Commentary: A look into the 4th Supervisorial Distrct Race

On Friday, it was announced that Jim Provenza had won the 4th Supervisorial district race outright garnering 54 votes over the needed 50 percent in order to avoid a November runoff election. Mr. Provenza received 4,065 votes or 50.7 percent, easily outdistancing John Ferrera's 2,739. Cathy Kennedy finished third with 15.2% or 1,217 votes. He will replace the likely Assemblywoman from this district, Mariko Yamada who won the Democratic Nomination on Tuesday in a district that is heavily Democratic.

The first time I really got to know Jim Provenza was in January of 2007. I met with him in his office in Sacramento to convey to him my concerns about the District's handling of the harassment of a junior high school student due to the fact that the student had two male parents.

Jim Provenza at that time acknowledged shortcoming in the district's response while at the same time not directly commenting on the matter due in part to it being a matter dealing with personnel and in part it being a mater that dealt with a juvenile. What he did do is lay out proposed changes in the discipline code.

In short, he told me everything I wanted to hear. But as many people also know, many politicians will tell you everything you want to hear and then fall flat when it comes to follow through.

But when the meeting in question came forward, not only did Jim Provenza do everything that he said he would do, he went above and beyond that.

There came a point when then-Superintendent David Murphy seemed to be hedging, dragging his feet, and attempting to water down the new language. In response, Jim Provenza pressed him, and forcefully got him to put the language into the new discipline code that would have actual teeth and be unequivocal.

It was watching Jim Provenza operate at that meeting that earned my respect.

Last summer, the county Board of Supervisors and the city of Davis nearly came to blows over proposed development on Davis' City edge. Over 100 Davis residents packed a mid-July meeting. Jim Provenza was there as well, criticizing the plans to build along the I-80 corridor, renaming the proposed "innovation corridor" the "congestion corridor."

While that meeting turned heated, Jim Provenza actually has a pretty good record of turning such relations around. The city of Davis and the School District had very tense relations for a number of years.

As we discussed earlier this year, the King High and Grande problems in part resulted from lack of trust and lack of cooperation. At King High, the city and district disputed over what to do with three large trees. Ultimately, the district accidentally (or so they claim) severed the root structure. Moreover, the district was surprised to learn of a storm drain in the middle of the King High site, something that Bill Emlen politely remarked at the time would have been evident had the district consulted with the city planners. Finally, the footprint of the school encroached on city property, something else that would have been noted had there been some sort of dialogue between the two bodies.

Grande was much the same situation. The district embarked upon a highly secretive sale of the site that involved a land swap and an under-valued sale price due to misplaced concerns about the city imposing the Naylor Act and taking the land for below market value. Jim Provenza and a new board led the way to stopping that sale and exploring other options. Since then the city and district have worked extensively to help subdivide the land and sell it as fully entitled property. They also worked with the neighbors to ensure that their concerns were dealt with. As a result, the district will make more money on the sale and they will do so knowing that they do not have to worry about the city imposing the Naylor Act on them.

What we have seen since 2006 is unprecedented cooperation between the city and the school district, to their mutual benefit. It is this type of relationship and background that the city and county need. In many ways, it will be very possible given the dynamics of the current board of supervisors.

When the Davis Enterprise surprisingly endorsed John Ferrera over Jim Provenza one of the thing they cited was that Ferrera

"pledged to help repair interagency relationships, believing Davis and the county can both be better neighbors, and he promises to lead all parties in working together toward well-understood, collective goals."

It is an interesting point because John Ferrera had no track record, but Jim Provenza had actually succeeded in doing that with the city and school district.

He also helped the school district get on firmer ground fiscally. He led the way in helping to get rid of Tahir Ahad whose risky strategies and poor management, not to mention his blatant conflicts of interest, put the district in grave jeopardy. Meanwhile Former Superintendent David Murphy allowed much of this to happen under his watch, not only failing to intercede in the district's better interest, but he continued to support both Tahir Ahad and his policies. To this day, he calls Ahad the finest CBO he has worked with.

With Ahad and Murphy gone, the district with the help of Jim Provenza and others was able to recoup the lost funding for Montgomery. They then embarked upon hiring a new superintendent, who they found in James Hammond--a young and energetic leader for the school district.

Provenza's legacy on the board did produce some notable enemies. Marty West, who now works for Ahad, has been a harsh critic of Provenza, writing a scathing letter that circulated in part of the community. The former Superintendent David Murphy was reportedly walking Precincts for John Ferrera.

This was unfortunate. John Ferrera had little to do with the school issues and yet his campaign was dragged into some of it. At least part of this has to fall on Mr. Ferrera's shoulders, he was made aware of this baggage some time ago, and yet continued to allow himself to be surrounded with people whose agenda was less to help Ferrera than to hurt Jim Provenza.

While I did not formally endorse Jim Provenza, nor do I live in his district, I think his policies are a better fit for the fourth district and I also think the board of supervisors as a whole will benefit from his expertise.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Who is Cathy Kennedy--the Would Be 4th District County Supervisor?

On Saturday at the Davis Farmer's Market I met Cathy Kennedy for the first time. She is a very nice lady with an infectious personality. Bit by bit, I have been able to kind of piece together who this individual is who is running for the Yolo County Board of Supervisors against both Former School Board Member Jim Provenza and State Senator Denise Ducheney Chief of Staff John Ferrera.

On her ballot statement she writes,

"As Supervisor, I’ll bring fresh ideas and a new perspective to the same old problems that continue to plague county government. I’ll tackle these challenges head-on, with a unique blend of passion and grit that only comes with real-life experience — not politics as usual."

When asked why she is running, she prides herself on not being a politician and hopes to bring fresh ideas. Although, others have told me that she admits she does not know a tremendous amount about county government, I have to say she is a pretty quick study on it based on our conversation.

She is a former teen mother who now cares for three teenage children of one of her relatives.

