League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA June 3, 2008 Election
	Diana Foss Answers Questions Candidate for Director; Santa Clara Valley Water District; Division 2

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What experience or training do you have which would help the District meet its goals?

I have a strong technical background, with good problem-solving skills, working both alone and collaboratively. My experience with Sustainable Silicon Valley, bringing together business, local government and non-profits to identify and address resource pressures in Valley, has shown the vital need for regional solutions to water issues.

2. What is your evaluation of the financial condition of the District?

The SCVWD has a huge portfolio of aging infrastructure, as-yet-unmet environmental commitments and a pressing need to find sources of water to accommodate future growth. Groundwater charges can only continue to grow indefinitely if the District can convince ratepayers that it is necessary. Similarly, the Measure B ("Clean, Safe Creeks") parcel tax will expire in 2015, and voters will need to see significant progress on the projects promised in 2000 before approving another tax. The DIstrict has only just started to account for the very generous retiree healthcare benefits it grants its employees; paying for these benefits is a significant driver of the increase in water charges.

3. In what ways would you collaborate with other governmental entities to achieve the Districts' goals?

Rivers flow across the land, heedless of political jurisdictions. California's water issues can only be solved regionally. The District must work with San Jose and Santa Clara, to expand the use of recycled water. It must work with all local municipalities, to address problems of stormwater runoff, of enforcement of conservation measures, and of land use that strains water supplies. The District must work with the state of California and the 100+ entities that have a stake in the Delta, to cut through the political gridlock that has paralyzed policy toward the Delta for the last 30 years and kept it moving toward disaster.

Water is life. The history of California is the history of water. Water is too important to be held hostage to turf battles.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: April 29, 2008 11:20
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