Gilroy – Rancher Johne Baird has a few gripes with the Santa Clara Valley Water District, but he says they’re nothing a little common sense and some listening skills can’t fix.
“I know a lot of the old-timers in town, ranchers and farmers mainly,” said Baird, a fourth-generation resident of Morgan Hill. “A few of my neighbors approached me and said, ‘Why don’t you run for the water district? We’re not getting any representation down here.'”
Baird, a lifelong Morgan Hill resident who ranches and farms on the outskirts of town, decided to take that advice. He is one of three candidates hoping to unseat Rosemary Kamei, a Morgan Hill resident who now serves as District 1 representative to the agency’s governing board, during the June 6 election.
While Baird applauds many of the agency’s efforts, he says it does too little to engage residents in its projects.
“Adopting a creek and volunteer programs are all fine and dandy, but I don’t think it’s enough,” Baird said, referring to water district programs that help clear debris from local waterways. Instead, he would like to see a program of “shared costs,” in which landowners are encouraged to clean up creeks while the district helps transport and dispose of debris.
Too often, he added, the agency does not pay heed to concerns of residents.
“I don’t give a damn how good of an engineer you are – if a bunch of people say to you that a bridge is too small, they’re probably right,” Baird said, citing a common complaint of neighbors. “I would feel totally comfortable going up to the water board meeting and saying ‘Hey, the people in (my district) don’t agree with this.’ Everybody’s got a concern and it’s got to be addressed.”
Baird said he’s not a “numbers man” and called the district’s $264 million budget “overwhelming,” preferring not to comment on it until he had time to familiarize himself with the information. In addition to supplying water and protecting against floods, the district has taken on a spectrum of new projects in recent years such as creek maintenance and land conservation along watersheds.
Baird is not a newcomer to government. He has previously served on the governing board of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority and as president of the Santa Clara County Cattlemen’s Association. The 43-year-old now focuses on raising cattle on 2,500 acres of rolling hills stretching from the west side of Morgan Hill to San Jose. He also farms hay crops on 200 acres outside the city.
The race in June will pit Baird against three-term incumbent Kamei, as well as two critics of water district spending – Terry Mahurin, a retired engineer, and Ram Singh, a professor and head of water resources at San Jose State University.
As he knocks on doors in the next few days across a vast district stretching from Los Gatos to South County, Baird will carry a simple message: “I really don’t think South County is getting represented. A little bit of common sense needs to be brought to the board.”
Serdar Tumgoren, Senior Staff Writer, covers the county for The Morgan Hill Times. Reach him at 847-7109 or st*******@gi************.com.
