theSheetNews.com

Aldridge

Griffiths and Aldridge challenge Cash in Inyo County’s 2nd District

Two-term incumbent Susan Cash is defending her seat on the Inyo County Board of Supervisors this year. She is being challenged by current Bishop City Councilman Jeff Griffiths and local businessman Russ Aldridge.

Cash, who has a background in accounting, is a former county employee who toppled Julie Bear to gain the District 2 seat (which essentially encompasses the City of Bishop) in 2004.

She says she got into politics over the tobacco settlement issue, where she said the will of the voters (who wanted the money allocated to local hospitals) was trumped by a lack of responsiveness of the County Supervisors.

She appears to be running on the strength of her fiscal record. As she said in a statement which appeared in the Inyo Register:

“I am proud to say that Inyo County is one of the most economically stable counties in California. Out of 58 counties, Inyo is ranked #2 in Net Assets per Capita. Inyo County is one of the few counties free of structured debt. We have reduced staff through strategic reorganization of duties in response to lower revenues, while continuing to provide the same quality services to our communities. This is directly attributable to our employees’ dedication to the public and the fiscally conservative oversight of the Board of Supervisors. We have our reserves intact, balance the budget every year, and we are moving forward on several issues.”

Cash

In her statement, she also trumpeted her role in advancing the Digital 395 broadband project and an ordinance which gives preference to local contractors when bidding on County projects.

In follow-up calls to Praxis Associates’, the company which spearheaded and will ultimately build the Digital 395 project, representatives said they perceived Cash as more of a bandwagon-jumper. They assigned more credit to Griffiths and Mono County District 2 Supervisor Hap Hazard in advancing the project.

Griffiths, a six-year Councilman, said he enjoys government work and feels like he’s done a good job on Council. As far as his fiscal record, he points to reducing the City’s administrative costs by $400,000 during his tenure.

Griffiths believes his strength may be in how he leads. While he touts the City’s partnerships in creating a dog park and community garden, it’s his perception that the County needs to be more collaborative in working with agencies.

When all three candidates were asked by the Register “Is there adequate communication and/or coordination between the County of Inyo and City of Bishop on matters affecting the greater Bishop area?” there was a clear gulf in perception.

Cash said the County and City worked together in a variety of ways.

Griffths

Griffiths said there was room for improvement.

Aldridge was more blunt. “It is my understanding that the communication … is very poor.”

Aldridge, who has been a plumbing and heating contractor for 28 years, is refreshingly blunt about a lot of things.

Though there is no history of political activism on either side of his family – “My family can’t quite understand it,” he says of his foray into politics – Aldridge said “I realized there had come a point where I feel too many people are getting taken advantage of.”

As for the ordinance regarding preference to local contractors, he doesn’t recall Cash being much help.

“The opposition from the City and County was unbelievable,” he said.

Aldridge, a member of the Owens Valley Contractors and Vendors Assn., said it took 18 months for both governmental entities to get something done. “It boils down to lazy attorneys,” he said flatly.

Aldridge was also the only candidate to take a definite position regarding the construction of a new consolidated County office space in Bishop. While Cash and Griffiths circled the issue elucidating pros and cons, Aldridge balked at the terms of the proposed lease/purchase agreement, saying the cost was simply too high. Besides, he said, “They don’t take care of the buildings they own [already].”

“I think this is a vanity-type deal,” he concluded.

District 3 Mono County Supervisor and 2012 incumbent, Vikki Bauer faced off against challenger Tim Alpers on Tuesday night at a candidates forum in Lee Vining. Due to last year’s redistricting of Mono County, Lee Vining is now part of District 3.

The following is a summary of highlights of the candidates’ answers to some of the questions asked throughout the evening.

What will be the biggest challenge to Mono County be in the next five years?

Alpers: Balancing projects and financial stability; improving the human environment and business.

Bauer: Pension reform; keeping Mono County solvent is the first order of business otherwise we can’t provide services. Pension reforms could lead to bankruptcies. We need to get county pay in line.

Thoughts on term limits for supervisors.

