...The contest for the five open seats on the board of the directors of the Central Arizona Project, aka Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) on the ballot, covered in an article published Tuesday.
From the article (links added by me) -
From an airplane, you can easily see what voters might not realize on the ground: The contest for five seats on the Central Arizona Water Conservation District board of directors will have an enormous impact on our future.I definitely agree with the endorsements of Kazmi and Holway - they've got the kind of "real-world" experience in handling water resources that the board sorely needs. As for the others, I don't have any serious issues with their candidacies, but haven't done a lot of research on the rest of the candidates as yet.
The 15-member board oversees our supply of water from the Colorado River, delivered through the Central Arizona Project canal that so vividly cuts through the desert to reach the Phoenix and Tucson areas.
But a slate of candidates with narrow, short-term goals is threatening the long-term stability of our water supplies. They aim to shrink the water conservation district's role so drastically that it will be unable to do vital analysis and long-range planning. What a disaster for a desert state.
{snip}
Current board member Tim Bray, a Scottsdale water consultant, is thoroughly versed in the wide range of issues, from finding supplies to assisting rural areas (in the long-term self-interest of cities), that must be addressed.
Former Phoenix City Manager Frank Fairbanks offers the perspective of municipal water users, along with a track record of working cooperatively on complex problems.
Jim Holway of Phoenix has extensive experience in water management, including nine years as assistant director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources. His involvement in land and conservation issues would add depth to the board.
Engineer Arif Kazmi of Chandler would bring welcome technical knowledge of water delivery.
As former general manager of CAP, Sid Wilson knows its complete inner workings and the practical implications of policy decisions.
Another thing in the article that I definitely agree with is the sentiment that concluded the article (emphasis mine) -
The stakes are higher than ever. A shortsighted, rigid, ideological approach is truly dangerous to our long-term water supplies. Voters should put candidates with vision on CAP's board of directors.Voters should apply that sentiment when voting for all offices, not just CAWCD. Arizona's future is depending on it.
As more major endorsements roll in, I'll discuss them here.
Later...
2 comments:
Thanks for being so thoughtful about this important election. I hope you do not mind if I leave this link to a Facebook page promoting "A Better CAP Water Board":
http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Better-CAP-Water-Board-Central-Arizona-Water-Conservation-District/146341495409229?ref=sgm
The CAP Water Board is certainly important to our future viability, and we need members who are not only visionaries, but also those who have a keen understanding of water issues, who are good leaders, who can build consensus, and who are focused on the CAP not on building a resume for future political office. Sid Wilson has all those qualities and more. As GM of the CAP he ran a tight, lean ship and his knowledge of water issues runs deeper than any other candidate.
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