Candidate for
Supervisor; County of San Diego; Supervisorial District 5

I am a strong supporter of the two-term limit for County Supervisors.

I am a strong opponent of the Neighborhood Reinvestment plan (the $2M discretionary slush fund). It IS used to buy votes and obtain endorsements. Distribution of this county's portion of sales taxes should be apportioned according to population distribution, as quantified by the current population census, and not by where the taxes were collected. This will ensure that the unincorporated areas of this county continue to get their fair share of this tax revenue.

I believe availability of water is the #1 economic concern to San Diego County, to both individuals and to industry. I will advocate the promotion of private investment in desalination plants, promote investment in reclamation facilities that convert wastewater into water for non-potable uses, support the work of the Delta Stewardship Council, and lead a renewed effort to locate and secure water storage facilities adequate for our population and water needs (present and future).

I believe that Title IV-D excesses are the #1 threat to the people of San Diego County. Federally mandated social programs (CPS, DCSS, foster-care and adoptions, eldercare, etc.) are reimbursed to this county by the Federal government on a cost-plus basis and are all profitable to this county's bottom line. As a result, the county aggressively pursues the over-administration of these programs, inadvertently promoting the break-up of the family (as opposed to providing programs to preserving the family), isolating and eliminating the primary wage-earner (up until recently, almost always the father) from a child's life, creating inequitable child support orders, and oft-times, removing children from families and extended families. The cost of each of these services, once provided, are reimbursed to the county, in amounts many times greatly in excess of the actual cost (for instance, the county receives $6,000 for each child in foster care, each month, yet the county pays out only $700 to the foster care provider and $1000 to the state (per Bill Horn), the rest goes to the county's bottom line).

I believe firestorm preparedness is the most effective means by which we can reduce the next catastrophic fire's impact on our community. Limiting our investments to fire-fighting equipment will never yield our community the protection they expect. I would support a greater role by the general public, in preparation for future wildfires, by offering tax credits in exchange for certain investments to make our communities more fire resilient. Investments in removing/covering combustible exteriors and the replacement of attic vents with ember-proof versions (modest investments of $5,000 - $20,000 per household) would dramatically increase a house's potential to survive a wildfire, while also bolstering the local construction trade. I would support investment in the latest technology to electronically detect fires in the back country immediately upon their ignition (infrared and video systems backed with GPS technology), thereby improving response time. I would promote brush clearance adjacent to structures either through both tax incentives and (lacking compliance) fines. I would initiate an effort to determine whether 'agricultural leaseholds' are feasible (establish a buffer zone of 100' to 500', between housing developments and native brushland, upon which leaseholds are granted to agricultural ventures). Benefits would be derived to all participants ...

• the landowner would receive a lease payment,
• the adjacent homeowner would by default have cleared and watered `landscaping' providing a firebreak between his/her residence and the brush, at no cost,
• the farmer would have an agricultural operation, with significantly reduced `land' costs,
• the community would have a lesser tax burden as firefighting needs would be reduced, there would also be possible reductions in homeowners insurance, I support putting our prison population back to work in honor camps, providing the public with the benefit of cleared brush and firebreaks while providing our inmate population the benefit of earning a reduced sentence (tax savings) and learning a trade (firefighting). I'm undecided thus far as to whether we should have a regional fire department, but would place greater weight on the opinions towards such expressed by community members and by firefighters themselves.

I am opposed to the county's new authorization to use margin (borrow money) to solve the county's underfunding of the County Pension Plan. Orange County tried this in the 1980's and ended up bankrupt to the tune of over one billion dollars (in 1980's currency!).

I would be accessible to the public to the extent that laws and ordinances allow. I will maintain a North County office and be there as many hours as possible every week. I will regularly commute downtown on the Coaster (with 1-2 publicly announced trips/week where I will encourage public interaction during the commute). I will host a town hall at least once every three-six months in each municipality and unincorporated regional area, during evening hours when the majority of the public can participate.