Candidate for
Director; Cambria Community Services District

September 13, 2010

Valerie Bentz is who the CCSD needs now--a person who can reasonably and responsibly assess alternatives. Her publications and years teaching in university attest to her intelligence; her experience in dealing with and leading groups, as well as her demonstrated ability to work well with others, point to her skills as a solution builder. She is quiet, and resolute, talented and eager to serve. She is who Cambria needs for the CCSD now.

Lorin Cary
Author, Photographer, Professor Emeritus of History

September 8, 2010

We have been Cambria residents for 20 years and have seen the same repetitious rhetoric and wasted spending of millions of dollars on the same issues that have never been resolved. It's time for a change in leadership at the CCSD and the election of Valerie Bentz to the CCSD Board of Directors is what Cambria needs. As a CCSD Board Member, Valerie will conduct herself the way she has in all of her previous involvements with an intelligent approach that is open-minded to all sides of an issue and is dedicated to doing what is legally and morally right for Cambria. She will make sure the public is informed with the truth about issues put before the Board and will stop the endless discussions and studies and move forward to insure that Cambrians have honest leadership.

Sondra and Bob Brown

Bob has been a community Pharmacist for over 50 years, and is adjunct professor at USC Pharmacy School. Sondra is a member of University Women and a former member and program chairman of Allied Arts. Bob and Sondra worked as docents in the Hearst Castle Living History program for 10 years and Sondra was an original docent for Friends of The Elephant Seals. Currently she is a docent at the Coastal Discovery Center in San Simeon.

September 7, 2010

Valerie Bentz for CCSD

Cambria has a natural resource problem, not enough water. The projection is that we need several hundred acre feet more than we have. Every year several thousand acre feet flow into the ocean. What we have is a failure to maximize the utilization of that natural resource.

Valerie Bentz on the CCSD board would be a vote for the fiscally responsible management of our resource and a step towards increasing the sustainability of Cambria.

Jim Brownell,

Cambria experience, visitor 1962, land owner 1972, home owner 1989, full time resident since 1993.

James Brownell, Ph. D. Professor of Soils, emeritus, California State University + Fresno

September 7, 2010

I met Valerie Bentz through various circles, dance, church and Gym One. She always was a light--- steady and genuine. Many felt comfortable around her, due to her sense of appropriateness and stability. Though she is a sensitive individual, her keen perception and concern for the well being of others and the planet motivate her to take a leadership role, as with the international charity organization she managed, Yoga instruction and, now, with CCSD board responsibilities. She was a fine instructor and I have no doubt that her competence as administrator and professor were equally adroit. She will make wise decisions on any matter, and will be open and receptive to the members of our community.

Jeannine Jacobs
Tui Na Massage
Earth Awake

September 4, 2010

I have known Valerie Bentz for some years and her knowledge and understanding of the environment, the economy and water, as well as other issues of importance to all of us, is unsurpassed. Cambria could not be better served than to elect Valerie Bentz to the CCSD.

I am very proud to endorse Valerie Bentz for the CCSD

Ronald Sampson
Founding and past President
Cambria Democratic Club of the North Coast
Member San Luis Obispo County Democratic Central Committee

September 3, 2010

My name is Francesca Bolognini. I have been a resident of Cambria for over thirty years. I am an active participant in both the healing and the arts aspects of this community.

I met Valerie around the begining of 2001. Our relationship began on a business level, but relatively quickly became our longstanding friendship.

During this time, I have found Valerie to be highly perceptive, invariably honest and trustworthy. I have observed her under many circumstances and never known her to shrink from a duty or conflict. On the contrary, she consistently stands out in a controversy as the calm center of sensability and reason, unfailingly eloquent and evenhanded.

These qualities, priceless in a friendship, are even more important in the context of public service. I feel that we will be blessed indeed to have Valerie Bentz bring her dedication, talents and extensive qualifications to the assistance of the community of Cambria as a board member of the Cambria Community Services District.

September 2, 2010

I am a Vietnam veteran and a former college Political Science instructor, and currently a Glass Artist. I have lived in Cambria for eight years during which time I have been able to know Valerie. Her background is quite diversified: university professor, author, social psychologist, and counselor. Valerie's skills in management and administration + leading workshops, problem-solving, and networking + are essential as a candidate for the CCSD. These criteria, coupled with her warmth, dedication, and sincerity, will make her a superb member of the CCSD.

Jim Huchthausen, Cambria

August 31, 2010

I've been a big fan of Valerie Bentz from the moment I read her viewpoint piece about desalination in the Cambrian. If this same reasonable, balanced thinking--combined with respect for the natural world--resonated back to me from behind the table of the CCSD board of directors, life in this town would be good again.

Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of 16 novels including Pay It Forward, Love in the Present Tense and Becoming Chloe, Cambria resident 25 years.

August 29, 2010

Hi Valerie,

It's great that you decided to run for CCSD director. From our days of car pooling to our Cuesta music group I understand you really are "the quiet voice of reason," as you say on your card. And there is a second reason I will vote for you: Anyone who could stand up to our excellent but challenging music director will certainly make a great CCSD director.

My best wishes to you,

Bob McDonnell
Retired community college science/engineering teacher
Cambria resident 22 years