Breaking the Glass Ceiling - North Marin Water District Race

Breaking the Glass Ceiling - North Marin Water District Race

The North Marin Water District has only had one woman serve, by election or appointment, in 70 years. It's time for a change.

Running for North Marin Water District Board has its challenges! Some people assume that you have to be an engineer or an accountant to understand district operations and finance. In reality participation on the North Marin Water District Board requires a passion for public service and a practical understanding of how to best represent the interests of the public while maintaining access to clean, reliable, affordable drinking water.

My campaign platform combines conservation with pragmatism. Novato has many innovative programs that provide rebates for water saving fixtures and equipment but retailers and consumers are unaware that this is still the case. Novato also has an expanding recycled wastewater irrigation program but it doesn't yet reach private businesses or all parts of Novato with large areas of turf.

Novato customers depend on water from the Russian River (80%) and Stafford Lake Reservoir (20%). West Marin customers depend on wells for their drinking water. Oceana customers use NMWD for sewer service. Repair and replacement of aging pipes, tanks and facilities will increase costs to ratepayers unless the district can qualify for state and federal grants.

I have been endorsed by the Sierra Club for my strong conservation stance. If we increase our efforts to use treated wastewater on large landscaped areas, we can use water from the Russian River and Stafford Lake Reservoir for drinking water. If we explain how Advanced Meter Information Systems (AMI) works we can find leaks faster and give consumers choices over how they conserve.

I was endorsed by the Marin Women's PAC because of my strong political beliefs about diversity and inclusion. Only one woman has served on the North Marin Water District Board by election or appointment in 70 years.

My history as a public advocate supports voter involvement as a board priority. I believe the public has a right to information that is accessible and can easily explain the agency's finances and debt service as well as their operations. Special district boards must make community engagement a priority for changes to occur.

If the board directs, the district can provide 21st century public engagement by remaking the website and making better use of social media and electronic outreach. The board needs to use their twice monthly meetings to discuss areas listed in the Strategic Plan as part of public engagement and transparency.

As recently as this summer, many Novato ratepayers were poorly informed about the installation of new technology – AMI and thought it was at fault for increased water costs. Communication with the public is currently set up to be "reactive" rather than "proactive." That is an outdated view that can be changed by adding fresh perspective to the board.

Emergency planning and preparation include the district's maintenance of the 100 square mile watershed. The district must create and maintain defensible space around tanks and facilities, and areas of open space bordering homes and businesses. Learning from the Santa Rosa fires means keeping water tanks full so that they are ready morning and night. Engaging ratepayers about emergency planning means opening a discussion.

NMWD is an excellent agency with highly trained staff. However experienced staff are retiring and will need to train their replacements before they leave. The board must consider difficulties attracting and retaining new employees and find solutions. The difficulties include not being able to find reasonably priced workforce housing and training new employees only to have them leave for better paying jobs in nearby districts.

As a ratepayer I understand the frustration for many district customers of costs that continue to increase as use declines. As a consumer advocate I am aware of the impact of escalating pension on operating costs and the difficulties attracting and retaining experienced staff when housing costs are too high and salaries too low.

The North Marin Water District needs a board member that is well informed, and willing to dig deeper to understand how to best protect rate payers while preserving access to clean, reliable, affordable water. I have the requisite skills to assess budgets and pensions, support district operations, prioritize preservation of the watershed, maintain infrastructure and look forward on behalf of consumers and voters to ensure that access to affordable water will be a continued focus.

In a county where women make up 51% of the population there is no excuse to have a public board without any gender balance. I believe it is time to once again break the glass ceiling by adding a strong consumer advocate to the water board that happens to be a woman.

Tina McMillan for North Marin Water District, November 2018 Candidate #1411985

Here is a link to my website and FB page.

http://tina4waterdistrict.com/

https://www.facebook.com/tina....

Tina McMillan for North Marin Water District, November 2018 Candidate #1411985