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

Update: Jim Provenza's Election Finalized

I received word late yesterday, that the remaining ballots had been counted by the Yolo County Election's Office and that Jim Provenza's vote total actually went up slightly and remained over 50%. Mr. Provenza informed me that his challenger John Ferrera had graciously conceded to him.

On Wednesday night, I had a conversation with Jim Provenza on KDRT 101.5 FM. We talked about a wide range of subjects including his election and the surprising Assembly Campaign.

If you would like to listen to that broadcast click here and select the June 4 show.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

County Supervisor Hopefuls Meet in League of Women Voters' Candidates Forum

Just a few days before the June 3, 2008 election and for the first time, the three county supervisor candidates met for a candidates forum moderated by Jean Canary of the Davis League of Women Voters. This is the only chance fourth district residents would get a chance to see the candidates square off. There was a decent crowd of mostly the usual suspects in attendance, but the event was televised on Cable Channel 15 throughout the community, a telecast that should be replayed a few times for those who missed it.

Each candidate got four minutes to make an opening statement and answer the three prepared questions.

John Ferrera in his opening statement talked about his commitment to preserving Davis as the special place that it is. He then went on to talk about both his community experience on the library board for six years and his professional experience in Sacramento most recently as Chief of Staff to State Senator Denise Ducheney. He is proud of his endorsements from County Supervisors Helen Thomson and Mike McGowan, Sheriff Ed Prieto, former County Supervisor Betsy Marchand, DA Jeff Reisig, and Davis Councilmember Stephen Souza and Ruth Asmundson. He said that he felt we need leadership in this county, and that is not about waiting to see which way the wind is blowing. He has worked on issues that he will face as a member of the Board of Supervisors in the next four years. He looks to turn problems into opportunities in order to meet challenges.

Jim Provenza talked about how his career was based on the notion that he would go out and help the poor and disenfranchised rather than trying to make a lot of money. As a result, early in his career, he represented victims of housing and employment discrimination. He related a story about how they cut the budget for his job and he went to work for free continuing to help people until the funding was restored. He looked toward maximum jurisprudence--for all wrongs there is a remedy and he has sought through his career to fix the wrongs. He is proud of the four years he served on the school board. He talked about working hard to lift up and represent low achieving students, particularly Hispanic students, and that his work helped to increase scores. This he was particularly proud of. He cited his record as an assistant to the Los Angeles District Attorney's office and his enforcement of environmental laws for other counties that could not afford to fight their own cases. He wants to take the same values to the Board of Supervisors in Yolo County. His vision is to preserve Yolo County as an agricultural county, to build a strong agricultural economy and to be a model for other counties.

Cathy Kennedy talked about herself as being a business woman from the private sector, and having a very different set of attributes from the men to her right. She is a high school drop out from a dysfunctional home. In this election, instead of being ashamed of that background, she has put this to the forefront. She said it takes grit and perseverance to rise up from poverty. She learned that she have to give in order to feel better. She had a teen daughter at 18, and she never married. In 2005, she took an estranged relative's child. She called that child who was 14 and he wanted to know about his other two siblings. When she told him that she could not take on three kids, he offered up his youngest sibling. She eventually took the three kids. From that perspective she saw the county from the side of someone who received services and she said that we are not getting what we think we are getting, the social services program is not what we think it is. These things need to change.

The first question related to the pass-through agreement and whether it was sufficient to protect the county.

Jim Provenza said the pass-through agreement is not simply about the shifting of revenue. Rather it is an agreement through the city and county, to preserve agricultural land. Davis' planning area includes the best farmland in the area. The pass-through agreement gives the county redevelopment funds in exchange for them to not develop in the Davis planning area. During the entire period of the pass-through the amount is roughly $84 million which is not an insignificant total. It preserves our way of life in Yolo County and encourages growth within cities. It discourages sprawl development. We are losing thousands of acres of farmland each year in California--up to a half million acres. Once paved over, that farmland is forever lost. Agriculture is the strength of our economy. We need to fight to keep the pass-through agreement in effect. We can always look to update it, the last update was in 2001. We need to work together between the city and county to make sure we protect agriculture. In fact, he said there are provisions within the agreement to work together and consult when issues arise. City and county need to work together to support development and growth that fits the needs of both jurisdictions while preserving the pass-through agreement.

Cathy Kennedy said that while she agrees with much of what Jim Provenza said, she does not think the pass-through agreement is sufficient. She does not know if the county needs are being served at present by the agreement. While she respects city rights, she said that the county also needs to serve its constituents and act in terms of what the county needs are. And the county is in a budget crisis at present and needs to look toward generating revenue.

John Ferrera cited the pass-through as a tremendous example of cooperation between the city and county. It was first entered into by Betsy Marchand and Dave Rosenberg as a way to preserve services from the county while at the same time allowing Davis a decision on growth on its periphery. Originally this was based on an economic study on the cost to the county for providing services and a method for relieving the pressure on the county to seek housing for revenue. Cooperation is an important thing about this relationship. We need to insure revenue from the pass-through agreement is sufficient to keep the city of Davis from losing services. He thinks this protection is important, but we need a cooperative relationship that includes dialogue, consultation, and cooperation.

