November election has 12 candidates, one ballot measure

By Heather Gould
Amid voting for favorite websites, blogs, restaurants, American Idol contestants and more, residents of South Lake Tahoe have the opportunity to vote in an actual public election. Elections for the Lake Tahoe Community College board, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District board, the South Tahoe Public Utility District board and a ballot measure regarding recreation funds will all be decided by voters on Nov. 8.

The term is up for two open seats on the Lake Tahoe Community College board and both incumbents — dentist Frederick "Fritz" Wenck Jr. and chiropractor Karen Borges ­have filed for another term. Student Michael Bischoff has also filed.

The LTCC board hit a bump earlier this year when Vice President of Business Services Sue Niehoff and then-interim-President Steve Maradian, butted heads. Niehoff later resigned. Since then, the board has hired Kindred Murillo as the college's new president. Wenck, who has served on the LTCC board for 36 years, said Maradian fully fulfilled his contract and left under "good circumstances."

Wenck said he is running for the board because "After a couple years of not much happening, it is fun to be around and watch things start up again. Even though the economy is not upbeat, we are upbeat at the college. Since we've had so much changeover, with virtually a brand new team, continuity is good for the college."

He cited his service on the California Community College Trustee Association, where he served one year as president, and his participation on accreditation teams that evaluate other community colleges as qualifications for office.

The Mountain News was unable to locate Bischoff. The phone number Bischoff listed on his filing for office was a residential motel in town at which he is no longer living, according to the clerk who answered the phone, adding "he is no longer welcome on this property." The clerk declined to elaborate on the record.

In the late 90s, Bischoff served on the Dublin Unified School District Board in the Bay Area. During his tenure he was censured by the board and asked to step down in response to two incidents of alleged misconduct.

Borges did not respond to a phone call or an email from the Mountain News by press time.

Additionally, Bischoff has filed to serve on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District board where all three incumbents — LTCC professor Larry Green, pediatrician Michael Doyle and event cooridinator Sue Novasel — are all seeking to continue to serve.

Green's major focus is technology in the schools. He said his background in education technology has helped the district move in that direction, for example by providing Netbooks to students at the middle school. He said all students need to be fully technology literate by the time they graduate from high school to compete in the modern marketplace. He also cited improvements at the high school — from the new drama center to a new student center — as markers of success.  His qualifications to serve include his service in several professional organizations, said Green.

Doyle said he is running "pretty much for the same reasons I did before. I care a lot about the children of the community and the quality of our schools. It kind of comes naturally to me" as a pediatrician, Doyle said.

Doyle himself has five children who attend school in the district. "I would say during my  term I've done a good job of representing the views of the community. . . . I go to the meetings well prepared to listen and discuss the issues as they come up," Doyle said.

Novasel, who has been out of the country, was unable to respond to Mountain News phone calls by press time.

There are four candidates who have filed for seats on the STPUD board to replace Marylou Mosbacher, who has served five-and-a-half terms on the board and is stepping down to spend more time with her children and grandchildren, according to STPUD spokesman Dennis Cocking. The candidates are retired STPUD employee Claude Gunsch, homemaker Mary Kortge, business owner John Runnels and local engineer Randy Vogelsang.

Kortge said she has the time, energy and know-how to serve. She has previously worked as a town clerk in Michigan and as a manager for AT&T and served on school site councils, she said. Her husband is an engineer who has built water treatment plants and she is brushing up on her knowledge of district operations, from board meetings to facilities. "I love politics and I think I'm good at it," said Kortge.

Vogelsang, a local engineer, said he is good at balancing cost and quality, which he said he does regularly in his business. He said STPUD too often goes for the "gold plated" option and chooses to raise rates rather than becoming more cost effective. He is also concerned about water metering and wants to make it "a little more equitable." After college, he worked for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Runnels, owner of Runnels Automotive, said he is running because the district is "insensitive to what the ratepayers are going through due to the economic conditions in this town" and it raises rates instead of making cuts. "They've lost track of the public which is their middle name." Other utility districts have cut back on hiring and capital improvements, said Runnels. Having attended STPUD board meetings, read reports and gone along on district field trips over the past six years, Runnels said he is "ready to hit the ground running from the time of the swearing-in ceremony without having to play catch up."

