Housing and land preservation are key issues in District 3 Supervisor's race.

It is Monterey County''s largest, most economically powerful and culturally diverse supervisorial district. It boasts a population of approximately 85,000 residents and stretches over 1.5 million acres, from the southernmost end of the county, north to the border with Santa Cruz County.

Yet, despite a host of critical, district-wide issues that include water, transportation, public safety and social services, the election for a new District 3 Supervisor may come down to one single issue--the 160-acre, 800-home subdivision known as Rancho Chualar II.

"Rancho Chualar II is definitely a litmus test," says Soledad Mayor Fabian Barrera, who considered a run for the District 3 seat earlier this year. "It will take a lot of creativity to see how the candidates play that out, how they stand on affordable homes, and defining what they consider prime ag land."

Whether seen as a blessing or curse, Rancho Chualar II, which was approved in February by the board of supervisors despite unanimous rejection by the county planning commission, encapsulates all the problems confronting District 3 residents; and provides a ready-made issue for the seven District 3 candidates hoping to replace outgoing Supervisor Tom Perkins.

And, local political observers suggest that whoever most effectively articulates solutions to the seemingly intractable problems presented by Rancho Chualar II will be the one most likely to win on June 2.

"The question is, what kinds of land and zoning policies are best able to address the Valley''s housing needs while preserving open space, the environment and farmland?" says Juan Uranga, the executive director of the Center For Community Advocacy and a former president of the Salinas Democratic Club.

"My sense is the best approach is city-centered growth, directed toward giving the cities a significant say in what kind of growth goes where. Whoever is best able to address that issue will have their voice resonate with the electorate, assuming they can frame the issue."

For most of the District 3 candidates, the board of supervisors'' approval of Rancho Chualar II embodies a misguided and poorly planned approach to new development that relies too heavily on developer-promised infrastructure improvements, while ignoring services that could be provided by existing Salinas Valley cities.

"As much as I would be in the forefront of affordable housing, I would be suspicious of the things the developer had to overcome to get the vote," says Prunedale resident and candidate Donald Dunsford, who ran for a seat in District 1 five years ago. "I am for fair-minded, tempered development, but that particular project is fraught with difficulties. I would have probably voted no, subject to things having to do with the reliability of sewage, schools and water."

For candidate Lou Calcagno, a Moss Landing dairy farmer and former Coastal Commission chair, Rancho Chualar II fails to strike the proper balance between development and land preservation that is key to the Salinas Valley''s future.

"I think we have to look at balancing community growth with ag land preservation," says Calcagno, who voted against Rancho Chualar II as a planning commissioner. "You don''t have to go far to realize how important the ag economy is to the Salinas Valley. We have to preserve the basic income and economy of the community, which is ag. We have to build within the communities that have the framework to absorb growth and do it in an orderly manner."

Beyond the immediate concerns over water, public services and land preservation, the contentiousness over Rancho Chualar II highlights some of the social divisions that seethe just beneath the surface between farmworkers and the powerful landowners in the Salinas Valley.

One ancillary issue that may emerge out of the housing debate in District 3 is how active a role the agriculture industry should play in terms of providing solutions to the housing crisis.

"If people in the fields need housing, then ag must address the question," says current District 3 Supervisor Tom Perkins, who notes that 7,000 new ag jobs were added in the last eight years. Perkins adds that the water crisis in the Salinas Valley is another issue that ag must take the lead in addressing.

"I don''t see the water issue will be solved until the ag interests in the north and south agree it can be solved," says Perkins.

As far as candidate Craig Wiley is concerned, the problems in District 3 cannot be laid solely at the feet of the ag industry.

"I feel ag has been the whipping child when it has made every effort to supply housing," says Wiley, a Greenfield businessman and former Hartnell College boardmember who is casting himself as a political outsider. "It''s definitely empathetic to the needs of the workers and I know ag workers are an integral part of our society and certainly the economic base of ag."

Wiley feels his status as a political outsider could help bridge the different economic and political interests in the Salinas Valley.

"My strongest suit is dealing with people hands-on, one to one," says Wiley. "I have not accepted appointments to county commissions for years. I''d rather come in with a clean agenda, with no allies on the existing board."

Soledad resident and self-designated "agrarian," "C" Crazyhorse''s candidacy will emphasize the interests of the farmworkers whose needs, he says, have been ignored by the ag industry for too long.

"My central thing is to keep the district together and empower the working class," says Crazyhorse, a former Soledad city council member and District 3 candidate who is also the only candidate to come out in support for Rancho Chualar II.

"Growers have to understand that what is good for the campesino is good for the grower, and these middle class people who want to preserve their agrarian life better get with it and get the cooperation of the working class. What are they gonna do without the farmworker?"