Cathy Kennedy officially declares herself as a Decline to State. However, as recently as a month ago according to voter history records she was a registered Republican.

She starts out with some interesting endorsements. First, Yolo County Supervisor Matt Rexroad.

Second, she has recently received the endorsement of the Davis Police Officer's Association. This one struck me as interesting. Asking her about it, she told me she had developed a good relationship with them over the years. She felt like the police performed a good and honorable service. Still I think most people would probably say that as well, so it would be interesting to hear from the DPOA as to why they endorsed a political newcomer who is running what is likely an uphill battle against two better known and more established candidates.

Third she is endorsed by Former State Senator Jim Nielsen:

“Cathy Kennedy is one of the most visionary, articulate and enthusiastic candidates for Yolo county supervisor in memory. I am confident she will be a leader that will truly represent the citizens, the best interests of Yolo County and one who will bring certainty and stability to county government.”

A Google search of Kennedy does not show much activity although there was an interesting mention on the Davis City Council minutes where she appeared in 2003 to oppose the inclusion of a black ribbon in addition to a yellow ribbon. That is an interesting note, because an examination of her list of endorsers shows a number of people who I recognize as conservative military families including Cynthia Schulze, James and Dorothy Pearson (Dorothy is a police officer in Davis), Bob and Sylvia Glynn, James and Ramona Hechtl, of the names I know for sure.

Cathy Kennedy's full list of nominators include: Roy Lester, Shannah Starr, Deborah Folb, Alexa Eisenman, Janet Crooks, Cameron Black, Marc Wigley, Nancy Wigley, Katherine Ayers, Penny Ayers, Cynthia Schulze, James Pearson, Dorothy Pearson, Gena Finver, William Paciulla, Jennifer Herzog, Matt Soga, Bob Glynn, Sylvia Marchi-Glynn, Ron Lautzenheiser, Alexis Kennedy , Robert Davidson, Aaron Difuntorum, Robin Anderson, Iris Cochran, Janna Cannon, Jewel Grubbs, Reed Youmans, Kathy Barrientes, Abel Barrientes, Margo Jameson, Ramona Hechtl, James Hechtl, Kathryn Mandelaris, Derek Mandelaris, John Chiles, Kellie Kajanka, Jill Judd, Stephan Judd and Marilyn Needham.

On the issues, I did not get to talk to her that long but one key issue I did ask about was county imposed-peripheral growth and the pass-through agreement. Cathy Kennedy told me that she was against county imposed-residential growth on the borders of Davis. She felt it was unfair for the county to develop there because it would force the city of Davis to supply costly services. However, she was more amenable to developing business on the periphery of Davis and other cities as a means by which to supply the county which much needed revenue to pay for the vast amount of county services.

She also felt having to raise children from a substance abusing mother, she was in a better position to understand the need for these kind of services than her opponents. And to be able more effectively run county services.

The emergence of Cathy Kennedy as an individual with strong support from this segment of the population further complicates the race for the 4th Supervisorial District. As an individual who appeals to a more conservative base, she is likely to be able to take away a sizable vote in this contest. Moreover, as the only woman running with a last name of Kennedy, she probably is able to garner some more liberal votes as well.

On paper, she does not figure to stand much chance against two better known candidates, each of whom have been campaigning for almost a year. However, there is a strong probability that she will force this race into November. When she first announced that appeared the likely outcome, now I would say it is all but certain. While there are some scenarios where she could finish second in June, I still think the eventual run off would most likely be Jim Provenza against John Ferrera. However, if she can garner the vast majority of Republican votes in the 4th Supervisorial District and peel away some Democratic votes, she could finish second. I see very little chance she could go on to win. The most likely scenario is still that she plays spoiler and pushes this to November. It is a heavily Democratic District, and while you can argue it is a non-partisan race, it rarely really is.

It will be interesting to see if she becomes well-financed, because that will play a big factor in her chances for finishing second. My overall impression of her is that she is a very nice person and she will learn a lot from running in this race. She adds a different perspective and a different dynamic that will make this race more interesting.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Political Roundup: 4th Supervisorial Race Gets a Third Candidate

4th Supervisorial Race Gets a Third Candidate

Yesterday’s Vanguard excerpted from the two announced candidates for the County Board of Superivisor’s Fourth District—a seat that is open due to Supervisor Mariko Yamada’s run for the 8th Assembly Seat. John Ferrera who is chief of Staff to Denise Ducheney and Former School School Board Member Jim Provenza are squaring off over what is expected to be a tight race.

The news is that The Vanguard got late word there will be a third candidate entering, Cathy Kennedy. We do not know a lot about her at this point in time. But we got word that she has officially filed as of yesterday.

This is very bad news for both Jim Provenza and John Ferrera--even if Cathy Kennedy gets only a marginal vote share and as the only woman in the race, her vote share may not be that marginal.

But someone reminded me of the 1998 Public Guardian Race. There were two main contenders Cass Sylvia who eventually won and Lynn Christensen. Then there was a third candidate and that third candidate (Larry Hatch) took only 5.7 percent of the vote. Cass Sylvia ended up winning 51.7 to 42.5. Had she gotten under 50 percent it would have gone to a November runoff.

In a close race, even a marginal third candidate can throw it to a November runoff, which means more money and more energy. Just ask Matt Rexroad and Frank Siefferman what a bear it is to run two races and how expensive it becomes.

This looks like a very close battle for the 4th Supervisorial seat and if that is the case, the third candidate almost certainly throws it to November. Stay tuned but this looks like bads news for the main two contenders.

Lois Wolk Files Officially For Fifth Senate Race

Speaking of heated battle in November, the Senate Race is headed there as there is no primary challenge for Assemblywoman Lois Wolk.

The Vanguard received a press release yesterday:

"Assemblywoman Lois Wolk yesterday filed papers to become an official candidate for the State Senate in the California’s 5th district, currently held by termed-out Senator Mike Machado.

