Candidate for
Supervisor; County of San Luis Obispo; Supervisorial District 3

Why Do I Run?

Our combined Families make this County what it is today. Following the death of my first wife in 1984, I remarried in 1997 and a wonderful 4 year old child, Ian is the product of that marriage. In early January I became a grandfather for the 3rd time as well. Kobe Rabenaldt lives in Atascadero with my son Billy and his wife Jennifer. I want Ian, Kobe and your children and grandchildren to grow in this County, be educated, find a head of household job and, most of all, be able to afford a home and stay here if they like! We have the resources and our direction can be clearly defined with your help. All we need is will and determination.

Our workforce is leaving the area. Commutes for those willing to stay are becoming longer and the associated traffic, congestion and air pollution is almost overwhelming. We need to keep our workforce employed and housed locally. Incentives should be given to business and the building industry to provide the jobs and create workforce housing through village concepts with easy access to shopping and transportation. It has been done for generations throughout the world and there is no reason it cannot or will not succeed in San Luis Obispo County.

Water is only renewable through our infrequent storms 3 months out of the year. If we continue to use this most valuable resource without adequate conservation measures, the families of the future will be in dire straights and may require such environmentally unfriendly techniques as desalination. Millions of gallons of water are treated by our municipal water districts each year for delivery to our homes and business. Not only is this extremely costly, it is not necessary. Based upon several studies, between and 60% and 80% of the treated water delivered is flushed, used for irrigation, washing cars and clothes and the like. A very small portion needs to be treated to the degree it is today. Cisterns should be a necessary installation as we develop our new housing. There are several methods but the one I like best is the exterior walls of the home actually have a 6" to 8" space between them that captures the roof water plus any other water capturing installations on the home or property. With the filtering membranes that are available today, this water can be filtered to a degree higher than your receive from our municipal water supply or bottled water. Not only does this cistern collect and treat water, it also insulates the home or business and greatly reduces fossil fuel usage for heating and cooling.

As a retired vocational training school principal, I greatly value vocational education in our public and private schools. Not every child growing in our society should move on to higher education and can become a very productive member of our society with the proper specialized training. If my son wanted to become a mechanic and he was the best he could be, I would be very proud. He does not need to become a lawyer, doctor or teacher to gain my support. Neither should your child if this support is available. We have many children growing and learning in our County. Why do we look to the outside for new employees with specialized training? Let's educate our youth to fill the jobs of the future. We continue to hear about the bio-tech industry and how well they would be accepted in our County. One of the draw backs is they have no labor pool. Through Cuesta College and Cal Poly, we can provide what they need and they will be willing to help defer some of the associated costs. It is to their benefit to have trained employees and lessens the rate of turnover locally.

As you can see, I am very committed to local issues and local control of these issues. We always talk about the budget cuts in Sacramento but never seem to understand there is much we can do locally to introduce our independence. Legislators should not live in Sacramento but in their districts. With the advent of recent technology, specifically telecommunications and video conferencing, our elected officials should be standing in the line at the local grocery store just like I do. They have no one but the lobby factor to deal with when they are away. How many of us can take the time to drive and see them and what would be the probable result anyway? If you donate lots of money and have an agenda they can support, you will get their ear. Other than that, the tail (local input) is not going to wag the dog (State of California) to any significant degree. Let's bring them home and make them accountable to the people that really matter, local voters and residents!