Next the candidates were asked about the current budget crisis and which programs were a priority to protect.

Cathy Kennedy said that we need to protect the alcohol, drug, and mental health department. She said this service is essential and needs to be improved. She also cited law enforcement and the Sheriff's Department as a high priority. During a bad economy, we are likely to suffer from more crime. She then shifted focus to longer term issues and said that we need to bring in more business to produce business revenue for the county and create more jobs.

John Ferrera argued that there was not enough money at any level of government. We need to protect direct services to people particularly seniors, children, mentally ill, and people who serve them directly. We need to build a strong reserve during good times to avoid these problems. We must do business differently in this county. Some departments such as public works and economic development have too little resources. He wants to look at ways to combine these two to improve both. He wants to preserve agricultural land by building jobs and revenue. He wants to add value to the agricultural products. We need to do a better job of supporting farmers here so that they do not have to truck their product out of the county and use our roads and consume gas and oil. Finally we need to invest in green technology as a means for both revenue and jobs.

Jim Provenza said that the short term is the most difficult and that we need to protect elderly, low income, and public safety. He said it is important to look at how we got to this point. He cited problems with poor management in some of the county departments like the housing authority and mental health. He said one of the reasons Yolo County is having a problem is that the state balances its budget on the backs of counties, and small counties get hit the hardest. He advocates for a fairer state budget which can enhance revenue to the counties when necessary. He talked about the fact that the state often will make cuts during tough times but not raise it again when revenues increase. He would like to see Yolo County join the rural caucus as a means to work with other rural counties toward harvesting revenues and funds. We also need to look toward longer term development--he emphasizes economic development and particularly environmentally sustainable agriculture. We need to look at which crops will do well in the future. We need to work with the university and regionally. The water supply is a big concern particularly since global climate change may produce less water. Finally we need to get a fair share of state and local revenues.

The third and final prepared question dealt with protecting the environment, meeting housing needs, and urban development in small and rural areas.

John Ferrera talked about the fact that the county has a tradition of growing near urban centers in order to preserve agricultural land. We do have the legal responsibility to take some growth, to do it efficiently in a way that respects farmland and the environment. He has worked with agencies that have done excellent long-term planning. He wants to produce revenue that will enable the preservation of habitat, smart and infill growth around transportation hubs. He wants to protect the environment and to insure that we also protect prime agricultural land. Small communities need to preserve their nature.

Jim Provenza talked about how not to manage growth and discussed communities where the cities have merged together and one cannot tell where one ends and another begins without a sign. He wants to consider growth around cities. He wants growth as infill and in incorporated areas to avoid sprawl. The creation of new communities such as Dunnigan, which is a small area that may become a future city. We need to look at where these developments occur and plan for housing, jobs, and transportation simultaneously so that the people who live there do not automatically have to commute 50 miles to Sacramento in order to go to work. He wants to avoid creating urban islands that are isolated and require transportation and commuting. He has a bias toward allowing the cities to be the ones that develop housing and engage in urban planning. He wants the county to work in cooperation and to be a partner. It must have mutual benefits. He believes that there should be an emphasis on incorporated areas because many unincorporated areas have higher costs in terms of services and are not as well maintained.

Cathy Kennedy believes we should allow unincorporated and small areas to grow. They deserve to have some development so that they might become future incorporated cities of their own. She cautioned about creating hubs around the county. She however is in favor of protecting agricultural land as these places are not replaceable. She said we do not need to sell out to developers. She would be fine with building 10,000 more homes and then stopping.

Then there were a series of short questions and a wrap. I just briefly summarize some key points.

They were asked about raising local property taxes and sales taxes. Cathy Kennedy said she was not in favor of raising taxes in a downturned economy, she would look to shore up inefficiencies first. Jim Provenza cited the difficulty of raising property taxes due to Proposition 13. He said it was a last option but cannot take it off the table. We need to spend money wisely, ensure that we do not waste it, and take care of the people in our community whether they are kids, poor, and the elderly. John Ferrera said that when you do budgets you have to make hard decisions. You need to make sure the county works efficiently. Some programs are good when have lots of funding, but in tough times you have to pick some things like schools over other programs.

In their wrap up John Ferrera said that he is running because he believes in providing for people. He believes we can protect agricultural land and still do all of the other things we want. We can lead the world rather than have the world forced on us. We need to do more long term planning and be proactive. We need to provide for ourselves and not rely on other governments. We should not have to rely on Bay Area growth and other growth to drive our policies.

Jim Provenza talked about not having to make false choices, that we do not have to choose between environmental protection, agriculture and growth. Talked about the improvement with relations with the city when he was on the school board and wants to see the same for the county and the city.

Cathy Kennedy talks about integrity, honor, follow through and dealing even-handedly with everyone as her qualities. She said it is important that she has garnered the support of law enforcement. She cites the DPOA, the Yolo County Deputy Sheriffs, and PORAC as key supporters. Nothing is important unless people are safe. No one wants to be here unless they are safe.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

A look at the 4th Supervisorial Race

The Sacramento Bee this morning ran their graphic again, this time for the Yolo County Supervisor races. The three questions they asked did not produce the kind of neat disparity that the Davis City Council election questions did earlier this month.