From the perspective of candidate Miguel S. Errea, a San Ardo rancher who serves as a planning commissioner and as director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, the Salinas Valley''s housing needs extend beyond the need for farmworker housing alone. It is an issue, says Errea, that affects everyone.

"Low-cost housing is not just ag labor housing," insists Errea. "The service industry and all kinds of businesses create the need. Everyone must come to the table." Nevertheless, says Errea, the ag industry needs to play a primary role in finding space for new housing.

"I think the ag community will take a lead role in discussing where housing should go and how to provide land that is best suited for development," says Errea, who voted against Rancho Chualar II as a planning commissioner. "I see the direction being toward infill and development contiguous to existing communities. Chualar II is not an appropriate way to go, but if not Chualar II, where?"

Although the housing/ag land issue will likely dominate the District 3 race, the Salinas Valley''s chronic water problems, county management, and future redistricting are three additional issues the candidates hope to emphasize.

For Gonzales mayor and businesswoman Elizabeth Williams, the many issues confronting Monterey County can''t be isolated on a district by district basis, but must be resolved through a more cooperative, county-wide approach from the board of supervisors.

"I truly feel we need to look at the county as a community and do more for individual cities," says Williams. "The money''s not there any longer where we can both be independent. We must pool our resources.

"I think our needs are the same throughout the district. How those needs are presented or achieved might be a little bit different, but I feel the representation of this district is essential because of its diversity," adds Williams. "We have to look not only at what we need, but how we can achieve getting there."

How effectively the board of supervisors manages the entire county is an issue of critical importance to candidate Richard Ortiz, a Soledad city council member and former planning commissioner.

"One area that needs to be focused on is the way the county does business in providing services countywide," says Ortiz, who points to questions over public services for Rancho Chualar II as symptomatic of the board''s neglect in this area.

"I think there needs to be an evaluation regarding the type of service provided and how it is administered," Ortiz adds. "A lot of areas are not being provided with services, and building, planning and social services need to be evaluated. We need different strategies for new development, which must be close to communities that can be serviced."

As far as the Salinas Valley''s ongoing problems with seawater intrusion, nitrate contamination, and overdrafting are concerned, most of the candidates agree that better cooperation among the Valley''s big water users and a project that taps into the large South County reservoirs are critical.

"The board has been side-stepping realism," says Wiley. "It''s done so many EIRs, it''s drowning in red ink. We need to do something. One practical answer is to connect the two existing reservoirs with a tunnel between the two. It''s a practical solution because of the watershed disparity. My feeling right now is the Salinas River itself is a logical conduit."

"We need to figure out how to get water from south to north without penalizing anyone because they live closer to the dam," agrees Williams. "I think a basin management plan is essential but it must be good for all of us.

"One obvious but not total solution is to find a location in North County for off-stream storage," says Errea, "but where you put the reservoir, I don''t have the answer for that."

One of the more compelling issues confronting District 3 residents is one that may not light any fires under voters, but is on the minds of many of the District 3 candidates--redistricting, which is likely to take place after the Census in 2000. In 1994, the district lines were re-drawn to include portions of both North and South County--a configuration that has made the district more geographically far-flung than any other in Monterey County.

"Year 2000 redistricting will be significant because of the increased growth in South County," notes Perkins. "North County will probably end up included in District 4, District 2 will take some inward part of District 3, while District 3 will drop way down and be a fully South County district."

While none of the candidates has ventured to guess how redistricting will reshape the politics and issues of District 3, they agree that it will provide a more unifying focus to the District''s problems, separate from those affecting the northern sections of the District.

"One of the keystones of my interest is redistricting," says Dunsford. "Seven years ago, the board of supervisors, which is responsible for redistricting, couldn''t come up with a plan, and I''m not happy we were gerrymandered and that we stretch from Castroville down to San Ardo. What does Moss Landing have to do with King City? The configuration is ridiculous. I would like to see North County put back together again."

Whether the election finally comes down to water, housing or land preservation, campaign contributions will no doubt play a role come election day. According to the latest campaign finance disclosure statements filed with the county registrar of voters, Calcagno leads the pack, with $19,866 in campaign contributions. Errea follows with $13,143, Wiley reported receiving $10,509, Williams raised $4,490 and Ortiz collected $498. Dunsford and Crazyhorse raised less than $1,000--the threshold for an initial mandatory campaign finance disclosure form.

From Uranga''s perspective, the candidate who can best rally all the disparate interests in District 3 is the one most likely to win come election day.

"It''s not good enough any more to stake out an issue and repeat it," says Uranga. "It''s going to take civic leadership and different groups establishing dialogue with each other, to talk more broadly about zoning measures and mechanisms that will result in affordable housing for working families while preserving the environment and ag land."