By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left:  Directors Mark Gracyk and DeAna Verbecke offered opposing views on how board vacancy should be filled

January 5, 2016 (La Mesa) – At a packed meeting yesterday,  Helix Water Board members aired differing views on how to fill a vacancy left by the resignation last week of newly elected member Lu Tejeda. Tejeda cited conflicts of interest raised by his job with a contractor. 

The new board majority pushed to appoint Dan McMillan, whom Tejeda narrowly edged out by just 185 votes in the four-man race. Both ran on a platform of reigning in rising water rates. 

Director DeAna Verbecke dissented, calling for the district to accept applications and conduct interviews with all interested parties in an open meeting before making an appointment. 

By Miriam Raftery

November 8,  2016 (La Mesa)—It’s rare for incumbents to be unseated.  But Chuck Muse and John Linden,  two incumbents who voted for repeated rate increases including an unprecedented five-year rate hike, appear to have lost their reelection bids.   

The apparent wins for Mark Gracyk and Dan McMillan are also victories for the  local Democratic party, which endorsed both over the Republican incumbents,  though the race is officially nonpartisan. It's also a win for ratepayers ired over repeated hefty rate hikes by incuments who promised fiscal conservatism. 

By Janis Mork

October 16, 2012 (Spring Valley)- Civil engineer John Revels is running for the San Miguel Fire Board. In an exclusive interview with East County Magazine, he shared his views on his candidacy and the future of the fire district.

Revels was motivated to run because, “I got a flyer of what was going on at San Miguel fire board. I have nothing against Cal Fire; they are a great organization. I wanted to keep San Miguel independent as it’s always been [before the merger with Cal Fire]. So a year ago, I started attending meetings and talking to people, and I also went to meetings to speak to the board at Cuyamaca College.”

By Janis Mork

October 10, 2012 (Spring Valley)- Fire captain/paramedic Dave Rickards hopes to get re-elected to the San Miguel Fire Board because “I care about the community I want the best fire protection in the community I live in.” The three-term incumbent is a district resident since 1990, spent 29 years in the fire service in El Cajon, and currently sits on the Heartland Communications Commission. He is also the Districts’ representative Finance Committee.” He adds, “We’re all training each other and we all have agreements that help each other out.” 

He is also a U.S. Navy vet, a USS Midway volunteer, and a private pilot. He is currently a Company Engines Officer in the Fletcher Hills Community of El Cajon.

By Dan McMillan, Ratepayer and Director Padre Dam Municipal Water District

October 13, 2010 (Santee)--Referencing recent articles and discussions about water district general manager’s salaries, I would like to comment that some water districts are keenly aware of the present economic conditions faced by their ratepayers and are taking steps to correct some of the economic issues. In 2010, the Board of Padre Dam MWD lowered the compensation of their management team by over 6% and the General Manager, Doug Wilson’s compensation by 5.5% to $190,740 per year.