Debra Scott and Michael Thomas on top for Cambria CSD seats; other Cambria, Cayucos votes
With 100% of precincts reporting in the Cambria Community Services District race for two seats on the board of directors, registered nurse Debra Scott remained in the lead.
She’d received 39.7% of the ballots counted around 12:45 a.m. Nov. 9, and the tally for community volunteer Michael Thomas was still close behind Scott’s with 36.8%.
They had substantial leads over the vote count for former Cambria CSD director Jim Bahringer, who owns the Fog’s End Bed & Breakfast, was in third place with 23.3%.
Cambria CSD frontrunners react to early election results
On Nov. 9, Scott and Thomas discussed similar priorities: Improving communication between the Cambria CSD and the public; improving the community’s opinion of the CSD and the board; solving Cambria’s longstanding water supply issues without harming the environment, and making the district more financially stable without increasing fiscal pressure on the ratepayers.
Scott said her No. 1 focus from the beginning “was looking at how we can improve how the CCSD board and staff communicate with citizens of Cambria, and in that, how we can increase the trust throughout the village.”
She added that there appears to be “overwhelming dysfunction between the (district’s) committees, the board and the general manager.
“In my opinion, the board’s agendas weren’t clear and didn’t give the public the information they needed to understand what’s going on in their community.”
Thomas said he wants to “increase public involvement in CCSD decision making and the community’s acceptance of those decisions.”
He added that “trust builds slowly but erodes quickly, so we need to simplify the board’s meeting agendas to the extent possible … build trust, be consistent and communicate clearly.”
Fiscally, Scott said, “we need to tackle immediately how to save money. Our financial situation is not strong, and the district has saddled community members with a huge amount of debt … I think Cambrians are ready for a change, and I believe the board going forward will be one that listens a lot more.”
Thomas said that, in the fiscal review, money needs to be found to retain firefighters currently being paid by a grant that will sunset soon.
“We need to fund those positions, and how do we do that?” he said. “First, (we need to) look at overall administrative costs. We need to make basic foundational changes, not just marginal incremental savings, so we have more funds for the district’s core services.”
Both candidates addressed the district’s Water Reclamation Facility and the permit it needs to operate beyond drought periods.
Thomas said the district must “do the work needed to satisfy the California Coastal Commission and the permit requirements, if we can work it out in a way that is not damaging to the environment.”
“To me, it’s not a done deal,” he said. “We’re paying for the bloody thing, let’s find a way to use it to benefit the people who are paying for it.”
“The really important part is saving the environment (and) making sure we continue to have this beautiful place we live in,” Scott said.
Other Cambria races
In the race for the TA2 seat seat on the Coast Unified School District board of trustees, incumbent Lee McFarland prevailed against his challenger, educator and psychologist Susan Dever.
In the Nov. 9 count, McFarland maintained his lead with 52.1% of votes counted, while Dever had received 47.6%.
Joe Prian ran unopposed to represent area TA3 on the school board.
Measure G-22
With 100% of precincts reporting, Measure G-22 approval votes had dropped to 60.9%, not enough to pass. It requires a two-third approval vote.
The bond measure would have raised $8.5 million from added property taxes to replace the current aging quarters for the Cambria Community Healthcare District’s first responders, staff, ambulances and other vehicles.
Meanwhile, the healthcare district’s board will see a few changes, with John Nilon set to represent division 3 and retired physical therapist Bruce Mumper filling a partial term on the board. Both ran unopposed, as did incumbent director Laurie Mileur.
San Simeon
The San Simeon Community Services District recently established five separate voting areas, as many districts and boards have done.
Only three candidates registered to represent the three sections that could have been up for election.
They were appointed incumbent Michael Donahue, retired educator Jacqueline Diamond and attorney Karina Tiwana.
Diamond and Tiwana have been frequent critics of district and board practices.
Donahue said he expects “there’s going to be a big sea change on the board” and in managing the district.
Cayucos
Only three candidates applied to fill three open positions on the Cayucos Sanitary District board of directors.
For the Cayucos Elementary School Board, Kerry Friend, Chloe Phillips and incumbent Steve Geil ran against each other to represent area TA1. Friend has served on the board before.
As of Nov. 9, Friend appeared to have won with 44.8% of the vote. Geil had 36% of the ballots and Phillips had 19.1%.
John Curti, a previously appointed director, was the sole candidate to represent Division 1.
Incumbents Robert W. Frank and Shirley Lyon also ran unopposed. Frank had been appointed to the board.
In the Cayucos Elementary School District race, incumbent Chris Castillo ran unopposed to represent area TA2, and Gretchen Ross had no challengers in her quest to take the TA3 position.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 8:40 PM.
