Thursday, November 17, 2022

Voters just gave everyone at [Marin County] MMWD a clear message

If early results hold, the voters just gave Marin Municipal Water District directors an unambiguous message.

The public wants water security, including a four-year reserve – no more kicking the can down the road. Act and do it now. Planning is essential, but with the time and money already spent on studies, MMWD leaders need to make up their mind and implement decisions.

That message apparently wasn’t received until election night by expected outgoing directors Jack Gibson, Larry Bragman and Cynthia Koehler.

Koehler chose to retire instead of running for reelection after serving 17 years. Given the substantial vote margins between the candidates so far, it appears there’s little doubt the two incumbents, Gibson and Bragman, were defeated.

The nonpartisan election wasn’t about personalities; it was about policy. It’s widely agreed that Gibson, Bragman and Koehler are dedicated public officials and talented individuals. Likewise, few dispute that all three of the victors are accomplished in their professional and civic lives.

The Marin County Civil Grand Jury report, “A Roadmap to Water Resilience for MMWD” was damning and pivotal. Its central point was clear. “Last year’s drought emergency could have been avoided if MMWD had taken sufficient measures to provide for a resilient water supply. With the mounting challenges posed by climate change, the mistakes of the past cannot be repeated. MMWD must establish a roadmap for achieving water supply resilience without delay.”

After threatened water rationing, it didn’t take much to convince central and southern Marin voters and the agency’s 191,000 customers that change was due. The leading vote-getters, Ranjiv Khush (over Bragman), Matthew Samson (over Gibson) and Jed Smith (leading to succeed Koehler), all have committed to implementing new water supplies at the earliest possible date.

All candidates sought endorsements from community-based organizations and leaders to give them credibility.

In the water board elections, support from Marin’s COST, the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, turned out to be decisive. COST’s goal was targeted: encourage new candidates who will aggressively advocate for innovative water sources at a reasonable price.

It’s not just that the candidates on their slate, Khush, Samson and Smith, all won. COST was involved early in recruiting them to enter the contest. Rep. Jared Huffman was separately involved in convincing venture capitalist and environmentalist Smith to jump into the race. Conversely, the vaunted Sierra Club endorsement failed to deliver for its endorsees, Bragman and Gibson.

While the role of conservation remains an important component of achieving adequate water availability, new sources need to not just be studied but obtained. There are ample practical options. They include raising dam heights to increase reservoir capacity, capturing winter Russian River water flowing to the Pacific Ocean and storing it in Sonoma’s aquifer, plus desalination. Whatever the conclusion, 2023 must be the year of decision, and implementation needs to follow soon thereafter.

The spotlight now isn’t just on the three likely new directors. It’s on the two directors who’ll see their terms expire in 2024: Monty Schmitt of San Rafael and Tiburon’s Larry Russell, the MMWD board’s current chair.

Voters’ tolerance for dithering is over. If Schmitt and Russell don’t get their acts in gear and work with the three new directors to deliver reliable water, they may either choose to retire like Koehler or experience the electoral fate of Gibson and Bragman.

MMWD is blessed with a first-rate staff who properly follows the policy directions of elected board members. We can expect these pros led by MMWD general manager Ben Horenstein to act promptly once the new board sends them clear marching orders. If that happens and actions are taken to implement those decisions, water consumers may soon see light at the end of the (water) tunnel.

Marin Independent Journal
Dick Spotswood
November 12, 2022

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