Candidate for
Supervisor; County of Monterey; Supervisorial District 2

Ed Mitchell's Goals for Our Community

A future where the majority of residents agree that we have continued to protect this world-renowned natural environment and abundant crop land so visitors still want to visit here, and we still love to live here; A future that provides for a fair and open county government well prepared for what the future holds. As your representative on the Board of Supervisors, I will work diligently with the other supervisors, residents, and stakeholders to achieve the goals outlined below:

Fair & Open Government: Increased trust in the fairness of County decisions, with true transparency in the review process. Important actions will no longer be hidden within administrative consent agendas.

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• There will be no personal land development temptations or conflict of interest in any decision I make. Unlike others, during my term in office I will not invest in, subdivide, or develop any property within or outside of Monterey County for financial gain.

• Establish an outreach process to District 2 community groups, homeowner association, and businesses, including a webpage for comments and an on-staff ombudsman for individuals and groups throughout District 2.

• Instead of unlimited presentation time, where feasable, applicants for developments will be allocated 30 minutes to present their project to the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission and 5 minutes to rebut. These time limits will include the combined presentation time of the applicant and his/her attorney to the Board or to the Commission.

• Reduce the backlog of major code violations by taking the five oldest, major code violations before an Admin Law Judge, for resolution. Establish a timetable for dealing with all such issues in the future.

• Establish a criminal grand jury, not just a civil grand jury as is now constituted, which will serve as an important resource for our District Attorney and law enforcement. All other counties in California currently follow this practice.

• Install 100,000 gallons of missing fire suppression water in Pesante Canyon to protect 400 families.

Pre-election Victory! + County funds $208,000 for construction after Mitchell returns from petitioning the State Attorney General's office and State Fire Marshall's office about the county's failure to enforce mandatory fire protection ordinances.

• Initiate a joint (Salinas & County) public-private redevelopment effort to put locals to work. Phase-1 construction begins no later than October 2013 and includes jobs for North County and North Salinas, as well as our other communities.

• Ensure the current military medical facilities are retained within the County, encourage that their services adjust to and support veterans returning from recent combat, as well as support the birth and the phase-1 construction of the Veterans Cemetery on Fort Ord.

• Establish a joint (Salinas & County) Gang-Expansion Suppression Strategy that stops gang-expansion into more communities and works to take back our neighborhoods from the intimidation of gang violence and crime.

• Ensure road safety funds are used for road safety. Unlike my opponent I'll vote against any tax masquerading as road improvements when it is really a general fund tax.

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• After decades of talking water solution have yet to materialize. In fact it has worsened. Granite Ridge families have been without water for four years and the highlands water basins are dying. The County's solution comes with the next phase of some new unfunded project. In the meantime, the county has not aggressively shaped a solution for residents' water needs. Just the opposite, as demonstrated when the county presented to the PUC Admin Law Judge in July 2009 a "modified regional project" -- without one drop of regional water for North County and no distribution pipeline planned to reach the Castroville-Prunedale area. The County plan has plenty of water for thousands of new houses west of the Salinas River. Well, I won't accept water for new houses before water for current homeowners. We need first-available water distributed to District 2 families that are currently without water.

There is NO EXCUSE for allowing use of Salinas Valley water basin resources to be consumed for the exclusive benefit of water users outside Zone 2C. North Salinas Valley ratepayers should benefit from the SVWP (Salinas Valley Water Project) before the MCWRA (Monterey County Water Resources Agency) trades away the water we've paid for.

We don't have a long-term plan to achieve water sustainability for our county population and businesses. Continuous over drafting of the Pajaro, Salinas, and Carmel Valley water basins has placed the county in a water crisis that can directly and significantly damage our economic wellbeing. Adding to this fragile condition is a lack of water infrastructure (distribution pipelines and storage facilities). The January 2010 released Monterey County 2009 Grand Jury report substantiates this crisis condition.

Meanwhile for decades the County has approved subdivision after subdivision. In fact at least one supervisor has developed and sold two subdivisions in the district himself while the Fugro Report's prediction of a dying water basin has come true one home at a time with dropping well water levels and increasing nitrate and arsenic poisoning.