Bauer: There’s a sweet spot; 12 years is good, but 16 is too long [Bauer has currently served 8 consecutive years as a supervisor]. Voters showing up [at the polls] are the best solution.

Alpers: I’m a term limits guy. I impose limits on myself. You go into office with goals you want to accomplish, and it takes a lot of energy and work. The longer you’ve been in office the more slips through the cracks. I’ve been away and had time to recharge my batteries [Alpers served as a Mono County supervisor from 1983-1989 and again from 1993-1997].

How can you help small business development get going?

Alpers: The county needs to remember who it is working for. People are being harassed when they are trying to get a business going; we need to figure out how we can help. From serving in the past I know what works and what doesn’t.

Bauer: By having a personal touch. I have a personal relationship with the Planning Department (Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that Bauer had a personal relationship with the Planning Commission, which was incorrect). [Bauer then gave an example of how she helped a man in June Lake open a taco truck business]. I helped him understand all the hoops. I couldn’t relieve the hoops but I could explain them. It took six months but it worked.

Would you support trying to get Hwy 158 designated as a state scenic byway in an effort to promote and encourage economic growth?

Bauer: I don’t see any reason not to, we have a large planning grant right now.

Alpers: I think we should look through the lens of making things better for small business and I would support any effort in that direction.

The current pay to Mono County supervisors and management, and the raises that the supervisors have received in the past three or four years outrages the public. What are your thoughts?

Alpers: We should index the employee with economic reality. Some things should be on your own dime. I recently went to D.C. on my own dime and spoke with the President for three minutes and now he wants to come to the Eastern Sierra.

Bauer: We [supervisors] receive a $740 car allowance, which is considered income so taxes are taken out. There’s a lot of travel as a supervisor and there are months that I go over that allowance. It ends up being a wash. In 2009 the supervisors took cost of living raises because employees received cost of living raises as well. Salaries are in line with 2008 and 2009. You have to honor the employees you have both union and management.

Mono County RPACs are the front lines in the county, how do you see your role with these groups?

Alpers: RPACs are where the rubber meets the road. I brought the first RPAC to Chalfant. Supervisors should be seen and not heard at RPAC meetings. We should bring information but then just listen. These groups are where you start building interest.

Bauer: I am the product of a RPAC in June Lake. As a supervisor I have been appointed to the Lee Vining RPAC when it was left without a supervisor on several occasions. I was able to step in and take care of you. I have played a part in RPACs all along.

The Bodie Hills are special and unique but have recently been threatened by gold mining. Will you support the permanent protection of the Bodie Hills?

Bauer: We have to make recreational opportunities economically viable. I supported the mining because Bridgeport needs viability. As a trade off I am working to get Bodie into the national monument program.

Alpers: The Bodie Hills are beautiful but we need to look at the bigger picture. We need a strategic plan. We need to polish our jewel and promote business. We need to get preservation and sustainability language into our policies so people coming in know what to expect.

Are you in favor of promoting something that would help businesses survive in winter?

Bauer: The RPAC plays with that all the time. Making practical use of ideas is the trick. The government needs to help move it along but not pay for it. It seems that in Lee Vining the best thing would be a permanent drought because I hear you’ve had your best winter ever. But the county counts on Mammoth so much and Mammoth needs snow.

Alpers: Government needs to provide an inviting environment. We need to get a whole variety of things. We need to be possibility thinkers. Think in bigger terms and don’t just hunker down in a hole for the winter.

The USDA is willing to loan money to my small business but the local bank won’t loan it. How can you help when there’s money out there but we can’t get it?

Bauer: Persistence is the answer. You have to prove that you can pay it back. You need to build your case with a tight business plan. Perhaps scale back to fit into constraints.

Alpers: This is a national problem, too. You have to show that you can sustain a day-to-day business. Paying attention to details separates the winners from the losers. Networking is a great key so talk to your peers. Ask yourself if you are willing to work hard enough to pay the money back.

Currently the supervisors have given up a lot of control of running the county to one person holding three positions [CAO Jim Arkens who is also the HR and Public Works Director]. One person running the county, whoever it is, isn’t good and affects the county’s checks and balances. Is this an issue for you?

