Experience and Qualifications

By Edward "Buzz" Webb

Years of experience working with people & groups in higher education, the military, local high school board & the community.

• training in counseling, organizational behavior & conflict resolution

But there are challenges. First, we have an aging infrastructure approaching 50 years old, including distribution pipes that will have to be repaired or replaced. Second, the district is using only about half of the water it is licensed to use and at some time in the not-too-distant future, we may lose the right to draw our allotment unless we can provide justification for its use. The two pulp mills on the Samoa peninsula were at one time the main customers of industrial water, but now one of those mills is gone and the other has cut its usage in half. Can our customer base be enlarged? Another challenge is to prevent the introduction of invasive mollusks into Ruth Lake. These mollusks can kill all life in a lake and affect the quality of our drinking water. This must not happen!

Last year I attended a number of meetings of the McKinleyville Community Services District + one of HBMWD's customers + in an effort to add fluoride to its drinking water, just as Eureka and Arcata have done for years. Eventually, the McKinleyville board referred the matter to HBMWD, so I attended several of its meetings. I was very impressed with the board members and especially with its management.

Then, when I learned that the board member representing my area was moving away, I decided to apply for the vacancy. Since then, I have attended board meetings, including a daylong planning session, and am convinced that my interests and experience will complement and add to those of the other board members.

What about my experience? I retired from HSU about eight years ago as the Vice President for Student Affairs, a position that I held for twenty-five years. Prior to that I was the Associate Dean of Student Affairs at San Diego State University for ten years and while in San Diego served as chairman of the San Diego County Human Relations Commission. After a four-year tour of duty in the US Air Force, where I earned the rank of Captain, I returned to college for graduate degrees in Public Administration and Psychology.

Here in Humboldt County I was a board member for eight years and president for two terms for the Northern Humboldt Union High School District; I was on the original board and was treasurer of "Fire and Light Originals"; I served as board member and President of Six Rivers Planned Parenthood and was a volunteer vasectomy counselor for twenty-five years; and I have been board member and Secretary of the Patrick Creek Community Services District.

Since my retirement, I have taught part-time at HSU, volunteered for the Senior Brown Bag food program and am now a tutor for the Humboldt Literacy Program.

In short, I believe that my interests and experience make me the best candidate. I work well with people, am a good listener and am capable of making reasoned decisions.