A voting process for a LAFCO commissioner turns political, and kind of mean.

Sara Rubin here, with elections on my mind. Not the June primary, although candidates are already campaigning for that, but a more esoteric but high-impact election happening right now. Monterey County’s 42 special districts have unique responsibilities overseeing things like parks, utilities, fire protection service and more. And each of them has received a ballot with four names of candidates seeking their vote to be appointed to represent special districts as a commissioner on the Local Agency Formation Commission of Monterey County, or LAFCO. 

LAFCO’s work is often complicated and sometimes controversial. LAFCO’s task is “to encourage the orderly formation of local governmental agencies, preserve agricultural land resources, discourage urban sprawl and encourage the efficient delivery of local government services.” 

In the near future, LAFCO faces a big decision on a proposal from the City of Gonzales to annex over 700 acres for its Vista Lucia development, and internally, LAFCO will also be hiring a new executive officer as Kate McKenna prepares to retire after 22 years.

I wrote about the contested election for a column in today’s issue of the Weekly, in which two colleagues on the board of the Monterey Regional Airport District—Mary Ann Leffel and Jonathan Ahmadi—are seeking the LAFCO commissioner appointment. It’s unusual to see two people who serve together facing off like this, with Ahmadi challenging a two-term commissioner. 

When he told his MRY board colleagues on Thursday, Jan. 22 why he was running, Ahmadi referenced LAFCO’s mission statement (above) and said he was inspired in part by Abundance by Ezra Klein to make government more effective and efficient. He also said after 20-some years in LA, part of why he moved to Monterey County was the open space and ability to move around without gridlock. “The mission of LAFCO is something that spoke to me very clearly,” he said. 

His colleague John Gaglioti was unpersuaded. “I find it curious that you are running, Jonathan, I just find it very, very curious,” Gaglioti said. “This is not a regional board of newbies. This is a distilled board…I don’t think you’re ready, I just don’t think you’re ready for this. I don’t understand why you would throw your hat in the ring.” 

That might be a reasonable critique, given Leffel’s long tenure on public service (including two terms on LAFCO; as she completes her eighth year she is the vice-chair and, if re-elected, will become chair in May). 

But Gaglioti took it a step further. “If you continue to campaign beyond tonight, you’re going to be going out there without the confidence of this board,” he said to Ahmadi. “They’re not going to be saying, ‘What’s wrong with the board?’ they’re going to be saying, ‘What’s wrong with the candidate?’” Yikes. 

What those remarks seem to miss is that part of what Ahmadi is trying to do is upset the entrenched inertia of power. When somebody comes along who’s willing to take a political risk and do that, we can certainly think his vision isn’t for us, but the ambition deserves praise, not derision. 

Even Leffel publicly expressed her support: “I appreciate Jonathan’s passion and his willingness to serve.”

The county’s 42 special districts have until March 6 to return their ballots.