“Taking care of people has always been at the core of my public service. In the Senate I can do more to protect seniors, get more resources into our classrooms, improve transportation and reduce traffic congestion,” Wolk commented. The Assemblywoman also noted that she looks forward to “continuing my work on water issues, flood protection and Delta preservation.”

“Lois has been a great partner on issues of concern to San Joaquin County and I am proud to support her,” said Senator Machado who endorsed her candidacy.

Congressman Dennis Cardoza whose district overlaps the 5th announced his support and said, “Assemblywoman Lois Wolk has displayed a passion for public service since she first ran for Davis City Council and I strongly endorse her campaign for the California State Senate. She has built a record of accomplishment in the State Assembly by taking on some of the most difficult issues affecting California.”

And, in offering her support, former Assemblywoman Barbara Matthews focused on Lois’ ability to bring people together on behalf of the environment. “Lois has done excellent work to preserve natural areas, wetlands and the Delta. She’s a true environmental champion and we need her in the Senate.”

This will be one of the big races we will be covering in November along with the 4th Congressional race, which will pit Charlie Brown against one of several challengers--more on that race in the coming days. It must be campaign time.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

County Supervisor's Race Heats Up

So far it has been a quiet campaign season for the open Fourth Supervisorial District. But that figures to change for the seat vacated by Incumbent Mariko Yamada's run for State Assembly.

Last Friday, John Ferrera filed his papers to make his run official and yesterday Jim Provenza filed his.

John Ferrera, who did not send the Vanguard a press release, was quoted in the Davis Enterprise.

"I know it's a little corny, but we're taking a leap — leaping into leadership on leap year day... I like the symbolism... I'm excited to take responsibility for making tough decisions and working to leave things better than we found them.

...

I've committed myself to public service for 22 years, working on the issues we face here in Yolo County — creating a long-term vision for preserving and enhancing our environment, supporting agriculture and the economy and providing for those who need our help.

Now, I am committing myself to four years of service to the residents of the 4th District and Yolo County as a whole. It seems appropriate to do it on a day that happens once every four years."

Meanwhile Former Davis School Board Member Jim Provenza in a release sent to the Vanguard wrote among other things:

“Local experience will play an important role when evaluating candidates for your next county supervisor... I am proud to have served for the past four years as a Davis school board member and most recently as President of the Davis Joint Unified School District. My wife and I have been actively involved in the Davis community for over 15 years. Our children attended and graduated from the Davis schools. I am a lawyer with a degree from UC Davis School of Law.

...

As president of the board, Provenza was instrumental in winning back 4.5 million dollars owed by the state for Montgomery School. He fought for improvements in special education and was responsible for priorities that deliver excellence in education for all students while improving the performance and test scores of students who struggle to succeed.

...

As county supervisor, I will continue to be a strong advocate for the people of Davis. My priorities will be to preserve open space and farmland, promote accessible government and improve services for seniors, children, the disabled, and crime victims. I will also build a sound county budget by pursuing all available state and federal funds."

Campaign rhetoric is one thing. But the most telling aspect of any campaign is probably who signs one's nomination papers. It indicates depth of support, how many public figures have signed, and of course from the stand point of the voters--what side of the local political debate the office seeker stands on.

Based on both endorsers and signees, these two candidates appear on paper to be rather evenly matched. Personally, who signs the paper is a bit more important for this race than who endorsed, because the nomination paper signers have to live in the person's district.

John Ferrera's papers were signed by among others:

City Councilmember Stephen Souza, Former City Councilmember Ted Puntillo (I believe), School Board member Richard Harris, Former School Board Members Marty West and Keltie Jones, Former County Supervisor Betsy Marchard (who represented this district previously). The most important signature is from wife, Anna Ferrera. Others include former Superintendent Floyd Fenocchio, Kevin Wolf, Chuck Cunningham, Michael Levy, Kathy Tyzzer, Velma Lagerstrom, Bob Segar, Robin Kulakow, Bill Julian, Curt Augustine, Colleen Beamish, Jim Becket, Janet Berry, Rex Berry, Alan Brownstein, Wendy Chason, Bob Chason, Randy Chinn, Jonathan Clay, Colleen Connolly, Ann Costello, Starr Walton Hurley, Estell Jones, John Jones, Pat King, Elisa Levy, Sandy Pellegrini, Brian Sway, Janellyn and Terry Whittier, Katy Zane and Richard Zeiger.

Jim Provenza's papers were signed by among other other:

Current Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada, City Council Member Lamar Heystek, School Board members Sheila Allen and Gina Daleiden, Former School Board member B.J. Kline, Former State Superintendent of School Delaine Eastin, Eli Fairclough who represents Mike Thomspon. The most important signature is from wife, Donna Provenza. Others include Robin Souza, Rick Gonzales, Jr., Sheryl Patterson, Holly Bishop, Pam Nieberg, Rose Calabria, Debra Hartnett, Harry Ohlendorf, Rev. Tim Malone, Bob Hagedorn, Heidy Kellison, Renee Liston, Nancy Peterson, Peter Kellison, Davis Democratic Club President Arun Sen, Eleanor Lake, Phillip Reedy, Carl Vandagriff, Edward Peter Hartnett, Lois Bixson, Cory Gold, Edith Gold, Ann Marty, Gayle Henreid, Cameron Black, Jennifer Hagedorn, Jane Reedy, Barbara Ohlendorf, Tom Adams, and Junko Kanaya-Adams.