All three candidates want to protect agricultural land while looking to find businesses that support a farm economy. There is a bit more diversity of opinions on the issue of city-county relations. John Ferrera wants to form a "cooperative long-term plan." Cathy Kennedy wants to form a "commission of representatives" from all cities. Jim Provenza looks first at the right of cities to plan their own growth and development. Finally the issue of water rights comes up. Here Cathy Kennedy has the strongest statement where she wants to enforce the ordinance that forbids exporting ground water out of the county instead of the current proposal for well regulation. Whereas both Ferrera and Provenza talk in more general terms about the need for conservation.

Click here to read the graphic from the Sacramento Bee

Recall last fall the Vanguard was able to interview both Ferrera and Provenza. At that time, Cathy Kennedy was not in the race.

Click here to read Ferrera's interview

Click here to read Provenza's interview

This Thursday, the League of Women Voters is putting on the first candidate's forum, it takes place at 7 PM at the Davis Community Chambers.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Woodland Daily Democrat Endorses Kennedy or Provenza for Yolo County Supervisor

The Woodland Daily Democrat came out with their endorsements for County Supervisor yesterday. Not surprisingly they endorsed incumbent Supervisor Duane Chamberlain for a second term. Duane Chamberlain is someone we rarely talk about, but there is no stronger defender of farmers and agricultural land on the board than Mr. Chamberlain. He is a man of integrity whether you agree with him on a current issue or you disagree with him. Chamberlain is running against the largely unknown Mel Smith. This does not figure to be much of a race.

The more surprising endorsement was in the 4th Supervisorial race where the seat is open and the race is wide open. There are three candidates vying for that seat--Jim Provenza, Cathy Kennedy, and John Ferrera.

Jim Provenza has locked down the endorsement of the Sacramento Bee. John Ferrera has the endorsement of the Davis Enterprise. And Cathy Kennedy who is largely unknown has secured some impressive endorsements including Duane Chamberlain. She also has the Davis Police Officer's Association, District Attorney Jeff Reisig, and the Yolo County Sheriff's Deputy Association.

In this race the Woodland Daily Democrat surprisingly chose both Jim Provenza and Cathy Kennedy.

"In this Davis district, the choices are difficult. Both Provenza and Kennedy are the more appealing candidates in our opinion. Provenza has experience on the Davis School Board, a difficult job in and of itself.

Kennedy, however, is a single mother who grew up in poverty, worked her way through school, and has become successful in the business world. In many ways it would be good to have such a representative from Davis.

We think either Provenza or Kennedy would be a good fit on the Board of Supervisors. Both are experienced in their own right."

I am not certain I like their rationale for endorsing Ms. Kennedy especially the part where they said, "In many ways it would be good to have such a representative from Davis" referring either to her business background or the fact that she is a former single mother. I will say however, that she is much more impressive than I expected her to be. And while at this point she still rates as a long shot, I hope that she decides to stay involved in government and the community because she does offer a very different perspective from others in this race.

The Daily Democrat endorsement is probably not going to have a huge impact on this race. The most interesting aspect of it was the fact that they endorsed either Provenza or Kennedy in the race. That leaves John Ferrera. I am not sure if I am more surprised that John Ferrera is the odd person out or that they endorsed Jim Provenza.

This is one where it might be interesting to hear. After all, the conservative Woodland paper not choosing the chief of staff to the chairman of the state Senate budget committee might not be all that shocking except for the fact that Provenza's job is not all that different in the eyes of the Democrat--a lobbyist for the Los Angeles district attorney. Then again, Provenza has experience on the Davis School Board and a strong record there which may overshadow his profession in their eyes.

This is one where it might be curious to know what the thinking was.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Sacramento Bee Endorses Jim Provenza for Yolo County Supervisor

Two years ago, there was not much difference between the endorsements of the Davis Enterprise and the endorsements of the Sacramento Bee. In the key races that impacted Davis, both endorsed Ruth Asmundson and Mike Levy for Davis City Council and Jeff Reisig for District Attorney. So when the Davis Enterprise earlier endorsed the pro-growth slate for City Council and John Ferrera for County Supervisor, we figured it was only a matter of time before the Sacramento Bee followed suit.

In reality, while the Sacramento Bee remains on the side of those candidates on the issue of growth, to their credit, they have looked beyond the growth issue when making endorsements. Hence Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald and Sue Greenwald were able to gain the endorsement for city council and now Jim Provenza has been endorsed for County Supervisor.

The Bee writes:

"The 4th District includes a big chunk of the city of Davis, the heart of the slow-growth movement in the county. When Yolo supervisors even dared to discuss the possibility of permitting a housing development attached to a much-coveted stem cell research facility proposed on county land at the edge of Davis, activists threatened a recall campaign. It's just one indication of how careful the 4th District supervisor must be in approaching this issue.

