.
.
.
These are the MWDOC district areas. The names of the overlapping smaller municipal districts — not including OCWD — are sort of small, but they are there, and also available at links below in the MWDOC races section.
As noted in our introduction to this year’s general election coverage, the filing period for all races is underway; it ends this Friday, August 7 (or 8/6, for cities closed on 8/7, and with some extensions to 8/12) for all races that have made it this far. This will be updated as need be and time allows.
El Toro Water District
Incumbents Jose Vergara, Mark Monin, and Katherine Kay have all qualified for the ballot. No one else has expressed interest.
Irvine Ranch Water District
Division 1
Incumbent John Withers has qualified and wins without opposition.
Division 4
Incumbent Mary Matheis has qualified and will face Karen McLaughlin and Aarti Kaushal.
Moulton Niguel Water District
Four positions open. One incumbent did not file, so this gets and AEIOU extension. Incumbents Richard Fiore, Duane Cave, and Brian Probolsky, have all qualified, as has a fourth candidate, Sherry Wanninger.
Santa Margarita Water District
Three positions open. Incumbents Charles Gibson, Betty H Olson, and Frank Ury will face challenger Warren Martin.
East Orange County Water District
Two positions open; four candidates have qualified. Incumbents Douglass Davert and John Sears will face Julio Morales and Noble Alejandro Drakoln — and yes, I did get Drakoln’s name right.
Mesa Water District
Division 1
Incumbent Fred Bockmiller wins without opposition.
Division 2
Loathsome incumbent Jim Fisler will face non-profit program director Adam Ereth, who has taught (to good reviews) at Irvine Valley College, apparently got his Ph.D in 2016, and “spent his formative years as a Master’s student and … PhD candidate researching the emerging field of sea level rise adaptation and relocation planning in the Solomon Islands.” Ereth also developed a stormwater protection plan. THIS IS EXCITING!!
Division 3
Incumbent Marice DePasquale wins without opposition.
Orange County Water District
In this biggest of kahunas in the OC Water Biz, four of the Divisions are up (along with, of course, some City Council races that will determine those very important City appointees.)
Division 2
Atrocious incumbent Denis Bilodeau wins without opposition. We did our best, but couldn’t find an opponent; now we’ll just have to get him outvoted on the board.
Division 3
Incumbent Roger Yoh wins without opposition. This is good.
Division 4
Appointed incumbent and Poseidonista Tri Ta has qualified and will run against four opponents: Tai Do, Kris Beard, Jasmin Carmadella, and Samantha Bao Anh Nguyen.
Division 6
Execrable Poseidon-thrall incumbent Cathy Green is up and has qualified. One person pinged only and will be ignored. One other challenger, “Computer Systems Engineer” Michael Elliott, has also qualified. And … pause inserted here while I Google-searched him … he seems wonderful! His website is here; his issues page (including Poseidon) is here. He’s not committed either way on Poseidon, but seems knowledgeable and thoughtful — and that alone will be far better than Green!
Serrano Water District
Division 2
Incumbent C.L. “Larry” Pharris filed and wins without opposition.
Division 3
Incumbent Greg Mills filed and wins without opposition.
Division 5
Incumbent Jerry L Haight filed and wins without opposition.
South Coast Water District
Three seats open. Incumbents are Douglas Erdman, Rick Erkeneff, and Wayne Rayfield will face environmental engineer Scott Goldman and Markus Lenger — whose proposed ballot designation is “Water Innovator” (!). That’s a pretty full plate of candidates.
Trabuco Canyon Water District
Incumbents Stephen Dopudja and Don Chadd win without opposition.
Yorba Linda Water District
Two open spots. Incumbents John Wayne Miller qualified; the other incumbent did not file. AEIOU extension until Wednesday.
Municipal Water District of OC (MWDOC)
Division 1 (Short-term)
This is the seat that I ran for in 2014 and 2018, losing twice to Brett Barbre, who retired from the Board on July 17 to become General Manager of the Yorba Linda Water District. The resignation created a vacancy, which apparently means no AEIOU extension (although unless I’m mistaken in at least one other race this seems not to be the case.) Three people have qualified to run: Al Nederhood (A YLWD director), Fred R. Smith, Mayor of Buena Park. and Scott Hupp, husband of Brea City Council Kleptocrat Cecilia Hupp, with whom he owns S&S Home Loans. All poor options, at first glance, but I think I know which is least bad. “Division 1 encompasses the areas of Brea, Buena Park, portions of Golden State Water Company, La Habra, La Palma, Yorba Linda Water District.” Here’s our 2014 map, which I presume is still accurate.
Division 3
Incumbent and “Water Resources Engineer” Bob McVicker is running and will run against three opponents — and, again, read this all the way through to the end. One is “Businesswoman/Mother” Linda Moulton-Patterson, who is the wife of former Rep. Jerry Patterson and who served on the Coastal Commission and was active in Friends of Bolsa Chica. (Her bio begins: “In 1989, Linda Moulton-Patterson established Moulton Patterson Associates (MPA), a government & public relations firm in Fountain Valley, California.”) Next, Registered Nurse Kathy-Nguyet Pham. Lastly: Tyler Diep again! He’s baaaa-aaaack! Thank you, Nurse Pham, for splitting the Vietnamese vote!
Division 4
Incumbent Joan Finnegan did not file, so this race is extended. Three candidates have already filed: “Water District Engineer” Karl Seckel, Architect Christopher Ganiere, and “Water Policy Manager” Stacy Lynne Taylor. But it looks like another person has filed in overtime: OMG, it’s Allen Mansoor! No to the nth power! Matt Harper took out papers but went no further.
Division 6
Incumbent Jeffery Thomas wins without opposition.
Division 7
Incumbent Megan Yoo Schneider will face Laguna Beach Water Commissioner Debbie Neev.