There will be a number of interesting subtexts in this battle to determine who wins the Fourth Supervisorial District. Things ought to get interesting from here on out. One thing appears clear--the lines in this race appear fairly well-defined. The Vanguard will be closely covering this race that will have important implications as the General Plan process at the County Level continues to move forward and the debate over Davis' borders and peripheral development heats up once again.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Interview with Fourth District Supervisor Candidate John Ferrera

The Vanguard recently sat down with John Ferrera, Chief of Staff to State Senator Denise Ducheny, who has recently formally announced his bid for the Fourth Supervisorial District to replace current Supervisor Mariko Yamada who is running for the 8th Assembly District. A few weeks ago, we spoke with his opponent, School Board President Jim Provenza.

Why are you running for County Supervisor?

Anna and I grew up in families that were really active in our communities when we were growing up. We learned that participating in things is the best way to get what you need and the best way to help other people. I think we’ve been that way ourselves. We’ve both worked in public service. It’s just been a natural progression for me wanting to take a little more responsibility. I feel like I’m at a place in my career and our family is at a place in our lives where we can give back a little more directly and this seems like the best opportunity to do that.

Can you describe your experience both in government and in the community and explain why you believe those experiences prepare you to serve on the county board of supervisors?

I have like I said worked in public service for 20 years, on the hill for working for a couple of different members, mostly working on transportation and economy policy, infrastructure policy and land use and environmental policy. I think all of those things are really important for how we set up the county and our community for the next 20 years. Here in California I’ve worked for two governors and two members of the legislature. Right now I’m working for the Senate Budget chair and I think all of those experiences from a professional level have helped me to bring people together and bring divergent interests together to help solve problems. Collaboration is a huge theme in what I want to do and working between levels of government and between government and the private sector and advocacy groups is a really important tool we used to be successful in government to provide what everybody needs.

In the community, we’ve been very active in each and every campaign and election since I got here. I walked precincts with the kids and with Anna every single time, against the recall, against the special election, I was actually the spokesperson on the televised debate for the Democratic Club for the recall debate. And then we’re active in the school, Pioneer Elementary is where our kids have gone. Jake, my son, is now in Harper Middle School and we’re really active in the schools. Coached in little league.

And then on the county level, Supervisor Rosenberg appointed me to the library advisory board so that we could work on getting services in South Davis to supplement the main branch. Supervisor Yamada reappointed me and Measure P is a great opportunity for South Davis actually to finally get some resources to get services to South Davis, so I’m proud of that.

What accomplishment in your adult life do you feel most proud of?

When I started with the Davis administration, we had a booming year because of the dot.com economy and we had some extra money in the state budget to spend. I was the leading person at the Business, Transportation, and Housing committee for Governor Davis and put together a $15 billion transportation plan. The reason why I’m so proud of that is not just the huge amount of dollars that we spent on infrastructure that we badly need in this state, but we did a great deal of work on alternative transportation, on transit, I worked with now Supervisor, but then Assemblywoman Thomson to make sure that Sacramento RT and Yolobus got its fair share of funding for clean air buses. So we changed out a lot of the fleet to cleaner burning buses which is great for the environment and also helped her on her work on the bike lanes in and around Davis, 113 being one and the pedestrian overpass for Raley Field. So having a direct impact on people when you have your job is really gratifying and I’m really proud of that work.

People have consistently asked me about you, my response is that you seem like a very nice person, you have a nice wife, but I know very little about what you’d do if elected. So right now tell us a bit about what you believe, philosophically—i.e. what are your core values? What is the primary role of government and who do you believe is government’s primary responsibility to serve?

I think government’s primary responsibility is to facilitate what people need, what human beings need, whether that’s our small business or our farmers, to help them succeed so that they can have money in the county coffers or the city coffers, to provide for people who can’t provide for themselves. Whether it’s health and human services which is 50 percent of the budget or whether it’s law enforcement and public safety, if we don’t help as a government to facilitate what people do for a living to be prosperous in ways that are environmentally friendly and serve the public, then we won’t have the resources to provide for the people who most need it.

What are your primary goals on the board of supervisors if elected?

One of my primary goals… I would say I have two primary goals and I have a lot of goals. The overreaching goal I have is a long-term vision and a creative vision for the future. We in government tend to look at the problem we face today or the opportunity that we face today and don’t do a good enough job sometimes of looking out on how our decisions are made today are impacting the future. That is a broad theme of mine. Another goal I have is to work as collaboratively as I possibly can, and I’ve really developed an ability to do that over 20 years in public service, to bring people together and facilitate conversations and collaboration that will help us solve our problems, and reach the opportunities that we have.

Specifically a big goal of mine is to help Yolo County deal with being in the middle of two huge growth areas-the Bay Area grows east and Sacramento is booming, even with the slowed economy and when the economy picks back up again, we're going to face that pressure again. We need to work very very closely with SACOG who has the responsibility of distributing our housing share for instance. And make sure that Yolo County is only getting what its fair share is, so that we're not forced to overgrow. It's very very important that we not overgrow because we've been given a greater responsibility than is fair from SACOG.

And another is being able to grow the economy to help take advantage of our strengths here in Yolo, so that we can provide for those people who need our help. Elder Care is a huge issue for me. We are working with Anna's mother who has an illness that challenges her advancing age. There are services that are available that aren't even public services that we can do a better job of facilitating people being aware of and taking advantage of. Yolo Hospice is a terrific example of that. A non-profit organization, wonderful people, who do a good job of helping others and we need to make sure that our citizens are aware of that.

What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the county?

As I said we are in the middle of two huge growth areas. I think growth is a huge issue and I think resources and revenue are a huge issue. Solano County announced plans to grow from 430,000 to 860,000 people. That’s not for Yolo County. And if we don’t look into the future, and take a broad and creative and long term look, to protecting our open space and agricultural land, and working with the cities in the county, not just from a county perspective, but with all of our partners, the tribe, the university, then solutions will be chosen for us instead of our being proactive and creative and making sure that we protect what we love about Yolo.

How would you have approached the general plan discussion differently from how it was approached by the current board (if at all)?

