Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

Louis Boitano is running for a fifth = term as=20 District 4 county supervisor. He is campaigning against local = businessman=20 David Pincus. Boitano has listed his experience as one of his = chief=20 draws.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
Editor's note: This is the fifth = in a=20 series profiling candidates for the Amador County Board of=20 Supervisors.

Louis Boitano's office at the County = Administration=20 Center overlooks a city he knows well - a photo taken circa 1898 of his=20 grandfather, a master molder at the Knight Foundry around the corner in = Sutter=20 Creek, hangs near his desk by other pictures of his family members with = ties to=20 Jackson and other areas of the county.

The fourth generation = resident of=20 Amador County is currently serving his fourth term as the county's = District 4=20 supervisor. One might think four is his lucky number, but Boitano plans = to make=20 five a standout by serving the county for another term.

His name, = along=20 with District 4 candidate David Pincus, will be on the ballot June = 3.

In=20 addition to serving 16 years on the board of supervisors, Boitano has = made=20 several other contributions to the area.

He worked for 10 years = as a=20 volunteer firefighter for the Sutter Creek Fire Department, and spent = three=20 years on the Sutter Creek City Council from 1987 to 1990. He's been a = member of=20 the Italian Benevolent Society for about 30 years. He also belongs to = Native=20 Sons of the Golden West.

He said the budget has been balanced for = the=20 past 15 years, something only three counties in the entire state have = been able=20 to do.

The project he's most proud of is the Highway 49 bypass, = 3.9 miles=20 of road that runs from the northern part of Amador City to just south of = Sutter=20 Creek, which opened Feb. 28, 2007.

"The congestion was pretty = bad" in the=20 area prior to the construction of the bypass, he said.

"A lot of = people=20 worked on the bypass here," he said, calling it the "biggest project" = he's been=20 a part of during his time on the board.

Boitano is the chairman = of the=20 Amador Local Agency Formation Commission, which coordinates "logical and = timely=20 changes in local governmental boundaries," according to the agency's Web = site.=20 He also sits on the Amador County Transportation Commission board and = Amador=20 Regional Sanitation Authority board.

"ARSA is looking at ways to = disperse=20 their water," he said. "I'm proud to say we put a wastewater collection = and=20 disposal field in Pine Grove," he added, noting that it's been in place = for=20 about eight years.

One of the issues that concern Boitano is that = the=20 county's firefighters are all volunteers.

"We're lucky we have a = lot of=20 dedicated people," he said of the county's firefighters, who volunteer = to fight=20 fire when they have time off from their jobs. "It's a real crunch during = the day=20 and on the weekend."

He said that he worries that "one night = we'll need=20 medical help and no one will be there."

Boitano said he's also = concerned=20 about the statewide issue of overcrowded jails and its effect at the = local=20 level.

"Our jail is overcrowded and it's getting to the point = where it's=20 dangerous," he said.

A $30 million grant is available from the = state to=20 build a new jail. The grant application, he added is "due soon. We have = to have=20 property in our possession by a certain date."

As for = transportation, the=20 county recently received a $311,000 grant for a Sutter Hill Transit = Center, a=20 drop off center for buses in Sutter Creek. "I think it gives people the=20 opportunity to get out of their cars," he said, "use the = bus."

The=20 transportation commission approved the $6 million transit center in June = 2005;=20 the project is scheduled for construction in several phases over the = next 10=20 years and will have a transit transfer facility, a park and ride = facility, a=20 multi-use office building, solar electric shade structures and a 1.62 = acre city=20 park. The state Department of Transportation gave the 4.8-acre property = to=20 ACTC.

Boitano's main goals during his fifth term would be = creating=20 employment and affordable housing opportunities and maintaining a = balanced=20 budget. "We're in a recession," he said. "We need seasoned = veterans."

A=20 1972 graduate of Amador High School in Sutter Creek, Boitano went on to=20 Sacramento City College, where he majored in industrial technology. He = was=20 elected to the following terms on the Amador County Board of = Supervisors: 1993=20 to 1996; 1997 to 2000; 2001 to 2004; and 2005 to 2008.

Boitano = lives in=20 Sutter Creek with his wife, Christine. The couple has two children, = Holly, 24,=20 and Daniel, 21.

Bethany A. = Monk