A former Morgan Hill mayor and a longtime Gilroy farmer have already declared their interest in completing Don Gage’s term on the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors as South County’s representative.
Gage, elected by a wide margin, will sworn in for that office on Dec. 7. He plans to submit his resignation to the water district the same day he takes office in Gilroy.
Gilroy cherry farmer Ralph Santos and former mayor Dennis Kennedy of Morgan Hill are looking to step up to the plate. Both claim to offer the knowledge and experience required to run the agency, which provides drinking water and flood control to 1.8 million Santa Clara County residents. Plus, they said, they have the initiative to make needed changes related to groundwater rates and years of criticism of the water district.
Those remaining on the seven-member water board will decide sometime after Dec. 7 if they will appoint a new person to fill Gage’s seat, or call a special election to seat a new board member, according to SCVWD spokesman Marty Grimes.
Gage, a former county supervisor who previously served as Gilroy’s mayor, was elected to the SCVWD board in 2010.
The SCVWD board has 60 days after Gage formally resigns to appoint someone or schedule a special election for the seat, Grimes said. The clerk of the board is likely to place an item on a board meeting agenda shortly after Gage’s effective resignation asking the directors to declare which process they prefer.
The water board is divided into seven geographical districts, with each board member representing one of those districts. Gage represented District 1, which covers all of South County and areas east of San Jose. The director who replaces Gage will have to be a resident of that district as well, Grimes said.
An appointed director would not have to reside in the district that the vacating board member represents, but an elected director would have to live in the same geographical sector, Grimes added. It is customary for the directors to keep geographical representation consistent, Grimes said. Gage, Santos and Kennedy all said they think the new board member should be from South County.
Gage gave a nod to Santos as his preference to fill the soon-to-be open seat, whether he is appointed or elected.
South County uses about half of all District 1 water, and farmers use about half of that annual volume, Gage said, explaining why it’s important to have agricultural representation on the board.
“I think we need to have a farmer in this area because they use 50 percent of the water in District 1, which covers the entire South County area,” Gage said.
Santos applied for a seat on the board in 2009, which was the last time the board replaced a director who did not complete his term. However, he was not selected to serve.
“Agriculture is important here in South County, and if everybody wants to preserve it we need to have a good water supply,” Santos said. Echoing Gage, he noted that currently there are no farmers or anyone representing the agricultural industry on the water board.
Santos, 61, has been a cherry farmer in Gilroy for about 40 years. He has been involved in an advisory committee that reports to the SCVWD board on agriculture-related issues in the past.
“To me the water district is like any business, and you’ve got to live within your means,” Santos added.
A specific area of focus for Santos if he makes it onto the board will be to make sure groundwater rates charged by the district are fair to residential, industrial and agricultural users, Santos said.
“I’d like to be able to work on controlling costs, which will directly reflect on our rates,” Santos said.
He said it’s also important to educate the public on what the water district does.
Kennedy, 74, noted that his experience as a former local elected official, along with his engineering background would be valuable in helping the board to govern the water district. He served as mayor of Morgan Hill for about 12 years until he retired from that office in 2006.
During his mayoral tenure, Kennedy frequently dealt with downtown Morgan Hill’s flooding problem, and tried to gain traction to start construction on the Llagas Creek Flood Protection project which would solve the recurring flooding during heavy rainfall. The SCVWD is a local sponsor of that project which is yet to be built.
“I’m very familiar with the work the water district is doing on flood control, and I continue to actively watch what’s happening with flood control,” Kennedy said.
“Plus, I think there’s a real need to restore trust in the board,” he added.
The SCVWD has been a regular target of grand jury and media investigations in recent years, with critics and courts accusing the board of cronyism, wasteful spending and illegally imposing groundwater charges, and Kennedy suggested the board’s reputation has been tarnished as a result.
Kennedy has also used his engineering experience when he served on the South County Regional Wastewater Authority board – an agency the SCVWD, as well as the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy are involved in – several years ago, he said.
And – like Santos – he thinks groundwater charges should be more fairly balanced across different tiers.
Mayor Steve Tate added that having a Morgan Hill resident on the board “couldn’t hurt” in the ongoing effort to get started on the Llagas Creek project, which was first proposed in the 1950s.
“Dennis has the background and history on the flood control project, and he would serve us well,” Tate said.
Kennedy currently works as a government relations consultant for local developers and business owners in Morgan Hill.
The last time the board replaced a director who did not complete his term was when longtime SCVWD director Sig Sanchez retired in 2009. The remaining board members appointed north Morgan Hill cattle rancher Cy Mann to replace Sanchez.
Mann served on the board for about a year before he gave up his seat to run for a seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Education, which he did not win.
• Don Gage (leaving unexpired term to serve as mayor of Gilroy Dec. 7)
• Patrick Kwok (soon to be replaced by Nai Hsueh who won election to the board Nov. 6)
• Joe Judge (soon to be replaced by Barbara Keegan who won election to the board Nov. 6)
• Linda LeZotte
• Richard Santos
• Tony Estremera
• Brian Schmidt