I think the current board has done a pretty good job. I respect the people on the board, I’ve worked with them. As you know, Supervisor Thomson has endorsed me and I find that really gratifying because I know that she’ll still be there and that means she still wants to work with me as the General Plan process spills over to 2009, which is what the staff has said. And implementation will be a huge issue. I think that even the board has recognized that there needed to be some better communication with the county’s partners on growth around the periphery. Davis, the Dunnigan Hills Agricultural District issue, sometimes people react to bad proposals, but sometimes people react badly to a lack of information and I think that a lot of the issues that have been raised in an emotional way before the board during the general plan process have to do with the fact that as the board recognized they needed to do a better job of communicating with their partners.

Who ought to determine whether the City of Davis needs to grow and develop on its periphery?

That is a joint decision between the city and the board of supervisors. I am a firm believer in collaboration, I am a believer of inter-governmental relations. That’s why I’ll keep going back to our relationships with the tribe, with the university and with our partners in the cities. I love Davis. I wanted to raise my children here. There are people who are born and raised here, people who have moved here, move here for what Davis is and that’s a great town, an intellectual town, with great resources for people and for children and we need to make those decisions collaboratively and I wouldn’t ever be making those decision unilaterally.

Do you support the current pass-through agreement? If so, how would you seek to protect it?

I think that the current pass-through agreement is a great example of how partners can work together as a voluntary agreement and it was an important step at a point in our history, twenty years ago, it’s a great tool to memorialize what our agreements are, that we’re respecting each other’s roles and respecting how Davis and the county are going to interact with each other. That being said, the pass-through agreement is twenty years old. It’s only received minor updates and discussions and I think that the changing relationship between the state and the counties and the state and the cities, with the growth of the university, with other things that have happened in our world that have changed over 20 years, that we really need to take a hard look and make sure that it’s doing what it need to do for the county and for the city.

In the article on you in the Daily Democrat, you regretted that the stem cell facility proposal was dismissed out of hand. You suggested that you did not support the housing, but the plan called for the use of revenue generated from housing to fund the stem cell research facility. Can you explain your thoughts on this and how such a facility could be supported without the housing revenue?

My perspective on that David is simply that as a supervisor, I want to do everything that I can to learn about the opportunities that we might have. One of our strengths, I talked about economy here and Yolo County, one of our strengths in Yolo County is our intellectual capacity, the university is a great participant in that. Doing things that push the envelope on stem cell and health research and alternative fuels will take advantage of huge strengths that we have in Yolo County. I think that we need to have as much conversation as we possibly can with somebody who comes with a proposal like the stem cell research center and find out whether or not it can work for the county. If the only way that it can work for the county is to build 7500 homes in a floodplain, then eventually we would have to say no. But not having the conversation about how otherwise it might be provided for, where revenue might come from, or if there’s another package that could be put together that mutually benefited the cities and the county and the proponents of the project, then why not have the conversation and try to find out the most we can about how we can take advantage of that opportunity and not just dismiss it as some people in our community did.

Do you believe that development is a way to address some of the county revenue problems?

Development as an economic development tool is just a short-term fix. The reason for seeking to provide affordable and workforce housing is not an economic bump. The reason to provide housing is twofold. One, we have a state legal responsibility to provide for the housing that’s distributed through the RHNA process. The other is that we have a human responsibility to provide for a very very basic need for our people. And if we don’t make Yolo a livable place and try our best to make it an affordable place for our workforce to live, it’s going to be all the harder to protect our environment because people that work for us or with us here are going to be traveling greater distances and for our economy because workers will seek to work closer to where they live and if they can’t live in Yolo County that’s going to make it awfully difficult for us to grow our economy.

As far as the budget and the economy is concerned, like I said, we have tremendous strengths here in Yolo County. Agricultural economy is enormous, it’s great, and the fourth district is the second largest agricultural district in the county. We have crops that we grow that are sometimes unique in their quality like the Clarksburg appellation of grapes. But we don’t have the infrastructure or the processing facilities or the storage facilities and so there are hundreds of tons of grapes sitting on the vine that may never be used in Clarksburg because we don’t have storage or processing facilities. The same is true of other crops. Tomato processing has gone out of the county, there are other crops that we could take advantage of and have the value here in Yolo County and that increases the revenue to the county and allows us to provide the services that we need to provide for the people who need us. Alternative energy is another huge area, again we have an agricultural economy and technology is catching up and providing us with ways to turn agricultural waste to energy in really an environmentally friendly way. If we can help with the research on that and with doing a better job with biomass and landfill gas to take advantage of those energy opportunities, then that is a great way to go for Yolo County to generate resources as well.

How much should Yolo County grow in the next 20 years (annual rate)?

We have 190,000 people, it’s impossible to put a percentage, I think, on how much we’re going to grow. I think that there is no end of proposals for growth, some of them are bad and some of them are good. We need to take a really progressive standpoint and do our research and ask the really important questions about whether we are providing enough affordable housing as part of development proposals, whether we are providing alternative means of transportation so that we’re just not throwing people onto the roads, whether we have jobs-housing balance so that we don’t create more transportation and more gridlock in the county. I can’t tell you what a percentage is and I really don’t think it would be responsible for me to try to guess over 20 years x-percent. But I do want you to know that I am not somebody who thinks that grow for growth’s sake is beneficial to the county or will help us protect what we have in Yolo that we love.

You are endorsed by Supervisor Helen Thomson, in what ways would you support her policies and in what ways would you be different from her?

Supervisor Thomson has an incredible record of public service here in Davis and in Yolo County and actually in the 8th Assembly District. I think that she is a fantastic leader. I think she is the kind of leader that I would like to be. Somebody who seeks to bring people together to resolve any differences we might have, work cooperatively, to finding solutions to the challenges that we have. I think that she, like me, is disappointed in the breakdown of the dialogue in our county and in our nation, I think that we’ve lost some of our ability to communicate productively and to respect each other’s point of view and learn from each other and gain the most information that we can while we’re making our decisions. I can’t think of a specific example of something that she has done or a decision that she has made that I would have opposed, but as a leader, I think that she is a great example of someone that I would like to emulate.

