Ledger-Dispatch

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

Attendees of an election forum Monday = night=20 sought audiences with the candidates for Amador County supervisor, = including David Pincus, right, afterwards.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
When it came to the supervisor = candidates=20 forum at the County Administration Center Monday night, it was the = questions,=20 not the answers, that provided the most fireworks.

Six candidates = attended the forum co-hosted by the Amador Citizens for Responsible = Government=20 and the Amador County Association of Realtors. Four were competing for = the=20 District 1 seat being vacated by Supervisor Rich Escamilla, while David = Pincus=20 squared off against incumbent Louis Boitano for the District 4 seat. = Absent was=20 District 1 candidate John Gonsalves, who is recovering from a pulmonary=20 embolism.

Ledger Dispatch Publisher Jack Mitchell moderated the = 90-minute=20 forum to a packed house of about 140, asking questions crafted by Amador = Citizens, a local group that lobbies for small government. The format = surprised=20 some candidates, who said in the days following the forum that they = would have=20 preferred taking questions from the audience.

"It was definitely = not=20 structured like an objective debate," said Jackson mayor and District 1=20 candidate Rosalie Pryor Escamilla, who has participated in forums before = the=20 Amador County Deputy Sheriff's Association and local SEIU labor = organization.=20 "(The questions) were pretty provocative and carried with them certain=20 implications or assumptions."

Boitano went further, telling the = Ledger=20 Dispatch the questions were outright critical of the current board of=20 supervisors. But he credited the candidates for sticking to the issues. = "Most of=20 the candidates didn't rise to that level, didn't take the bait," he = said. "We=20 tried to do our best."

In an e-mail to the Ledger Dispatch, = Amador=20 Citizens staff said the questions were based on roughly 250 survey = responses the=20 group received at its Web site, = www.amadorcitizens.camp7.org.

"These=20 surveys had many recurrent themes in them and ACRG attempted to craft = questions=20 based on the majority of opinions voiced in these surveys," the e-mail = said. "We=20 further sought input from the Association of Realtors as we invited them = to=20 co-host the debate with our organization. If you were to give credit to = anyone,=20 it would probably be the many citizens that took time to respond to our=20 survey."

After a brief introduction by the candidates, each = candidate had=20 two minutes to respond to each question.

The first question = centered on=20 the board's approval of a 20-year lease for its new health and human = services=20 building.

"Do you think investing in this new, oversized and = extravagant=20 building with no guarantee of state funding was a fiscally responsible = decision=20 by the board and if not, what would you have done differently?" asked=20 Mitchell.

First up was Boitano, who said the county was working = to rent=20 space to other departments or organizations, like probation, Operation = Care,=20 First 5 Amador and others. "We're going to make it," he said. "If not, = there are=20 some (programs) there that could be potentially on the cutting=20 block."

While Pincus took the opportunity to say he would have = "looked at=20 different alternatives," Pryor Escamilla refused to play "Monday morning = quarterback" on past decisions. "I'm not even really a football = fan."

She=20 did say the county's decision took place within the context of a = "soaring"=20 economy. "We're in a fairly difficult situation with this current fairly = expansive facility and a long lease. I would certainty try to fill the = space,"=20 she added. "I would hate to see mental health and health and human = services be=20 on the chopping block without exploring other ways to solve the=20 problem."

District 1 candidate John Plasse said temporary = fluctuations in=20 the economy shouldn't dictate board decisions.

Candidates were = then asked=20 to describe their philosophy toward growth "without using the popular,=20 contemporary and meaningless phrase, 'smart growth.'"

Plasse = cited his=20 involvement in local growth issues surrounding the Jackson area, = specifically=20 the controversial housing and golf course project Jackson Hills. "That = project,=20 I think, is an example of some of the things that the cities and = counties need=20 to pay specific attention to," he said, adding that development = agreements=20 between developers and local government should be in place before any = project=20 approvals.

Pincus said common sense should dictate locations and = economic=20 factors. "We need to look at ways to develop affordable housing for our=20 communities," he added.

"Growth should be planned close to the=20 infrastructure," Boitano said. "That's a given. We should look at open = space=20 elements and all the elements of the general plan. They come into play = with big=20 developers."

"Growth is inevitable," said District 1 candidate = Ken Berry,=20 adding that he was "indifferent" to the topic. "New growth should not = infringe=20 on current residents."

Berry also came out against regional = planning in=20 response to the next questions, saying people should hold their elected=20 representatives accountable.

Pincus said he's not for regional = planning=20 either, "but it's important to keep the lines of communication=20 open."

Boitano pointed out that the regional planning committee, = listed=20 as "another layer of government bureaucracy" in the question, was an = advisory=20 body created for communication, not action. "We need to work together," = Boitano=20 said. "If we all stand together, it will be a lot better."

Plasse = agreed,=20 saying he supported the committee and believed some form of revenue = sharing=20 would be beneficial.

All the candidates came out against the = downsizing=20 of parcels, while a long question about the board's handling of the = Buena Vista=20 casino issue elicited careful responses.

Plasse and Pryor = Escamilla=20 prefaced their answers by saying it was impossible to know what went on = in=20 closed session meetings, but agreed the board took on the appearance of = bad=20 faith when it failed to accept its own counter offer regarding a casino=20 development agreement with the Buena Vista Band of Me-Wuk = Indians.

"It's=20 unfair to second guess the supervisors' (decision) at this point," Berry = said.

A question about the drug problem in Amador County had most = candidates cheering the efforts of a local narcotics task force and = calling for=20 tough punishments for drug dealers.

Pryor Escamilla and Pincus, a = former=20 police officer, said they favored prevention and education=20 programs.

Raheem Hosseini contributed to this = report.

Bethany A. = Monk