Lines Drawn

LINES DRAWN… Squid was heartbroken (in all three chambers of Squid’s heart) to read about the news of Squidpocalypse in Narragansett, Rhode Island, where on Aug. 16, a truckload of Squid’s relatives, otherwise destined for calamari platters, toppled into a road and started stinking. Turns out, a pile of dead squid in the heat smells like… a pile of dead squid in the heat.

Sometimes it’s as obvious as that, and Squid thought an impasse on the politically charged Local Agency Formation Commission of Monterey County, aka LAFCO, was equally obvious. On Monday, Aug. 24, commissioners tried – for a second time – to appoint someone to a public member seat. The commission is composed of a mix of two county, city and special district representatives each, plus one public member. A previous 3-3 impasse in April meant that the current public member, Matt Gourley, stays on for now. (Gourley was an applicant then – and is now – to be appointed to another four-year term.)

Fast-forward to Aug. 24, when LAFCO had a field of 13 applicants to consider, up from three in April, seemingly a good sign. But the same 3-3 impasse persisted. After voting no on Gourley, Commissioner and County Supervisor Kate Daniels nominated Ray Cancino, but that failed on the same 3-3 lines. She tried again with Murtaza Mogri – again, 3-3. Daniels then nominated Belinda Taluban, who failed on the same 3-3 roll call. And again and again, with Franco Pacheco then Yesenia Medina. No and no.

After voting no on five qualified nominees, LAFCO chair and Monterey Peninsula Airport District board member Mary Ann Leffel, representing the yes on Gourley faction, showed no sign of compromise. “The person who is most qualified is Mr. Gourley, so he will continue to receive my vote,” she said.

After the deadlocked non-decision, Leffel addressed the applicants: “You’re caught up in some things that are deeper, way deeper, than your applications.”

That was as obvious to Squid as Squidpocalypse was to anyone with a sense of smell.

What was less obvious was what Leffel told Squid’s colleague the next day. One of those deeper issues is the matter of whether to grant latent powers to the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District to pursue a takeover of California American Water, something Leffel and Gourley voted against. “It’s like an albatross around my neck,” Leffel says.

She adds that she’d be open to reconsidering if there were a clear plan for how to handle tax revenue that would otherwise be lost that flows to other special districts. “I’m not in love with Cal Am, I’m not in love with the Water Management District, I just want to do what’s best for the community,” Leffel says.

Hard to believe when what’s best for the community would be openness to a new public member – but maybe there’s a new day for the Water District.