League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Brian Holtz Answers Questions Candidate for Director; Purissima Hills Water District

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'm the current President of the board, and have served on the board and various board committees for four years. I also served on the town council's Water Conservation Advisory Committee, and drafted the town's custom alternative to Sacramento's one-size-fits-all AB1881 irrigation regulations. The town council adopted this ordinance.

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

The district is in good financial health. Our capital improvement program continues to make our system more efficient and seismically secure. We have switched to more cost-effective health insurance for current employees, and have made sure that we don't have the unfunded liabilities for retirement benefits that afflict so many other CalPERS agencies. Since our SFPUC water supplier is raising wholesale prices to finance its own long-deferred seismic upgrades, we will continue seeking cost savings to minimize how much these price increases are passed through to customers. As an example, I have been the board's leading voice of skepticism about a proposed half-million-dollar project to prepare Quarry Lake as a source of emergency non-potable water.

3. In what ways would you collaborate with other governmental entities and community groups to achieve the District's goals?

The district has been collaborating very well with the Los Altos Hills County Fire District, which has both the responsibility and financial resources to pay for the system upgrades needed to ensure fire-fighting flows are available throughout the district. We also need to work with LAHCFD to make sure residents understand that irrigation is the lowest priority if an earthquake threatens our water supply. We have good working relationships with neighboring water purveyors, and have recently completed intertie projects allowing for water sharing in case of emergency.

---

Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Please answer each question in no more than 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

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

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
SmartVoter Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter

---

Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 5, 2012 21:51
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://www.lwvc.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.