District 2 Water Solutions:We must reduce over drafting the Pajaro, Salinas, & Carmel Valley water basins during the next 20 years. This solution includes executing annual action plans that gradually move us to live within our water means, which is the maximum carrying capacity of the County watershed. This transformation must significantly increase second-touch water usage, conservation, storm water storage / recycling in parallel with annual infrastructure expansion. Small steps made every year can significantly improve our water basins during the next two decades. The January 2010 released Monterey County 2009 Grand Jury report similarly calls for action, not talk about water solutions.

Transformation actions include:

• Provide first-available water to waiting District 2 families.

• By January 2013 begin construction of a regional distribution pipeline from the water recycling plant in Marina to Castroville and from the Castroville Service District to Langley Canyon, for distribution of MCWRA well water to the Granite Ridge distribution loop, funded by SVWP tax dollars.

• By July 2013, install a pipe distribution loop in the Granite Ridge area of Prunedale with a parallel sewer pipe for later prevention of pollution of Highland South water sources. Funded by Proposition 84 grants.

• By December 2013 have the Pajaro Sunny Mesa Community Service District board elected by ratepayers as done for all other water district boards in California.

• Secure sustainable water for existing county homeowners, existing businesses, and lots of record before providing water for more new subdivisions.

• Maintain public ownership of our water sources.

• Recognize all sources of water are precious and focus on conserving / capturing /recycling the cheapest sources first.

• Amend building codes to incorporate green-building concepts e.g., green roofs and permeable pavement materials.

• Require new housing to capture roof/rain runoff and/or install grey water usage systems.

• Allow shower, bath, and/or laundry water for grey water toilet flushing reuse by our tourist and business industries.

• Modify existing city/county pipelines for all-year capture of urban storm runoff for recycling and storage, funded by SB270 grants.

• Annually capture, store, and recycle 20,000 AFY (Acre Feet a Year) of storm runoff.

• Implement an environmentally superior hybrid regional water solution that benefits all segments of the region, including North County:

• With a county owned desalination plant that incrementally increases output over time, only if it does not increase saltwater intrusion

• With a first phase that ends Carmel River over drafting and meets current Peninsula drinking water needs.

• With a second phase that provides a pipeline to Castroville and a desalination water allocation for North County to ensure North County residents with dead or dying wells receive water if no quicker source is available.

• With follow-on phases with specific business allocations to foster local jobs and allocations to meet other needs

• Extend the Salinas airport runway to handle Fedex and agriculture transports; establish an inter-modal hub with a railhead near the airport.

• Initiate a joint (Salinas & County) public-private redevelopment effort to put locals to work, whose phase-1 construction begins no later than October 2013.

• Build a small (phase-1) regional desalination plant to put locals to work.

• By July 2013, install a pipe distribution loop in the Granite Ridge area of Prunedale.

• Build and complete one road project in each of the County's five districts.

• Expand the Salinas Valley Enterprise Zone north to the Castroville and Moss Landing business parks, including commercial/light industry zoning near the Castroville Railroad/Bus station.

• Protecting farmers from piecemeal destruction of the Ag industry

• Fostering green-industry, green building practices, and water reuse

• Returning county generated tax monies due us.

• Protect farmland from being gobbled up by ever-expanding cities or community areas.

• If methyl iodide is approved for use by the federal government have the County Health Department generate a map of "sensitive sites" to reduce the cost and difficulty to farmers to use the fumigant in accordance with the application guidelines and allow residents to monitor compliant buffer setback from known sensitive sites.

Return our money (beginning in 2012): Work with other Counties to recover tax monies due us by the State resulting in less county initiated taxes.

Pre-election Progress! + In January 2010 the League of California Cities began gathering signatures to place a measure on the November ballot to prevent the State from taking city/county monies to solve state budget problems. Salinas City officials, Ed, and other county residents sign the petition.

Financially sound county hospital: Improve healthcare services of Natividad Medical Center as we proactively prepare for the major national health system changes that will emerge during the next four years.

Pre-election Progress! + Congressman Farr has promised me that after Congress passes the final health insurance bill that his staff will provide Monterey County an assessment of potential impacts / opportunities to the county hospital so we can prepare to maximize services and financial benefit at that institution.

Next June, vote for Ed Mitchell. Together we can achieve a better future. Next June, you can again have someone who'll represent you. Next June, we can again have fair and open government.

Ed Mitchell's Goals

Ed Mitchell Ed@MitchellforSupervisor.com