Yolo supervisors have rightly fought to prevent development on the county's agricultural lands and steer growth into cities. All the candidates promise to protect the county's agricultural resources. All agree that some growth is needed to ensure the county does not stagnate economically.

But as important as growth issues are, Yolo's most pressing issue in the county's precarious finances. A few years ago, county employees were forced to take furloughs. With the county facing a $5.9 million projected deficit this year, employees are being asked to take voluntary leaves."

So why do they pick in the end Jim Provenza? "As a member of the Davis School Board Jim Provenza has the deeper, more expansive experience with local government."

The Bee actually likes all three candidates, but in a close decision decided to endorse Jim Provenza.

As the Vanguard wrote in response to the Enterprises endorsement:

John Ferrera is a good person, on statewide issues and national and international issues, there is probably very little if anything on which we disagree. However, as this race has gone on, it has become clear to me that he is in the other camp on local land use issues which remain the key hallmark of the County Supervisor race.

Recently, both candidates were asked about land use issues. Jim Provenza was publicly against Covell Village. John Ferrera has recently acknowledged he was for Covell Village, although according to my sources he has also stated his opposition to it.

Second, Jim Provenza strongly supports Measure J. John Ferrera took more of the Don Saylor position, the public likes it, but he was less succinct about his view.

Third, when the county threatened to develop on Davis' periphery, Jim Provenza came to the meeting in July and argued strongly against such development. He referred to the proposed developments along I-80 as the congestion corridor. John Ferrera as far as I can tell was not at that meeting and certainly did not speak at that meeting.

While both candidates promise to handle city-county relations better than they were handled in 2007, only Jim Provenza has flat out supported the pass-through agreement.

When I interview John Ferrera last fall here was his response to a question of would he support the current pass-through agreement:

"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."

While Cathy Kennedy clearly needs to gain some experience with local government, she could become a very formidable candidate down the line. She has a level of sincerity and infectious enthusiasm that serve her well and tend to win people over.

This race is likely going to November with Jim Provenza and John Ferrera squaring off. Cathy Kennedy however has impressed a number of people along the way and could become a player in deciding who wins in November.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Bee has now endorsed the three slow growth candidates in Davis with the best prospects for winning. It was "stunning" (for lack of a better word) to see the Davis Enterprise overlook the experience of people like Jim Provenza when they made their endorsement. The Sacramento Bee fortunately has not replicated that mistake.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Christopher Cabaldon and Jim Provenza Endorsed by the Sierra Club

This week Assembly Candidate Christopher Cabaldon and Yolo County Supervisor Candidate Jim Provenza earned the endorsement of the Sierra Club, one of the seminal environmental organizations in the country.

The organization cited Cabaldon's role in the development of the SACOG Blueprint Project. He has also sat on the Central Valley Water Board and consistently has taken strong positions to protect water quality.

Christopher Cabaldon wrote on his website:

"Our district is unique in how much we value our special natural heritage, open spaces, farmland, rolling hills, creeks, and the Delta, and how committed we are to environmental protection and sustainability, as well as clean air and water.

That's why I'm so proud to report that the Sierra Club has now endorsed my candidacy."

He went on to say:

"The Sierra Club only grants its endorsement in a handful of legislative races, and only after a grassroots vote of confidence by the progressive environmental activists working at the local level inside the district."

Delta Protection is one of the most important environmental issues in this district, along with transportation emissions, and protection of agricultural land.

"They know how important it is that we win our fight to rescue the Delta, tackle the causes and impacts of climate change (including my national battle against the Bush Administration on vehicle emission standards), stop pollution of our air and water, put an end to sprawl and the disappearance of our rural legacy, and make trains, transit, biking, and walking real alternatives to more time in our cars. And they know I will continue to be an environmental champion in the Assembly."

For the Yolo County Supervisors race, the Sierra Club acknowledged that both candidates have demonstrated a strong environmental commitment.

The deciding issue revolved around a proposed initiative for Yolo County to protect agricultural land and to continue to limit development to existing cities.

Jim Provenza was a strong advocate against the proposed developments on the periphery of the city of Davis. He opposed Covell Village. And strongly supports Measure J. He vowed to support an initiative at the county level similar to Measure J, according to the Sierra Club.

It is nice to see that land use policies were used as the basis for a Sierra Club endorsement. Too often the protection of agricultural land and defense against peripheral development are overlooked. But from an environmental standpoint, once you pave over farmland, it is lost. I was talking to someone the other day who was raised in what was known as the Santa Clara Valley before it became known as the Silicon Valley. Some may remember that those were some of the best soils in the state and they are now permanently lost by urbanization and sprawl development.

It is a bit disappointing that the Sierra Club apparently will not be endorsing in the Davis City Council race.


Sydney Vergis endorses herself

Could not resist adding this here. This one jumped out at me last night. There is an organization known as the Yolo County Young Democrats. It is a small group that has little to no background. Sometime at the end of last year or the beginning of this year, Sydney Vergis became the President or Director, not sure which, of this organization. There is no web presence so it is difficult to ascertain just how many members there are of this group, but I've heard there are six including the chair.