As County Supervisor, who do you believe you represent first, your constituents or the county as a whole?

That’s an interesting question because it seems to come from a perspective, and I’m not accusing you of this, but the question itself seems to come from the perspective that those interests are mutually exclusive or in conflict. I think people are tired of conflict and people are tired of the lack of respect of other people’s views. I am very active in the community as is Anna, we are everywhere around, we talk to the people who would be my constituents all the time and our community is what I would represent on the board and that’s very very important to me, but I think that the goals of Davis and the Davis community and El Macero, WiIllowbank, and the unincorporated areas and all of that ag land in the Yolo basin are consistent with what we need to do in the county as well.

How can you help the city and county work together rather than against each other on future policy decisions?

Again David, I’ve spent 20 years in public service, working in places that fortunately or unfortunately have put me in between various interests, sometimes interests in tremendous conflict, and I think I’ve developed a professional expertise for bringing those people together, facilitating communications, finding solutions, and moving forward. I would hope and I would expect that I will have a good relationship with my colleagues on the city council, and I do, I have two endorsements from the city council, one from Ruth and one from Stephen Souza and my first goal in any relationship is always to work collaboratively and that’s what I want to bring to the board. I want to be reaching out and treating my colleagues on the city level, in the tribe, in the university, in other cities, and on the board as colleagues and work collaboratively with them.

How can the county work better with the University?

The university is part of a constitutional entity. The county and the city have little authority over many of the decisions that are made at the university. This is why it’s absolutely critical that we work well with the University of California. God knows we’re not going to agree with the decisions, all of the decisions that they’ve made or are going to make, but you work much better when you’re collaborating with somebody and you have a productive relationship and open communication then you do when you are at odds. And it’s very very important that the city and the county work closely with the university so that we have that kind of relationship so that the university feels bought into consulting us on decisions they make that affect the county and the city, and that’s absolutely critical.

What do you think about moving the BOS meetings to evenings?

I am willing to consider something like that, especially if there are issues that have a lot of community interest. My concern would be there is in a county where we don’t have a lot of resources and where we want to make sure that we guard them jealously, what the impact would be on the county budget opening at night and having county employees on call that really should be serving our constituents during the daytime. So I would have to balance evening meetings against those concerns.

Do you plan to use blog and other technology during your campaign or as a Supervisor?

I’ll have a website up soon. I’m not a blogger. Actually, and I don’t want to seem like I’m pandering to you, David, but you’re doing a fine job at the Vanguard, I think, objective and thoughtful research and reporting on issues that people may not have the time to research on their own, God knows, it’s hard enough for the average people to keep up with the city council and the board meetings, let alone all of the commissions and committees that they have and all of the input that they get on that level. I would commit myself to learning as much as I can, to being fully briefed on what we’re facing on the board, and leave the blogging to folks like you.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Supervisor Candidate Jim Provenza Talks About the Issues Facing Yolo County and the City of Davis

I sat down last night with School Board President Jim Provenza who is a candidate for the Fourth District Yolo County Board of Supervisors for a Vanguard exclusive interview about the issues facing Yolo County and the City of Davis. This is the first in a series of interviews with candidates and public and elected officials over the course of the next few weeks.

Why are you running for County Supervisor?

I’m running for County Supervisor because I feel it is essential that we protect Yolo County’s agricultural heritage, preserve farmland and assure the rights of cities to control their own destiny in terms of development is protected. I believe it is also important to bring economic development to Yolo County in a way that is consistent with protecting our environment and protecting our agricultural heritage. I’m also very concerned with the support that the county has been able to provide for mental health, services for senior citizens, as well as law enforcement services. I believe that Yolo County needs to do a much better job of bringing state funds and federal funds into our communities to support social services and law enforcement.

What accomplishment on the school board do you feel most proud of?

I think I’m most proud about changing the emphasis from one that focused solely on the high academic achievers to one that focuses on improving achievement for all students, emphasizing addressing the achievement gap and problems with English learners a high priority or one of the highest priorities in the district while maintaining the quality of educational services for all students.

What is your biggest regret about your time on the school board?

The biggest regret is that I’m going to have to go off the board in December. I love working for the schools and have wonderful colleagues on the board and wish that I could be in both jobs but unfortunately that’s not possible. So I will be moving on, if the voters decide that’s the best thing, to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors.

What are the biggest challenges facing the county?

The biggest challenges facing the county are really threefold. First, there are fairly significant budget problems in that Yolo County is being pressed on several sides. For one thing it gets a lower share of state funds back to the county than most other counties in the state. At the same time, the Williamson Act is being threatened. That is the act that is the act that provides for special compensation to farmers who continue to farm and that act is now being threatened at the federal level. The other is the pressure from other counties for sprawl type development. If you look at Placer County they just approved a huge, a huge development on agricultural land. Many of the counties surrounding us are growing so fast that it creates pressure here. We have some of the best agricultural land in the nation and there is going to be a tremendous amount of pressure on our county to become like someone else. It will be my job to ensure that Yolo County remains unique and that it develops in a smart and economically viable way, but that we preserve the land and we make sure that whatever we do that we keep in mind protecting the environment for our citizens.

What are your primary goals on the board of supervisors if elected?

One of my primary goals would be to do the same thing that I did on the school board which is to promote transparency in government. To show respect for the voters and the citizens by making sure that every decision sees the light of day. That when I make a decision that it is not the result of a backroom conversation. That is not the result of a backroom deal. That if there is a meeting, that the meeting be in public. That we consider the Brown Act to be the minimum standard not the maximum. In other words, that the Brown Act that prohibits secret meetings, that’s just the minimum standard, we should hold everything possible in public unless there is a very good reason not to do so. That’s the standard that we’ve had on the school board. If you have to have a personnel matter or making an offer in litigation of course that’s private. But aside from those very narrow exceptions everything should see the light of day and be done in public. Even though it is harder as a public official to do it, in the long run it gains a greater respect of the people and then when decisions are made, the public will supports those decisions.