Alpers: The supervisors ran the county when I was in office the first time because there was no CAO. The board is losing control of the team framework in the county. We need to go back to four board meetings per month. Team Mono County needs to be built and we need to watch bureaucratic growth.

Bauer: I’ve seen it both ways. Checks and balances cost money. Combining positions has kept us alive, fiscally. We won’t go back to what we were. We are in a new era of consolidation and we won’t ever be able to afford what we had before. Two people may be doing what three were doing. One person shouldn’t have three jobs, but I choose that versus not being able to put snowplows on the road.

During closing statements, Alpers made five promises to Lee Vining. “I will correspond promptly, hold office hours in Lee Vining, attend all RPACs, report RPAC results at the board level, and have at least two town hall meetings per year.”

He also stated that he would make all of his decisions in office based on three things: his personal philosophies, what his constituents want, and what the laws allow.

Bauer asked that the public review her record when making its decision for whom to vote.

“I am just hitting my stride and would like four more years,” she said. “I enjoy my work and am an active problem solver. I ask for your vote and your support.”

Since Lee Vining does not have a polling place, residents will receive their vote by mail ballots on May 10.

So, you only have two candidates running for two open Town Council seats in the municipal election on June 5. Why bother holding that part of the election? At least, that’s the thinking from the Town of Mammoth Lakes. Earlier this week the Town issued a notice stating that, as of the close of nominations on March 14, only incumbent Council member Jo Bacon, who is also currently serving as Mayor, and businessman Michael Raimondo are nominees for the open seats. Of the two seats, one is a vacancy. Councilmember Skip Harvey has decided not to run for re-election.

The Town notices said that, according to Section 10229 of the Elections Code, the situation allows the Town Council to “appoint to the office the person(s) who has/have been nominated.”

Bacon told The Sheet an appointment “gives us the opportunity to focus on our bigger issues.” She also indicated the Town would save approximately $17,000 by not holding a Council election in June. “I kept my remaining campaign funds from the 2008 election, and plan to donate it to a local food bank,” she told The Sheet. An option when a candidate closes out a campaign account is to donate the money to a non-profit entity.

“I think I’ve got enough votes to get onto Council, but it’s too early to claim victory,” quipped Raimondo. “Seriously, though, I think there’s a lot of ‘why get involved now’ mentality, which is exactly the reason I wanted to get involved. It’s a critical time and we need to make progress telling the world we’re open for business or we’re going to sink in the quicksand.

Raimondo, who owns the Old New York Deli in the Village, opined the Town needs more business-minded people making decisions. “I’d thought about running in the past and didn’t. When Skip decided to withdraw, I was a little surprised. But the timing’s good, and I’m looking forward to getting my views out,” he said.

Having no campaign, however, doesn’t mean Raimondo has no platform. One of his top priorities is getting the bankruptcy over and done with, and then turning attention the investment community. “We need to ask them, ‘What do we need to do to entice you to set up shop and put people to work?’” he said. “I’m for survivability and stayability. We need to incentivize …  concentrate on growth and making sure people know we’re open for business.”

Other priorities include sprucing up eyesores, and addressing the need for more parking and sidewalks.

“I’m a great listener and I talk to a lot of people. I have a business in the Village, but I own a home here and have my family here. I want to help out town-wide, and tear down this Berlin Wall between the Village and the rest of the town. We have to work our way out of this mess that history’s made for us together,” he summarized.

During its next regular meeting on March 21, the Town Council will consider whether to make the appointments or allow the “election” process to go forward as normal. Persons appointed would essentially take office and serve exactly as if they had been elected via a standard vote. Council has until 75 days before the election to make the appointments, after which the election will be triggered and proceed on June 5 by default.

Finch (left) and Czeschin competing in Denmark (Photos courtesy CBS)

Crowley Lake resident and 2002 U.S. Snowboard Olympian Tommy Czeschin could hardly have packed more into 2011. The year had hardly begun when, by spring, he had been picked as part of a duo that paired him with 2006 Snowboard Olympian Andy Finch from Truckee on CBS’s “The Amazing Race.”