Someone please quickly tell Jan Flory to apply tomorrow for the MWDOC Board, where she’d do a better job than pretty much anyone else (and certainly than these two guys.)
I don’t think she can, Greg. She’d have to move.
Oh, damn; you’re right. Back to square one.
I’ve got some bad news: Bilodeau wins unopposed, the opposition to Tri Ta is deeply split, there’s another bad candidate for MWDOC 1, and Tyler Diep is mounting a comeback here as well. But there’s also some good news, as you’ll see, including a smashing opponent for Jim Fisler!
Hi, OJB –
I hope y’all are doing well. I was made aware of your website from a colleague the other day. Thank you for following my race in Mesa Water D2. It’s bound to be an exciting one, I’m sure.
I’ll be happy to take your call if you’d like to know more…just drop me an email and a contact number.
Take care,
Adam
Concerning the discussion of OCWD Division 7. It’s actually Division 6 where Cathy and I are running. That being said, thanks for the compliment. Mind if I use part of it on my endorsements page?
Go for it and good luck! Green must GO!
Thanks for the correction!
Do you have a position on the Poseidon boondoggle? Not trying to influence you through the terminology, of course — but it is what it is.
One of my colleagues pointed out to me that a question to me on this blog was left hanging. I will respond.
Concerning Poseidon: I am unequivocally against it. My issues web page previously presented a somewhat wishy-washy response, for which I apologize. I was never for Poseidon and I remain against Poseidon. I have had further conversation with Karl Seckel (running for MWDOC Divison 4) and I have updated my issues web page (https://oc-water.com/wd/Issues) to reflect this. Karl didn’t convince me, I was already convinced, but he gave even more reasons why it’s a bad idea. Poseidon Industries has put their thumb on the scale in this election (https://tinyurl.com/oc-water-00) opposing both Karl and myself.
Perhaps this might be worth a separate blog posting. Your call.
Cheers — Mike
We’re glad that you oppose Poseidon, but unfortunately we an only endorse you if Karl Seckel is the one who convinced you.
Just kidding. You’re endorsed, and thank you both for stepping up and for being willing to serve!
Regarding Karl Seckel or Dana Reed. Who opposes the Poseidon and is best qualified?
AND most likely to win, that’s important too. It looks like Seckel. John Earl’s piece should be ready any day…
John endorsed Seckel, as did we.
To get all of our endorsements with some detailed explanations and discussion, click here.
To get a less unwieldy list of our endorsements (with a little explanation, partly because Vern, Ryan, Greg, and our guests endorse individually), click here.
We also do individual pages on topics that are usually the speed bumps for voters who want to vote early. We already have one, for example, on the statewide ballot measures and I’m working on ones for the local ballot measures and the water boards (for which we also refer you to our friend John Earl’s Surf City Voice.) The rest — on Congress, on citiy councils, on school boards, etc. will come along in due time (though some may not at all. This is time-consuming!)
Happy reading and voting!
I might also add that I filed for OCWD Divison 6 primarily as a protest. I felt I could spend $1250 on a candidate statement in the Voter’s Guide from the Registrar of Voters to see to it that there was at least one opposition candidae to Cathy Green’s re-election.
To my astonishment, I turned out to be the only opposition! I expected no support from anyone – basing my campaign solely around the fact that 8 of 10 current OCWD directors are developers, former or current City Council members or their appointees and maybe that would be perceived as suboptimal. I thought I could put that in the RoV voter guide, but they told me I couldn’t talk about my opponent – which, I suppose, is reasonable. Primarily I wanted to tip the balance a bit more towards the engineering side (I’m an engineer, after all). Plus, I know how to create a website (http://oc-water.com) and host it on my desk at home (yes, I’m a cheapskate).
To my astonishment, people gave me support! Donations came in – I never expected a dime – and now I have yard signs (https://tinyurl.com/oc-water-01)! Now, it looks like there’s a remote chance I might actually win – bizarre! Anybody wanting a yard sign let me know!
Vern, I am seeing comments on Facebook that Matthew Harper is running for “the Water Board.” Do you have confirmation?? Thanks!!
I’ll answer for OJB: Harper took out papers for MWDOC Division 4, but didn’t file anything. The horrific development in that district is that Allan Mansoor has filed. Water District Engineer Karl Seckel and Water Policy Manager Stacy Lynne Taylor look like the most qualified, but must be subjected to the Poseidon/Cadiz character tests before we endorse.
Poseidon has picked Stacy Taylor as their candidate for MWDOC Division 4. Take a look at the Form 496 Independent Expenditure Report dated 9/9/20 on the OC Registrar website– $36,308 spent to put Taylor on slate mailers.
Thanks. Do you have thoughts about Karl Seckel? We know that we won’t support Mansoor!
People have been telling me that MWDOC has nothing to do with approving Poseidon. This development seems to suggest otherwise.
Is Scott Goldman, (7th dist. South Coast Water District Director) the same that was a director of the El Toro (Lake Forest) water district in the past?
If so, he seems to lean in favor the really expensive Doheny desalination plant and has been endorsed by republicans (https://www.markmonin.com/endorsements) in the past. otherwise I cant find any information on him, it seems like the internet is completely scrubbed
Based on his website, it is. (Look his endorsements and you’ll see why he’s a hard no.)
I haven’t really studied Doheny that well. All I know about it is that it’s smaller, lest costly, and a response to a more obvious need, than the Poseidon plant — so while it may be bad, it’s not as obviously terrible. While the Surfrider Foundation opposes Poseidon, its head for South OC favors more research into it. And he does not endorse Goldman.
This is discussed in greater detail on our main endorsements page, where — given Vern and my comparative lack of direct knowledge — South Countians are especially encouraged to comment.