How would you have approached the general plan discussion differently from how it was approached by the current board (if at all)?

I think really what needs to happen is that there to be much more communication. There were several public meetings, the public was pulled into the process, and this isn’t a direct criticism, but I think there is not nearly enough communication between the city and the county staff in terms of the direction of the general plan. The city had no idea what the county was planning. The city staff had no idea what the county was planning. And the city and county officials in many ways were talking past each other rather than to each other. If we are to have rational development in the city and the county, we need to have a rational discussion between public officials who share the same constituents. County supervisors, city councilmembers, school board members, we all share the same constituents. It’s essential that we work together, that we work in the open, and that we work in the common benefit for everybody. If we plan in that way, it’s a lot more work, but in the end we will have plan that will have the support of both the city and the county and the citizens who live in those areas.

Who ought to determine whether the City of Davis needs to grow and develop on its periphery?

The periphery, what is known as Davis’ area of influence, is set forth in the pass-through agreement between the city and the county. It is very clear in that agreement and I support the principal that each city should control its own growth.

You already answered the first part of the next question, which was “Do you support the current pass-through agreement?” The next part is, if so, how would seek to protect it?

I think every agreement, and that agreement has been around for a long long time, needs to be reexamined every so often. To the extent that changes need to be made. To the extent that the city has issues or the county has issues, we should always be able to sit down and negotiate and discussion how we should meet our mutual concerns. The county gets over $2 million in revenue each year from the pass-through agreement, if the revenue needs to change, if the revenue to be updated, that’s something that can always be talked about. If there’s ways to coordinate development ideas or planning ideas through the city and the county that’s always something that can be discussed. In fact, the agreement really has several options for the city and the county to talk to each other about development within a city’s sphere of influence. But ultimately the bottom line is that the county cannot run roughshod over Davis, over Woodland, over West Sacramento. Ultimately each city must be in control over its own sphere of influence. And working in a cooperative way, I don’t think that there needs to be conflict between the city and the county because I think if they can work in a cooperative way, everybody’s interest can be met in a win-win relationship.

What is the best way to address county revenue problems?

There several ways to address the county revenue problems. As I’ve stated, I think we need to go to the state and insist upon a more equitable sharing of revenues not just vis-à-vis Yolo County, although that’s important, but I think we need to get together with other counties and work toward a relationship with the state which recognizes the fact that the counties are the funders of last resort for mental health, for welfare services, for medical services for the elderly. And neither the state nor the federal government provides enough money to pay for these things. And over the years the amount of tax revenues that stays in the county has gone down. Every time the state has a budget crisis they figure out a way to take more money from the counties. I think ultimately all counties face the same fiscal concerns from the largest to the smallest. Ours may be more severe than others but I think it is a very similar concern. I think we need to work very hard with other counties to change that relationship.

Locally I think we need to look at how we are spending the money, make sure that we are using economies of scale, make sure that we are where we can obtain services at a better economic cost, for example using community non-profit agencies, we should do so. And then thirdly we do need to look at economic development. We need to look at programs that could be jobs and taxes into the community, and I don’t think that’s inconsistent with controlling sprawl or controlling growth, it’s just making sure that decisions that we do make are consistent with protecting the environment and protecting the land. I think we need to look at not just one thing, you can’t just look at bringing business, you can’t just look at bringing in housing, you can’t just look at changing the relationship in terms of taxes, you have to look at a multifaceted approach to budget issues. You also have to be willing to make cuts when you see inefficiencies. You can’t just keep spending, you have to look at if we are not getting our bang for the buck in a certain area, you have to be willing to address that and consider whether or not that money could be spent differently.

How do you differ from your potential opponents on the key issues facing Yolo County and the City of Davis?

I haven’t heard any positions from any potential opponents at this point so it would be difficult to answer that. However, I’ll say this, I’ve been an elected official in this county. I’ve represented this entire district on the school board for the last four years. I’ve been actively involved in the Davis community for the last ten years. I have a record not only on school issues but on city issues and many other issues of local concern. I would hope that any potential opponent would be able to point to similar accomplishments and similar activity in the community.

As County Supervisor, who do you think you represent first, your constituents or the county as a whole?

Constituents always come first. Your constituents sent you to the county to represent them. You work with four other individuals who are representing their constituents on the board of supervisors. So that is not an either/ or, it is not a conflict. When you are sitting on the board of supervisors, you are representing your constituents and working with four other people who represent theirs for the good of the entire county. In addition to that, and I think that this has to be true of member of the board of supervisors, you have a responsibility to make sure that those people with the least influence, the least wealth, and the least ability to influence government are taken care of. That is one thing that I have consistently done on the school board. If there is someone without a voice, whether it be a low income person, whether it be a farm worker, whether it be a victim of domestic violence, in addition to representing my constituents, whether that person is a constituent or not, it will be my responsibility to see that that person’s voice is heard.

You were endorsed by Supervisor Yamada, in what ways would continue her policies and in what ways would you be different from her?

Well we’re two different people. And when she endorsed me, interestingly, she didn’t ask any of my positions on issues, she was aware of my work on the school board, and the type of elected representative I am and said based on what she sees in me, I would be the right person to replace her. I’d very much like to continue her advocacy on behalf of elderly people and disabled people and people without a voice in government. She has been a stalwart in terms of advocating for people who really need the help of government in order to survive. I would very much continue that effort.

I think that we agree more than we disagree on development and environmental issues. I happened to disagree on the general plan issue of including the study areas. But I continue to support her for State Assembly and she continues to support me for County Supervisor, although there will be areas that we differ.