Retired district employee Claude Gunsch said he, too, has a short learning curve when it comes to district policy and operations. "I worked for the district for 34-plus years. I know the ins and outs. I want to support the community, stay real involved and keep rates low... I'm certified in water distribution and treatment of water by the state... I don't promote myself as a politician; I'm more of a nuts and bolts kind of guy," said Gunsch.

Kelly Sheehan, owner of both Steamers bar and a local painting business along with her husband, is challenging incumbent Dale Rise for Seat 4 on the STPUD board.

Rise told the Mountain News he is running "because I believe I have really made a difference to the public... I've changed half a dozen ordinances that were not in favor of the public and convinced three of our four other board members it was the right thing to do." His qualifications for office, said Rise, include his background as an engineering and construction contractor, which contribute to his understanding of STPUD operations, and his attendance at training sessions for public officials.

Rise declined to comment on a September 2009 domestic dispute call to his home in which he was accused of resisting a police officer by turning the officer¹s taser back on the officer. Rise eventually pled "no contest" to three misdemeanor counts in the matter and was sentenced to three years probation, 500 hours of community service, a $2,500 fine and a year-long batterer's treatment program. Numerous community members showed up at Rise's sentencing to express their support for him.

Rise said the incident has "no bearing on the election because that is a private matter. I've done a great job for the public and that's all that matters."

Sheehan says she has been thinking of running for public office for a few years to "serve the community." Her 25 years as a bank branch manager at El Dorado Savings Bank will help her  understand district finances, she said. She also touted her experience as a business owner, noting she has been able to keep the doors open through the recent economic turmoil. "Not only do I run a business, I run it when times are tough."

And finally, in the most talked about contest on the ballot, the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Facilities Joint Powers Authority has placed Measure R on the ballot, which seeks to amend Measure S. Passed in 2000, Measure S was designed to provide maintenance funding for new bike trails in town, construction of the ice arena, improvements to Tahoe Paradise park and money for three new ballfields — only one of which has been built. Measure R would provide up to $500,00 in additional money for ballfields and $500,000 or more for maintenance and renovation of already existing Class 1 (separate from the roadway) and Class 2 (part of the roadway) bike trails. Measure S called for maintenance of only new bike trails. A measure to direct all the bond money to ballfields failed in 2009. Measure R needs a two-thirds vote to pass.

After reaching a $500,000 limit, the maintenance funds would only go to new Class 1 bike trails, unless excess funds remain in the JPA coffers. That remainder would continue to be used for repairs to old bike trails, until and unless new bike trails are constructed. Also, by lifting Measure S restrictions on the annual amount of money which could be spent on bike trails, funding for bike trails would increase from $1.8 million up to $2.7 million, according to proponents of Measure R.

Having maintenance funding for bike trails on the table would help attract grants and encourage construction of new bike trails by other agencies, said JPA staffer John Upton. The JPA would also appoint advisory committees from a broad cross-section of the community  to recommend exactly how Measure R money should be spent, according to Upton. This should remedy possibly illegal inequities under Title IX, which mandates money be spent equally for both boys and girls sports. With committee representation from both factions, money would likely be directed to girls¹ softball fields as well as boys' baseball fields, Upton said.

The current Measure S assessment, said Upton, is $18 annually per single family home with varying formulas for multi-unit housing and businesses. That assessment will not change under Measure R, Upton said. The cost to the JPA to put the measure on the ballot will be between $16,000 and $18,000 approximately, Upton said.

Former parks and recreation commissioner Stephen Reinhard has launched an effort to defeat Measure R. Reinhard declined to speak on the record and is directing voters to his ballot argument against the measure and another written statement he provided. Ballfields do not need more money as the local sports organizations have successfully raised the funds to keep ballfields in good shape and do not need any help from the government, Reinhard wrote. Measure R is a "money grab" by the softball and baseball clubs, he wrote.

"As we struggle to rebrand our city, a freshly paved bike trails system would be a great start . . . Our trails need 100 percent of the money," wrote Reinhard, noting the dilapidated state of many bike trails in town.