Czeschin and Finch had been fellow snowboard competitors previously, and spent the summer globetrotting, literally, outpacing the competition episode after episode. Their race ended in Panama when a single, seemingly small error eliminated them just before the season finale. “Our goal was to make it, but that last challenge was really tough and we got bit in the butt,” Czeschin recalled. “We were leading the pack but made a wrong move. We could have taken the whole enchilada if we’d made it to the finale.”

According to Czeschin, the show was “true reality,” and he maintains that the producers weren’t going to pull strings to help anyone. “If anyone cheated, they’d have been penalized. If you went five hours the wrong way, they weren’t going to turn you around. The producers don’t help or hinder you.”

He and Finch built on their professional relationship, and decided early on to forge a team bond. “Every leg we learned a lot of stuff, but we’d known each other 10-plus years snowboarding together,” he related. “Andy and I wanted to go into it on the same page; we didn’t get stressed out, we went in kind of easy does it.”

The duo realized early on they had the edge on the other players. “You just never give up … you have to know where you are in the pack,” Czeschin described. “We saw a sign about giving all your money to an orphanage, so we did, and we went from fourth to first, because we read the sign and followed the rules.”

No matter how it ended, Czeschin said he’s glad he and Finch ran the “Amazing Race,” especially together. “He’s just up in Tahoe-Truckee, so we see each other a fair amount. It was an experience we can always look back on together, an awesome time.”

And as soon as one “amazing” journey ended, he began another … coaching some of the world’s top snowboarders. “The U.S. Snowboarding team coaches were talking to me during the spring at training camp in Mammoth, but the timing wasn’t quite right … I had just got booked on the show,” he recalled.

After “The Amazing Race” concluded, however, Czeschin was hired in the fall and headed to Colorado, where he’s been for the last month. “We have a great staff and athletes,” he enthused. “We’ve got Ricky Bauer, who I used to compete against, he’s the Halfpipe Head Coach, and I’m working with him. Riding, we have Kelly Clark, Gretchen Bleiler, Kaitlyn Farrington and Hannah Teter. We have Greg Bretz, who ended up third at the Grand Prix. … Scotty Lago and Matt Ladley. He broke his arm and two days later he qualified for the Grand Prix finals.”

Czeschin said he’s done a little teaching previously, but this is his first real coaching job. “I have a lot of relationships on an athlete-to-athlete level, and having coaches, you know what works for you. I’m trying to use my experiences as an athlete, getting to learn how people react to conditions and moves, and dealing with all the different emotions in the right way.”

With that caliber of talent on the line, Czeschin called it “an honor” being asked to coach. “There are a lot of people waiting to get this position,” he pointed out. “I think my experience with the athletes and my ability as a competitor, and the fact that I was fully-funded for

10-plus years, probably factored into the decision.

“You learn a lot about when to push it and when not to push it. A lot of it you can’t learn from books.” A lot of the best coaches, he thinks, were also great athletes.

Another part of the job he’s looking forward to: the planning and strategizing that takes place off the snow. Still, the thrill of the ride is part of job, even if you’re not the one on the board. “You’re standing up at the gate with your rider, and you still have butterflies, and you know every bit of the terrain, but it’s all them,” he said. “I just want them to get out there and do their thing.”

In the New Year, it’s back to work, with a camp in Park City, Utah, then Killington, Vt. for the Dew Tour, then X-Games in Aspen, Colo., then Norway for the U.S. Championships, and then back to Mammoth for the U.S. Grand Prix, all happening between January and early March.

For now, he said it’s nice to be home with the family and lots of relatives in town for the holidays. How does his wife feel about all the travel? “Windsor was amazing, especially during the show. I had no contact with anybody, and she was just phenomenal with the kids, keeping everything together,” he stated. “She’s totally good with the boarding schedule, and it gives me enough breaks to get back home for some down time. Having flights right into Mammoth is a big plus, too!”