In the Enterprise last night, Sydney Vergis announced that she had obtained the endorsement of the group that she heads up. I should hope so. Next thing you know, Cecilia will be sending out a press release saying that the Vanguard has endorsed her. Maybe people have not heard, I am married to Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald. Oh and despite what the Davis Enterprise said last year, I am not married to Sue Greenwald.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Commentary: Clean Sweep of Support for Developer Candidates by the Enterprise

It would be appalling if it were not so predictable. On Sunday, the Davis Enterprise endorsed the pro-development slate for the Davis City Council. Yesterday, in perhaps an even more shocking move, the Davis Enterprise has endorsed John Ferrera over Jim Provenza for the 4th Supervisorial District.

They admit that Ferrara "is a relative newcomer to Davis." In fact, he's a newcomer to Davis politics. Indeed, they have selected Ferrera over a much more experienced public servant who recently finished a four year stint on the Davis School Board. But there is nary a word on that in the editorial--in fact, Jim Provenza is not mentioned at all in the editorial.

The Enterprise writes:

"Budget challenges will be paramount as California - and, by extension, its 58 counties - learns to live within its means. Ferrera's experience as chief of staff to state Sen. Denise Ducheny, chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, gives him keen insight into the challenges Yolo County faces as it tightens its belt to the tune of $12 million."

As school board member Jim Provenza has had to deal with school budgets for the last four years. I certainly do not see anything in their records that would give John Ferrera insight over Jim Provenza.

"He's 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."

Because Jim Provenza has not? During Jim Provenza's tenure on the Davis City council the relationship between the city of Davis and the school district improved dramatically. Following the obvious problems with the city following the debacle of King High and the ill-fated Grande deal, Jim Provenza led the way to make changes to district policies.

He brought in a new Superintendent and a new Budget Director. He and his colleagues would work with the city on the planning of both the Grande Property and Nugget Fields to insure cooperation rather than the secretive nature in which King High was planned and demolished without city input. This led to an overlap of the structure onto city property, the surprise discovery of a storm drain, and the destruction of cherished community trees.

As school board member, Jim Provenza became alarmed at the conflict of interests surrounding the operations of CBO Tahir Ahad. In the first two years on the board, he was routinely out-voted 4-1 or 3-2 regarding such issues. However, in the final two years, he helped to draft the language of the conflict of interest code, so that such conflicts would never arise again.

Unfortunately, the Davis Enterprise does not do justice to Jim Provenza's record as a school board member.

But Davis Enterprise columnist Bob Dunning does.

Back in March of 2007 Dunning writes:

"RUN, JIM , RUN … while it's still early and many names are being tossed about as possible candidates, if Jim Provenza decides to run for county supervisor, as expected, the rest of those considering a shot at working in Woodland would be best advised to take a pass … no point in forming an exploratory committee, dipping your big toe in the water or launching a trial balloon … all exercises in futility …

Forget the politics, forget the potential issues, forget what your mama taught you about seizing the day, if Provenza runs, he's a lock … no one else is even close … like Helen Thomson, one of the most revered political figures in this town's history, Provenza has never been a candidate for City Council, which means his reputation remains untarnished … put simply, his solid-citizen, agenda-less work on the Davis school board makes him hard — if not impossible — to beat …"

A few days ago, Dunning reiterate that confidence:

"Provenza is the runaway favorite in a campaign that has attracted little or no media attention to this point … I rest my case … since Jim leads the field in name ID, he probably hopes this remains a low-profile race right to the finish … no matter your politics, Jim 's a hard guy not to like …"

Apparently Mr. Dunning ought to talk to his bosses a bit more.

John Ferrera is a good person, on statewide issues and national and international issues, there is probably very little if anything on which we disagree. However, as this race has gone on, it has become clear to me that he is in the other camp on local land use issues which remain the key hallmark of the County Supervisor race.

Recently, both candidates were asked about land use issues. Jim Provenza was publicly against Covell Village. John Ferrera has recently acknowledged he was for Covell Village, although according to my sources he has also stated his opposition to it.

Second, Jim Provenza strongly supports Measure J. John Ferrera took more of the Don Saylor position, the public likes it, but he was less succinct about his view.

Third, when the county threatened to develop on Davis' periphery, Jim Provenza came to the meeting in July and argued strongly against such development. He referred to the proposed developments along I-80 as the congestion corridor. John Ferrera as far as I can tell was not at that meeting and certainly did not speak at that meeting.

While both candidates promise to handle city-county relations better than they were handled in 2007, only Jim Provenza has flat out supported the pass-through agreement.

When I interview John Ferrera last fall here was his response to a question of would he support the current pass-through agreement:

"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."

Once again, the Davis Enterprise does the public little service here. They give an endorsement to an individual without much discussion if any of the issues involved in the race. There has been almost no coverage of the race itself. Bob Dunning is absolutely correct that this is an extremely low-profile race. There have been no candidate forums, little newspaper coverage, and almost no way for the public to learn about who these people are.

In fact, the public knows even less about the third candidate for this race, Cathy Kennedy.

