Don't change horses mid-stream

Hey neighbors! Mig Gasca here. You may remember I was the Division 3 Director on the Rainbow MWD Board until last December. Thank you for the opportunity you gave me to serve the community. Thank you to the Board for keeping me on the Engineering and Operations Committee as a ratepayer.

I am endorsing Julie Johnson and Cari Dale for re-election to their seats on the Board. You might ask why I’m doing this?

Julie, since she began serving on the Board, has been a critical reviewer of district plans and operations. Having served on the three ratepayer run committees over the years before becoming Director, Julie has the background and understanding needed to provide district direction into the future.

Cari Dale applied to replace me on the Board. My understanding is that the Directors received 13 applications and interviewed seven. Cari’s opponent in this November’s election did not make the cut to the interviews. The seven interviewed were shortlisted to two finalists, who were publicly interviewed at the next Board meeting.

Cari was selected by the Board on a 4 to 1 vote. I believe they selected Cari because of her engineering background, the time she served as Water Utilities Director for the city of Oceanside, and her relationships with the people in the Southern California water industry - all strong points that will help with the guidance of the district as it transitions from San Diego County Water Authority to Eastern Municipal Water District.

Now is not the time to inject any new board members into the mix. It would take them nine months to a year to come up to speed on Board affairs. We need to keep the current Board together as the District finishes detachment and transition to Eastern MWD.

Miguel E. Gasca (Mig)