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Tag: Kenneth Miller

  • Deadline approaching to run for school board, water district and city council

    Deadline approaching to run for school board, water district and city council

    A map shows boundaries for the five district seats on the Citrus Heights City Council.

    Sentinel staff report–
    Ever consider running for local office?

    Through Aug. 7, voters in Citrus Heights have the opportunity to apply to run for a seat on four different governing boards this year, ranging from City Council to water district and school board.

    Citrus Heights City Council: Two of the council’s five seats are up for election this November for the newly created District 1 and District 3 seats. Both positions are four-year terms. District 3 is a vacant seat that was created when the city drew new district maps last year. Two current council members, Bret Daniels and Jeff Slowey, are both located in District 1, meaning only one of them has the possibility to continue on the council.

    Related: How much do Citrus Heights council members actually get paid?

    Citrus Heights Water District: One of the three positions on the local water district’s board of directors are up for election. Each director represents a different portion of the district — and some areas of the city are covered by the neighboring districts. The seat is a four-year term, currently occupied by Caryl Sheehan.

    San Juan Unified School District: Three seats on the five-member school board are up for election. The seats are four-year terms and are currently at-large positions, although this will likely change to by-trustee area elections for 2022. The three seats are currently occupied by Board President Paula Villascez, along with board members Pam Costa and Saul Hernandez.

    San Juan Water District: Local residents also elect board members on the five-member district which supplies water to CHWD and other water districts in the area. Two at-large seats will be up for election, currently occupied by Pamela Tobin and Kenneth Miller.

    Voters also elect members to the Los Rios Community College District governing board, as well as the Metro Fire District board. However board members for districts covering Citrus Heights were elected in 2018 and are not up for election until 2022.

    The deadline to file paperwork to run for the positions is Aug. 7, unless the incumbent doesn’t file — which extends the deadline. More information and paperwork can be found on the City Clerk’s website and the Sacramento County Elections website.

  • Guest Opinion: San Juan Water District shouldn’t delay move to district elections

    San Juan Water District board members, (left to right): Dan Rich, Ted Costa, Marty Hanneman, Pamela Tobin, and Kenneth Miller.

    By Ray Riehle and Gary Page–
    Rate payers from the Citrus Heights and Fair Oaks Water districts represent over 60% of the San Juan Water District’s wholesale water service connections; however, four of the San Juan Water District Board’s five members are from the community of Granite Bay – where over 70% of households have income of more than $100,000 annually with an average household income of $125,000.

    Gary Page

    Compare that to the more racially diverse communities of Citrus Heights with $54,000 and Fair Oaks with $76,0000 average annual income.  Our customers are NOT being well-served by this imbalance which is the point of the California Voters Right Act.

    On March 30, 2020, the San Juan Water District (SJWD) received a letter from attorney Kevin Shenkman threatening a lawsuit alleging that the District’s at-large elections violated the California Voting Right Act passed in 2001. The law protects against voting systems that limit minority and disadvantaged population’s political voices and seeks to allow more representatives of their choice. 

    Ray Riehle

    SJWD has known about potential litigation and ignored it for over a year. On Feb. 8, 2019, the SJWD Legal Affairs Committee, and on Sept. 25, 2019 the full SJWD Board, discussed the District’s vulnerability to a claim, and the likely requirement to pay at least the $30,000 in fees provided for in AB 350.

    Despite these clear warnings from SJWD staff, the Board declined to start the process.  

    At its April 14 Special Meeting, SJWD staff presented scenarios for transitioning to “by district” elections for the 2020 election or waiting for transitioning until the 2022 election.  SJWD staff indicated that the cost of transitioning now would result in substantial cost savings in legal fees and transition costs. 

    These savings could exceed $50,000 to the wholesale agency.  In fact, based on these cost savings, an initial motion was made and seconded to complete the process for the 2020 election.  Oddly, a substitute motion was made and approved by a 3-2 vote (Board Members Ted Costa, Ken Miller and Pam Tobin in favor, and Marty Hanneman and Dan Rich against) to delay compliance until 2022.

    At its April 22 Special Meeting, the Board opted to delay its decision again to a special meeting in May. This decision compounds the lack of action from 2019 and likely increases costs by at least an additional $50,000.  These cost increases will occur during this period of significant economic disruption, negatively affecting our ratepayers. 

    District-wide at-large elections tend to produce Boards that fail to represent all neighborhoods, particularly disadvantaged ones. This is certainly the case with the SJWD.

    The communities of Citrus Heights and Fair Oaks have been historically underrepresented on the wholesale SJWD Board, and our customers have been directly and significantly impacted by the Board’s decisions regarding cost allocation, water supply, and operational considerations. 

    Both the Citrus Heights and the Fair Oaks Water Districts are moving to district-based election in 2020, and have recently adopted resolutions committing to assist SJWD in 2020 as it moves through this process. 

    Together, we can ensure a robust public outreach process.  There is no impediment to conducting timely and meaningful public outreach in spite of new meeting protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, many agencies have been able to complete the outreach process in six to eight weeks. Agencies throughout the state and the country have successfully shifted to online and mail-based outreach to continue serving their constituencies.

    We urge the SJWD Board to move toward compliance with the CVRA for the 2020 elections cycle.  There is no excuse for delay, and we urge our ratepayers to contact the Board via its website at www.sjwd.org/board-members, phone (916) 791-0115, email the SJWD’s Board Secretary Teri Grant at tgrant@sjwd.org, and/or attend its special meeting on Wednesday, May 13 at 6 p.m. via GoToMeeting and demand compliance in 2020.

    Ray Riehle is board president of the Citrus Heights Water District and Gary Page is board president of the Fair Oaks Water District.

    Want to share your own thoughts on this topic or another local issue? Submit a letter to the editor or opinion column for publication: Click here

  • Citrus Heights News Briefs: water issues, Gold’s Gym, layoffs

    Gold’s Gym is located at 8485 Auburn Blvd., in Citrus Heights. // CH Sentinel

    Latest local news briefs include the San Juan Water District making a controversial decision to delay its transition from at-large elections, Gold’s Gym announcing plans to reopen in Citrus Heights, and layoffs announced at the Sacramento Bee.

    Water District votes 3-2 to delay switch to district-based elections
    In a special meeting on April 14, the San Juan Water District, which supplies wholesale water to water districts in Citrus Heights, narrowly voted to delay its switch to district-based elections to the 2022 election, rather than this year. Directors Marty Hanneman and Dan Rich opposed pushing the transition to 2022, while Pamela Tobin and Kenneth Miller were joined by Board President Ted Costa in supporting the later date. The board is slated to hold a followup vote via public teleconference call on April 22 to officially declare intention to transition. (See agenda packet)

    Gold’s Gym in Citrus Heights to reopen, while others close permanently
    The general manager of Gold’s Gym in Citrus Heights said in a statement Friday that the franchise location at 8485 Auburn Blvd. will reopen once state health officials determine it is safe to do so. Gold’s Gym International is reportedly permanently closing 30 company-owned locations nationwide amid the COVID-19 shutdowns, according to several media outlets. (See statement)

    SacBee lays off publisher amid slow ad sales
    The Sacramento Bee’s parent company, McClatchy, announced furloughs of ad sales representatives and layoffs of executives last week as advertising slowed amid the coronavirus crisis. SacBee publisher Gary Wortel was among four executives who were laid off, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. (See story)

    News briefs are published each Sunday in The Sentinel’s Weekend e-Edition. To sign up free, click here.