However, the Davis Enterprise has at least been consistent on the local races in each case supporting the pro-development candidate, often over more experienced slow-growth candidates.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Where is the race for County Supervisor Going?

A year ago, Jim Provenza was President of the Davis School Board, John Ferrera was a largely unknown chief of Staff for State Senator Denise Ducheney, and Cathy Kennedy, if it is possible was even less known. At that point it looked like Jim Provenza was odds on favorite to win the seat.

But something has happened since then. And actually it largely has happened since January 1, 2008.

Mr. Ferrera has opened up an $18,000 financial lead over his closest rival--$73,000 to $55,000.

The difference has occurred largely since January 1 where Ferrera has added $34,000 to just $12,500 by Mr. Provenza.

Given the relatively large advantage that Jim Provenza still enjoys in name recognition it is not the most alarming factor that his opponent has out raised him. Although the magnitude of the recent money has to be concerning.

The most alarming factor is probably that a lot of the large contributions to John Ferrera have come from organized labor--a group that one would have suspected that Jim Provenza would have held his own. In fact there is no apparent reason why labor should be picking John Ferrera over Jim Provenza--both men have strong ties to Sacramento, although Ferrera is Chief of Staff to the budget chair. Provenza has been regarded by many to be a strong advocate for labor, but some suspect the purse strings attached to the Chair of the Budget Committee maybe influencing the movement towards Ferrera. Moreover, many of those endorsing are building trades who are supporting the candidate widely seen as more in favor of development.

John Ferrera also received a contribution from a Texas oil company--Conoco which would seem like an odd contribution for a County Supervisor campaign.

Meanwhile, Jim Provenza received the unanimous endorsement from the Davis Democratic Club.

At this point, Cathy Kennedy appears to be little more than a spoiler who figures to push this race into November.

That said, she has amassed several interesting endorsements. We have previously reported on the Davis Police Officers Association and Supervisor Matt Rexroad. Now add to those, Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, the Yolo County Sheriff's Officers Association, Supervisor Duane Chamberlain, and Woodland City Councilman Jeff Monroe, who is himself a Sheriff's Deputy.

Of those, I am perhaps a bit surprised to see Duane Chamberlain on there, Chamberlain has been one of the most consistent voices for farmland protection in the county. And while Ms. Kennedy has vowed to uphold the pass-through agreement on residential development, she has suggested she would support county imposed-peripheral development for commercial ventures.

The Vanguard had Jim Provenza on its radio show on KDRT last week. <Listen to it here>. We are working to get John Ferrera and Cathy Kennedy on as well.

At this point, it seems that this race is destined for a November runoff, the question is who will have the advantage at that point.

---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

Davis Democrats United Around the Concept of Change

Last night the Davis Democratic Club came together for their annual Valentine's Day potluck. While they may not agree on who should be the Presidential nominee from the party as the close battle between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama moves on past Super Tuesday, what is clear is that the leaders of the local party are united around the concept of change from the current leadership under George W. Bush.

Assemblywoman Los Wolk told the crowd that she was

"incredibly excited that we were going to take back the White House."

She continued,

"Throughout the state, the number of Democrats that came out and voted exceeded the number of Republicans by three-to-one. There are just not enough voting machines, it is just unbelievable what is going on."

Assemblywoman Wolk told the crowd that in March she would formally kick her race to succeed Senator Mike Machado for the 5th Senate District of California. It will be a tough battle against right wing Republican Greg Aghazarian. She will be spending much of her time campaigning in San Joaquin County.

Davis Mayor Sue Greenwald acknowledged that the Presidential Primaries have been so exciting that it's been hard to concentrate on her own reelection campaign.

Supervisor Mariko Yamada, candidate for the 8th Assembly District joked,

"Today is the only day when red is my favorite color, the rest of the year blue is my favorite color."

She pointed out that there were 79 days until the June 3, 2008 election in which she would faced West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon.

The West Sacramento Mayor Cabaldon remarked,

"Watching over the last couple of months this election, I heard Bill Clinton say just the other day 'looking at the faces of young people,' well looking at the faces of people of all ages over the last several months about our Democratic Primary, for the last couple of years over our ability to actually do something about big problems like global warming, we're starting to believe in change and possibility again and young people are certainly the best example of that, but all of us are doing that. We can't blow this one. It's too easy to take that for granted. In November if we don't have that same sense of hope and possibility and energy and optimism, we will lose and we know what another four or eight years of a Republican in the White House will mean."

Jim Provenza, former Davis School Board President and current candidate for the 4th Supervisorial District remarked:

"I'm very excited about what's going on in the Presidential race as everyone else is, but one of the things that really moves me is that both candidates for President have really called on all of us to be part of change. It's not just electing someone, having them go to office, and then go back to what we do in our daily lives and expect everything to get better. Instead they are both talking about a movement that will involve all of us as agents of change on a national, state, and local level and that's really what essential because we elect our leaders to take us in that direction but it is all of us that will accomplish these things."

Mr. Provenza then hearkened back to John F. Kennedy's call to arms about public service asking the nation to sacrifice in order to accomplish collective goals.

Jim Provenza's opponent, John Ferrera who works in the State Senate for Senator Denise Ducheney.

