Shakeup on STPUD board, Measure R passes soundly
By Kathryn Reed
Two new faces will be on the South Tahoe Public Utility District board, incumbents are returning to Lake Tahoe Unified and Lake Tahoe Community College boards, and the recreation measure on the South Shore is officially R.
Kelly Sheehan came out of the gate with 65.13 percent of the vote compared to incumbent Dale Rise’s 34.4 percent.
A clearly emotional Sheehan was cautiously optimistic with the initial results. But others near her wondered if it was mathematically possible for her to even lose at that point. She wasn’t ready to claim victory at that point no matter what others said to her.
Randy Vogelgesang and Kelly Sheehan celebrate their victory Nov. 8 at Steamers. Photo/Kathryn Reed
Sheehan had invited all of the utility district candidates to her bar-restaurant, Steamers. Rise was the only one not to show up Election Night. Nor did he return a call for comment.
Sheehan and Randy Vogelgesang spent part of the night huddled together – the voters’ top choices. Neither had run for any political office before being on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Vogelgesang replaces Marylou Mosbacher who did not seek re-election.
He said he is humbled by the win.
Vogelgesang held on to the lead absentee voters gave him. With numbers coming out just after polls closed at 8pm, Vogelgesang led with 37.71 percent, Claude Gunsch 28.55 percent, John Runnels 20.9 percent, and Mary Kortge 12.63 percent.
With absentees accounting for the 18.9 percent turnout in early returns, El Dorado County Registrar of Voters Bill Schultz was not surprised. This, despite the county’s growth in absentee voting for each election.
“With this election, everything’s gonna be low,” he told Lake Tahoe News at 10:05pm, about 15 minutes after the votes from the lake showed up at the county offices in Placerville.
By the time the final vote was tallied at 11:11pm, the numbers are below with the winners in bold:
STPUD Seat 3:
Vogelgesang – 37.18 percent, 1,128 votes
Gunsch – 28.54 percent, 866 votes
Runnels – 21.29 percent, 646 votes
Kortge – 12.82 percent, 389 votes
STPUD Seat 4:
Sheehan – 66.39 percent, 1,989 votes
Rise – 33.24 percent, 996 votes
LTUSD:
Sue Novasel – 32.73 percent, 2,283 votes
Larry Green – 29.23 percent, 2,039 votes
Michael Doyle – 27.69 percent, 1,932 votes
Michael Bischoff – 9.91 percent, 691 votes
LTCC:
Karen Borges – 49.47 percent, 2,524 votes
Fritz Wenck – 37.36 percent, 1,906 votes
Michael Bischoff – 12.54 percent, 640 votes.
All of these numbers are unofficial until certified, which can take up to 30 days. Board members will take their seats in December.
Schultz pointed out that the turnout could have been even lower if not for measures that get out the vote among a community’s most motivated citizens.
“In an off year, I really think it’s the passion behind whatever initiative there happens to be,” he said. “I think it’s whatever’s personal.”
In the South Shore’s case, Measure R — a rewrite of the recreation initiative Measure S of 2000 — made the ballot.
R needed a two-thirds majority to pass – which it more than achieved with 70.19 percent or 2,234 votes compared to the opposition that had 949 votes for 29.81 percent.
For Schultz, it has been difficult losing Assistant Registrar Norma Gray, a 31-year county employee who became a fixture in the Elections Department. A picture of her hangs in the kitchen as a “jewel of her memory,” Schultz said. She died in December.
— Susan Wood contributed to this story.
More of the same.
Excellent choices made by informed, intelligent voters not swayed by the arrogance and drama that the other candidates would have brought to these positions. Voters: You did your community good!
I would like to thank everyone who helped me on the campaign and who voted for me. Congratulations to the new elected officials. I am confident you will both serve the community well.
Are these two “New Faces” going to be able to help us lower the water rates?
All of us who want lower water rates need to show up at the Board meetings to support Kelly and Randy.
If we do not support them, then the STPUD management will convince Randy and Kelly to not lower the water rates.
The next Board meeting is Thursday Nov. 17 at 2pm.
Please show up and let the Board know how you feel about the water rates.
I showed up last week and asked the Board to lower the rates, but I was the only one who spoke. One voice carries very little influence.
See you on the 17th?
Thank you voters!! Measure R is going to do great things for bicycling in our community in several ways (maybe not as great as some wanted, but at least much better than what we’ve had). And congratulations to all the candidates – I think we made wise choices all around!
And to Ernie: whether we like water meters or not, STPUD’s water rates need to be “revenue neutral” overall as state/federal mandatory water meter installation are installed — who pays what may change, but overall the total we collectively pay it intended to stay the same: some will pay more than before, but others will pay less and the object is to be as fair as possible in setting up the new rate structure to accomplish “revenue neutrality”.
Wait a minute!!!
How can the water rates be cost neutral when our water bills are increasing by as much as $300?
The city of Lodi has a chart showing they are cost neutral.
http://www.lodi.gov/meters/Water_sample.html
Would you be willing to show up at the next Board meeting and ask STPUD to produce a similar chart?
Ernie, the monthly connection charge was reduced by 50% for people on meters. Then there is the charge for usage. Basically now the second homeowners are getting a break and locals who use water pay more. It is revenue nuetral, or close anyway.
The point is that STPUD has to pay for maintenance and capital improvements for the second homeowners and the monthly fee they pay does not cover those costs. So locals are subsidizing second homeowners.
This is not complex, a fair way to do this, and accomplish STPUD’s goals, would be to set a tiered rate structure that is based on average usage for a family of 4 or 6. A tieredd system would charge people irrigating a huge yard, but would result in no increase for a typical family with a patch of grass.
It is an honor to serve as trustee for LTCC. Thank you for your support.
So is the city going to close all the bike trails and ball fields at once for maintenance?
Also while we have some STPUD people on this thread.
Next summer when the closure of 50 and Pioneer Trail happens at the same @#$%$#@ time, could we open the gate at STPUD to let traffic flow from Black Bart to Al Tahoe and Johnson Blvd ????
Congratulations to Karen and Fritz and thank you for your continued service to LTCC and our community!
Interesting to note that candidate Gunsch was the only candidate who did not win a seat on the STPUD Board who had the class and courtsey to thank his supporters and congratulate the winners. You are a winner in my book Mr. Gunsch.
Is anyone else tired of listening to Claudio’s continue rant against STPUD and the water rates? His statement about supporting the two new board members so that STPUD management would not convince them to not lower the rates was insulting to their intelligence and ability to be independent and strong leaders.
By the way Claudio, I live in your neighborhood. Is it just possible that your huge lawn is what is responsible for your water bill being higher this time? Just a thought. Perhaps you should contact STPUD’s water conservation specialist and see if she has any recommendations on what you could do next summer to lower your consumption. I know two people who had her out and were very pleased with her recommendations. She even did an inside water look at one of my neighbors homes and found a toilet leak and also changed out an old shower fixture, which will help reduce my neighbor’s consumption.
I found STPUDs front office staff to be very understanding and helpful when I called last month after getting my water bill. The woman I spoke to spent a lot of time going over my consumption reads for the past two years, comparing non-watering quarters to the two summers that had consumption reads and gave me some good suggestions on how to reduce my consumption further next summer.
Congrats to the winners!