And as if all that weren’t enough, the Czeschins have their own hardwood firewood business, and Tommy just signed a deal with wake board company Liquid Force, to market a new wake surfer, the TC Custom, which just hit the marketplace. “Wake surfing is the next best thing to surfing,” he opined. “Anyone can learn it. You’re not strapped on. You can put it on a lake and you don’t even need an ocean. It’s a really good time.”

On snow and water, Czeschin’s journey continues. Try and keep up!

Tommy Czeschin (right) competes in the new season of the CBS series “The Amazing Race.” (Photo: CBS) 

Crowley Lake resident and 2002 Snowboard Olympian Tommy Czeschin teams up with 2006 Snowboard Olympian Andy Finch from Truckee on CBS’s “The Amazing Race.”

The hit around-the-world trek reality series has its season 19 premiere this Sunday, Sept. 25, from 8-9 p.m. in the Village. The public is invited to watch; bring a chair and cheer on one of our locals!

Mammoth local Olympic snowboarder Tommy Czeschin and Andy Finch are part of this season’s The Amazing Race. Premieres this Sunday, Sept. 25. Check it out Sunday night at the Village at Mammoth at 8 p.m. where Mammoth Unbound will be playing the show.

The pack heads down Sherwin Creek Road at the start of the Mammoth Rock Race. (Photo: Geisel)

Mammoth Lakes may have received its first dusting of snow Wednesday night, but the Labor Day Weekend weather, typically summer’s last hurrah, held on at least long enough to get in the annual Mammoth Rock Race on Sept. 5.

This year, 93 runners sprinted away from Mammoth Creek Park to head down Sherwin Creek Road and across Mammoth Rock Trail before turning onto Old Mammoth Road for the downhill dash to the finish line.

Men dominated the field, with only 36 females running, but that didn’t stop the girls from giving the boys a good run for their money. In an unusual showing, High Sierra Striders co-founder Andrew Kastor, who typically puts on these events and is more behind-the-scenes, showed he can still post a big win, finishing first overall in 39:42.1. Hot on Kastor’s heels, however, was David Scott, who claimed second overall with a 39:51.5. And not far behind Scott was Christian Fuller, who blazed across the finish line in third overall with a 40:44.0.

Also in the top 10 overall, the Bournes showed some identity, with brothers Andy in 7th at 47:47.6 and Jonathan in 10th with a 48:21.5.

Female finishers started coming in just outside the top 20. Tina Geller was the highest female finisher overall in 22nd place with a 53:36.5. In her rear view mirror, however, was Julie Neumann, who logged a 25th place overall finish at 53:42.0. And rounding out the top 3 females overall was Britt Cogan in 29th with a 54:47.7.

Runners of note include The Sheet’s own Fishing columnist, Chris Leonard, whose morning off from the water netted him a 66th place 1:08:03.9. And Leonard’s boss at his teaching day job, new Mammoth Unified School District Superintendent Rich Boccia clocked a 1:09:00.4, which was good enough to rank him 69th.

Complete results are available at www.highsierratri.org.

A check-in call to Town Clerk Jamie Gray this morning unveiled a new candidate in the race for Town Council. Gray explained that the expected candidates Matt Lehman, John Eastman, Rick Wood and Tony Barrett had all pulled papers, but in addition, so had Dawn Vereuck.

Vereuck had not announced prior to the opening of the filing period that she planned to run, but she claimed in a phone interview that she has been discussing the possibility with friends and family for the past year.

“I think the Town is going in the wrong direction and I want to change it,” Vereuck said. She added that she does not want to be “in there forever,” but instead wants to get in and make a change and get out.

One item she really wants to focus on is the budget. Being a small business owner in town, Vereuck stated she is struggling just like everyone else and doesn’t want to see the town go broke.

Vereuck has sat on the Chamber of Commerce Board for the last seven years, but claimed she was not feeling effective there anymore. If elected, she would step down from the Board but would hope to be the Council representative for the organization.

All of the individuals listed above have merely pulled papers, according to Gray. No one has filed their papers yet. The closing date for filing paperwork is March 12.