"We share a lot of the same values. My wife Anna and I for instance grew up in families that were very active in their communities."

He remarked that Democrats in the legislature are united for the first time in many years.

"Something that is so different this year is that for the first time in many years... Assembly Democrats and Senate Democrats are actually on the same page, working together because we know, that beyond the competition between house, beyond the competition between Assemblymembers vying for the next Senate seat or Senate members vying for the next constitutional office what is absolutely critical this year is that Democrats stick together. Otherwise we will have a Governor's budget where we trick poor people into having to file for their health care often enough that the fall out of eligibility that just isn't how we save money. We will raise college fees again. We will cut off aid to children of working parents because they come up a percent short of a federal work requirement... That's not the kind of California that we want."

In the coming weeks and months many of the people in the room last night will be working against each other. Davis is largely a Democratic town. All of the candidates for non-partisan offices such as the County Supervisor and City Council will be Democrats. However on this night at least people saw beyond those battles to the big picture. The fight at the national level, the fight at the state level, and the fight at the local level for the kinds of Democratic, big D values that unite us in common purpose.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Local Leaders Join in Solidarity of Sodexho Workers

The Sodexho Workers' continuing fight for fair wages, affordable health care, and better working conditions has generating considerable community support.

Last month, the Yolo County Democratic Central Committee supported a resolution that called on the chancellor to grant the Sodexho workers university employee status.

At that time, many of the Democratic leaders from Yolo County including both Assembly candidates Mariko Yamada and Christopher Cabaldon, both Supervisor Candidates Jim Provenza and John Ferraro, all stepped forward with strong support for the Sodexho workers.

Not included in the original article was a statement by Davis City Councilmember Lamar Heystek:

"Coming from a background of organized labor and having served as a shop steward, I have not only sympathized with Sodexho employees who seek to improve their working conditions and compensation, I have stood with them and will remain by their side. You see, Sodexho workers are not merely members of the university community – they are members of the greater Davis community. And as the University continues to deny Sodexho employees parity with their UC-employed counterparts, these workers continue to lack the economic security to live comfortably in Davis. It perpetuates the unfair notion that poorly compensated workers pose a “burden” on the community when they need health care and social services. And whose fault is that? Certainly not theirs."

Also West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon has appeared on the behalf of the Sodexho Workers at numerous public rallies including the one last Thursday.

The Vanguard videotaped the bulk of his comments from Thursday and placed it on you tube.

Please click on the video below to watch the Mayor's brief but eloquent comments on the Sodexho workers and the need for them to become university employees.



---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Election Night: Unity 2008

For one night at least, Davis Democrats were just Davis Democrats. Friend and foe. Adversary and ally alike shed their labels and lined up under the big tent. Democrats got together last night at Lamppost Pizza for the Yolo County Young Democrats Election Night Party.

For local Democrats, races are officially on. Proposition 93 was defeated at last count 53-46. That means that Lois Wolk, although she faces no primary challenge, will face the fight of her life when she takes on fellow Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian. Supervisor Mariko Yamada and West Sacramento Mayor Christopher both were at the party last night and will square off for the Democratic nomination for the 8th Assembly District. The winner will almost certainly be the next Assembly representative in the heavily Democratic District. Jim Provenza and John Ferrera will square off for the open 4th Supervisorial District currently held by Ms. Yamada.

The shocker is the national results however. Senator Hillary Clinton won the biggest prize of California, currently 52-42. But Barack Obama won more states, as of last count 13 with New Mexico still too close to call although Senator Obama leads narrowly. The popular vote is nearly evenly split. The delegate count far from decided, but most likely also evenly split. Most pundits had felt the best Senator Obama would do would be 7 to 9 states. So he outperformed expectations there. On the other hand, it seemed many felt that he could take California, but that was never a context.

That leaves amazingly enough the Democratic nomination completely up for grabs. Pundits argued that Senator Obama did not have to win the election outright last night, if he stayed close he would have the momentum and resources to win a prolonged battle. That will be put to a test now as the races move on past Super Tuesday no closer it seems to a winner.

The same cannot be said for the Republicans. Though hardcore conservatives railed against him, Senator John McCain won every single big prize last night, most of them winner-takes-all states. The biggest loser was former Governor Mitt Romney. And Governor Mike Huckabee won some Southern contests playing a spoiler roll for Gov. Romney. That nomination is all but sewn up for McCain, and we shall see if the party can unite behind him.

Meanwhile for Davis and Yolo County, it is game on. Just under four months until the election for the Democratic nominees for Senate and Assembly, and the non-partisan but heated battles for Supervisor and City Council.

For one night though, it seemed like everyone was on the same side.

---Doug Paul Davis reporting

Yolo County Democratic Central Committee Resolution Unanimously Supports UC Davis Food Service Workers

On Monday Night, the Yolo County Central Committee voted unanimously to pass a resolution in support of Sodexho Workers of UC Davis.

The resolution, drafted by Robbie Abelon, a staffer for the Christopher Cabaldon campaign, cites among other things:

"a large disparity in benefits and wages between direct university workers and contracted out workers"

Moreover it further acknowledges:

"there have been multiple complaints of disrespect, unfair treatment, and sexual harassment that workers feel have been ignored by the management."

