Editorial: Novasel for EDC supervisor

Sue Novasel

Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News convened an editorial panel of seven community members to come up with this endorsement.

Who is going to genuinely represent the constituency the best?

While that question is good to ask in every race, it was the deciding factor for us when it came to who should be the next El Dorado County supervisor representing District 5.

We kept coming back to Sue Novasel.

Experience trumps the guy you want to have a beer with. The listener wins over the talker. We want substance not hot air. We want someone who will work and not call in sick on a powder day.

Being on a board requires the ability to count to three to get your measure passed. Novasel has demonstrated the ability to do so on the various boards she has been on, most notably to the elected board of Lake Tahoe Unified School District.

There is a give and take to being on a board. It equals working together.

But what we can’t tolerate is another four to eight years of a District 5 supervisor who is led and is not a leader. And being president of a board does not make a person a leader. Leadership is a trait we hope is inside Novasel that she has yet to demonstrate.

Novasel’s experience with such varied endeavors as Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care give her a glimpse into working in different group dynamics. This could aid her as she joins a board that is mostly inexperienced at least at the current job.

When it comes time to act the supervisors represent the entire county, not just where they were elected from. While the East and West slopes are dramatically different, it is still one county. We need someone who will take an interest in all the issues that come before the board.

We trust Novasel will be prepared at each of the weekly meetings, that she will use the time of staff wisely and that she will be more of a presence in the district than the current supervisor.

There is no doubt Kenny Curtzwiler, the other contender, is passionate about his community. He talks a good game until the knowing listener seizes the opportunity to punch holes in his diatribe. The problem is with the unknowing listener who wants to believe Curzwiler’s tales. His spoken word is no different than his writings – full of nuggets of wisdom saturated in half-truths (or less) that amount to a hill of beans.

We need someone in office who looks at all sides of a topic, understands hard topics and gets the answers; not someone who is unprepared, acting on emotion and fails to truly grasp what the job entails. We believe Novasel is the best choice voters have for El Dorado County District 5 supervisor.