How do you get along with the Davis City Council (as individual members)?

I get along fine with the city council. One of the things that has changed I think from my first two years on the board to my second two years, has been that we have worked very closely with the city council on issues of mutual interest. For example the Grande Property. We are working with the city on an agreement that will allow us to sell the property in a way that the property can be developed consistently with the desires of the neighborhood as well as the desires of the school district. What we found is that when we look at our mutual interests, we get along very well. In the past there have been turf battles between the school district and the city council, turf battles at the staff level, turf battles at the elected official level. We have none of that. When we have an issue of mutual concern, even when it’s a member of the council that I might disagree with on other issues, I’m always willing to sit down and work things out as are members of the council. We have two former school board members on the council who are very concerned about the school district. I see myself continuing a similar relationship with the city as a member of the board of supervisors.

How can you help the city and county work together rather than against each other on future policy decisions?

I think the discussion has to start early on whatever we are working on. There is a tendency, and I think it’s a human tendency, to just work on things and assume that everyone knows what you are doing. One of things that I found out in being an elected official is that usually people have no idea what you’re doing until the very end when it comes up for public vote unless you seek them out and make them part of the public process. If the county is going to do something that affects the city or the city is going to do something that affects the county, we need to start discussions early on from day one. A lot of disputes aren’t really disputes over policy, they are disputes that arise because people haven’t communicated early and haven’t communicated throughout the process.

How can the county work better with the University?

Again it’s really about communication. Letting people know what you need to do early, bringing them in early. For example if we are going to be talking about stem cell research, and our county wants a facility, we need to bring the chancellor in at a very early date and let the chancellor know what we’re thinking and find out what the chancellor is thinking. And try to work together to make those things happen. And it’s not that hard to do. Where you run into problems is when one person goes in a certain direction for a long period of time before telling the other person what’s happening. That tends to have the opposite result that we’re seeking. I think that by having not only regular meetings but by having regular substantive meetings in detail and making clear to everybody involved—for example if you are going to be doing a project—you not only have the university and the county involved if you are the city, but if there’s neighbors, you bring the neighbors in early, hear what they have to say. If you don’t bring them in early, you’re going to bring them in mad about a year later even if they otherwise might have gone along. You need to bring people along each step. If you come in at the very end and say here’s what I want to do, whether it’s a development or a project, people who otherwise might have been supporters are more likely to be suspicious or opposed.

How much should Yolo County grow in the next 20 years (annual rate)?

I haven’t looked at a growth rate for the county as a whole; I think the one percent Davis growth rate is good for Davis. Other communities may want to grow faster than that and you’d have to look at community by community. But the basic principle is that when you do grow, you don’t take prime agricultural land away because once it’s lost, you never ever get it back. You can correct almost any other mistake, but when you take farmland away, and that’s a state and national problem. Congressman Thompson just wrote an editorial in the Sacramento Bee the other day. He’s talking about how Yolo County is one of the areas that has been really successful at preserving farmland where other areas have not. So that principle must underlie every other decision we make including the speed of growth.

What do you think about moving the BOS meetings to evenings?

It might be difficult as a practical matter because of the size of the staff. I could see occasionally doing it, but on a regular basis because of the number of staff people who have to come to meetings and to be available to the board, and the length of meetings it might be difficult on a regular basis.

If elected, will you continue to work for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office?

It’s possible that I would work part-time. One thing that I would have to do is make sure that there are no conflicts of interest and get a legal opinion on that. I expect that I would work full-time as a county supervisor and also have part-time work for either the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office or private law practice.

How does your experience with the DA’s office help you with regards to law enforcement and public safety?

I’ve been involved in public safety really the last 18 years. 14 years a member of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in the legislative office in Sacramento and four years as counsel to Public Safety and the committee in the Assembly and the Judiciary Committee in the Senate where I handled criminal law legislation. Fundamentally what I learned is that in order to have effective law enforcement you have to have the funding to make that possible. For example, a few years back, the governor was proposing to eliminate money from witness protection, though that was a good way to save money in the state budget. That was money that went from the state to the local communities. That would have been a disaster, I fought tooth and nail against that and got the funding restored. That’s the money that goes to protect witnesses who are threatened basically with execution by gang members when they’ve been a witness on a homicide case. What it taught me is that the state often has no idea what the local government is doing. And no idea how important some of these programs are. The half cent sales tax for law enforcement in the early 90s prevented cuts of up to one-third in the budget of Sheriff and Police. One of the things that would have happened if we had made those cuts, is that we would have lost the ability to control crime because every study shows the more police and Sheriffs you have in particularly crime areas, the less crime gets committed. Instead you get a situation where a lot of crime gets committed and you have to incarcerate people, but you are not doing much prevention. I was able to intercede with the Democratic leadership in the legislature in the early 90s to establish that half cent sales tax that really saved local law enforcement in California. I was able to do that because of my contacts with the Democratic Party and the Democratic leadership at a time when other law enforcement representatives really weren’t being listened to.

I think I could continue that type of advocacy—now as a supervisor you are in a little different role—but understanding the state budget and understanding how law enforcement works I would be in a perfect position to argue at the statewide level to argue for local law enforcement including for our own county.

Do you plan to use blog and other technology during your campaign or as a Supervisor?

I’m working on it.

What do you think of the People’s Vanguard of Davis?

I think it’s a great way to get information out to the community. There are many mediums that people follow between the paper and TV and radio. But one of the nice things about a blog is that it allows for information to come out very quickly, in greater detail sometimes than newspapers can provide, and provides a way for people to give immediate feedback. Sometimes there’s views on the blog that I don’t agree with, but I always know that there will be someone expressing the opposite view about ten minutes after the article appears. So I think it’s a very interesting form of communication. I’ve looked at other blogs as well, such as one in Woodland that we all know about, I have enjoyed following that as well.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting