The problem is that it is ass backwards from where the State and country is going, though they refuse to believe it.

   The entire country is angry by their leaders refusing to listen to them and telling them that they just need to be educated. It is no different in this valley. Our current leaders are in denial or they think that they can start “Water Summit” talks, like they did with the HUFI committee 5 years ago. The people of this valley see it for what it is - a delay tactic to get re-elected or to grandstand. They do not believe that any thing will come of it. If any one was serious about this, they would have started it long ago and certainly they would not want the DWP to roll back their conservation program.

   Change is coming and soon. No matter who Supervisor Derry appoints to these commissions and BBARWA there will be a change. First thing that will change will be a new attitude, with new people.

The election in November may yield several upsets that no one thought would or could ever happen. It is shaping up to be an election with a large turnout, which by the way things have been going; a lot of the good old boys and girls will be looking for something else to do.

   We applaud the change, any change big or small. New leaders give new life into an old established political faction and the style or tone will change. But, beware of the ‘recycled people’. Some are the people who are waiting in the wings, who were appointed to the planning commission or DWP. As they wait for their ‘turn’, remember they are clones of those who have left. Others are those who were on this board or that board a while ago. We believe in fresh blood and not some ex-politician who wants back on the gravy train. In any case, political junkies like me have more than we could have ever wished for.

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