The Yolo County Democratic Central Committee fully supports

"the working students' effort to become directly contracted university workers, receive equal pay, equal benefits, and to have the right to unionize with AFSCME Local 3299..."

The resolution will be delivered to and solicit support from all elected officials in Yolo County.

As importantly, five elected officials or candidates for office delivered strong and impassioned statements on behalf of the Sodexho Workers. These include West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon and Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada who are both running for the Democratic Nomination to the 8th Assembly District. Former Davis School Board Member Jim Provenza and John Ferrera who are candidates for the Fourth Supervisorial District. And Davis City Councilmember Lamar Heystek.

Each of these individuals have agreed to provide a statement to the Vanguard in support of the Sodexho Workers. [At the time this article ran, only two of these were received, however, as I get statements, I will post them up here].

Former Davis School Board Member Jim Provenza:

"The Sodexho workers should be entitled to the same pay and benefits as other employees who work at UC Davis. Converting Sodexho food service workers to UC Davis employees-- with full rights, pay and benefits-- is the right thing to do. Every other University of California campus has taken this important step. We urge UC Davis to do the same."

Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada:

"I have and will continue to support UCD contract Sodexho workers in their efforts to achieve full employment with the University. Low-wage earners who are also under- or uninsured frequently end-up in emergency rooms or at the County for assistance at a much higher overall systems cost. Joining in the recent unanimous vote sends a message of solidarity with the workers as well as a message of encouragement to UCD leadership to move towards doing the right thing. A resolution of this matter should also be viewed in the larger context of the need for a universal, single-payer healthcare system for all Californians."

John Ferrera, candidate for Yolo County Supervisor:

I have spoken in the past of my support of the University food service employees effort for reasonable compensation and working conditions and continue to support them. I believe that we need to protect these employees. Many of these people are students whose fees have been doubled by the University of California over the past five years. To say that these people who provide food to the University population in Davis should be the only food service workers in the UC system who are not afforded fairwage, benefit and job protections as others is simply wrong.

I am pleased that this week the Democratic Central Committee took a principled stand on this issue of fairness for UC Davis workers.

One of the points that Mayor Christopher Cabaldon made on Monday was that the City of West Sacramento outsources work. For instance, they contract out building permit approvals. He said they do that because there is a huge variance in the numbers year to year. Some years it might be a few hundred and others it might be several thousand. It makes no sense to hire and fire people because of this variance. However, that rationale does not exist with food service at the university. The demand for food does not widely vary year-to-year. The only rationale for outsourcing those contracts is cost savings to the university. Basically this is saving money at the expense of those employees who make the least money and are the most vulnerable to begin with.

Meanwhile yesterday a group of concerned citizens went to Sacramento to lobby four legislators on behalf of the Sodexho Workers. These legislators included Senator Mike Machado, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, Assemblyman Dave Jones, and Senator Darrell Steinberg.

They delivered a letter to those legislators which read:

"We support the UC Davis food service workers in their request to become employees of the university. Until UC Davis is a responsible member of our community and directly employs contracted out workers, we do not support UC Davis receiving our public funds.

We are pleased that UC Davis is recognizing the disparity that exists for contracted out food service workers on campus. However, UC Davis is the only remaining campus within the UC system that still outsources food services.

We have listened to personal stories of the lack of worker access to affordable health care and to their lack of retirement benefits. Despite recent improvements, workers and their families continue to suffer because of disrespectful treatment, reduced hours, no pension, no rights or protection on the job, no job security, and unequal wages."

In conclusion their asked the following:

"We ask our elected officials to help us end this policy of discrimination by withholding public funds until UC Davis is in parity with the rest of the UC System."

The letter was signed by nearly 70 individuals representing a broad cross section of groups in Davis. These groups include: St. James Catholic Church, Unitarian Universalist Church, Davis Community Church, Friends (Quakers), CA Christian Association, UCD Professors both active and retired, Davis Peace Coalition, STEAC (Short Term Emergency Aids), Dos Pinos Co-OP, ACLU, Right to the Life, Saint Vincent de Paul.

The lobbying effort focused on an education campaign that aimed at describing the situation with Sodexho specifically the wage and benefit inequality but also the treatment of workers. Most paramount were actual Sodexho Workers who described in stark detail, often in Spanish, their disparate and unacceptable treatment.

The most interesting aspect of the lobbying effort is that it was done not by hired professionals but by regular citizens. In fact, the people I spoke with, Guy Turner who leads Gospel Justice and his wife Akumi Turner, along with Katie Brown a member of that group, had never lobbied before. It was a learning experience for them. They got to see the legislative process in action.

They fear that the Chancellor is now locked into his position and are attacking to bring to bear both public pressure and legislative pressure in order to put the food service workers at UC Davis on par with their counterparts at the other UC Campuses across the state.

For many this is a source of grave concern and deep embarrassment that a community like Davis has allowed this kind of treatment of Sodexho Workers to persist.

---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