(San Diego’s East County)—Two candidates are vying for the 4th District seat on the Padre Dam Municipal Water Board.
Incumbent Augie Caires is running on his record, including slashing the District’s deficit and saving money for customers. His opponent, environmental health specialist John Hammerstrand, wants to eliminate contaminants including fluoride, a neurotoxin, from drinking water.
Below are both candidates’ answers to written questions provided by East County Magazine.
AUGIE CAIRES
1. Motivation. What is your motivation for running?
I am in my sixth year on the Board and I am very proud of the many accomplishments my colleagues and I have made: Hired an eminently qualified General Manager; balanced the budget every year; adopted a five year Business Plan; adopted a ten year Strategic Plan; completed a Drought Response Plan; continued our investment in capital replacement and upgrades; and most importantly—when faced with a deficit budget in 2011, approved a deficit elimination plan in which we reduced staff by 19%, cut pension and other benefit costs, reduced operating costs and cut or delayed many capital projects—resulting in customer savings of over $10 million in the next ten years. I want to build upon our accomplishments and help meet our challenges in the future.
2. Qualifications. What is your professional/career background, and how will it help you in the position for which you are running?
In addition to serving on the Padre Dam Board for six years, I also served as Padre Dam’s General Manager for over 13 years and served as a public agency CEO for 27 years. My educational background includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. This background has helped me to fully understand the challenges and opportunities we have in providing one of life’s precious essentials to our customers—a safe and reliable supply of water. My qualifications and experience have prepared me to contribute to our future successes.
3. Leadership. Describe your view of what leadership as it applies to serving on your water board. To what degree should Board decisions be swayed by public opinion?
The Public, our customers, have elected the Board to make the policy decisions necessary to operate and maintain an efficient and effective water utility. My highest priority in this leadership position is to ensure, in all my decisions, that the water delivered to your home and business is of the highest quality and safety, and when you turn on the tap it is there, reliably. And, this water must be delivered at a sufficiently high enough pressure to meet firefighting requirements for your safety. As a Board member I am responsible only to our customers, and listening to their opinions, engaging in a dialogue with them about water issues is part of my responsibility.
4. Challenges. What are the main challenges you believe your District faces?
The cost of operating and maintaining an efficient water system and replacing an aging infrastructure in the face of customer concern over rates is our greatest challenge! Yet, it is our duty and responsibility to operate, maintain, repair and replace a large and complex water system and meet all regulatory requirements as well. Further, more than half of the water bill is the price we pay to purchase treated water, and we do not control this cost at all! The price we pay for water has risen over 125% in the past decade—and this is hard for customers to understand and accept. So, to reiterate, our greatest challenge is to communicate with and educate our customers about what must be done to maintain an efficient water system and what it will cost!
5. Vision. What’s your long term vision for meeting water needs in your District?
In addition to operating and maintaining an efficient and modern water system my vision is that we do so in a transparent manner, communicating with customers every step of the way and being accountable for our successes and failures. I want customers to know what they pay for and why. This means passing and publishing a balanced budget, displaying all actions on our webpage and continuing to comply with the Open Meeting Law, the Brown Act.
6. Implementation. Has your District published a Strategic Plan to implement its goals and visions? Would you please expand on this, and any other ideas you have to implement your vision expressed in the previous question.
I am proud to say that the Padre Dam Board recently adopted a comprehensive ten year (2012-2022) Strategic Plan that is posted on our webpage. In addition to our commitment to sustainable business practices, this plan defines the “New Normal” we find ourselves in, in which water demand and supply are reduced and concurrently the costs of operating the water system must be controlled explicitly. Our six Strategic Goals are detailed in the plan, but I want to call attention to one Goal in particular—Enhancing Customer Communications and Education. This goal is critical in achieving the challenge of not losing the customer along our way to professionally managing our water system. The customer needs to be brought along through education programs, communication programs and the use of interactive technology. We who are elected to represent customers must cultivate positive customer and community relations.
7. Rates. Do you believe all water users should pay the same rate, or that some users should subsidize others? Please explain. What is your view of your District’s rate structure?
The State of California Constitution mandates, through the equal protection clause, that all rates charged to each customer class must cover the costs of delivering the service to that class and that one class of customers may not subsidize another. Therefore, it is actually illegal for some users to subsidize others. There is one exception related to consumption: By example, Padre Dam’s structure (a water budgeting approach) rewards water conservers and penalizes high water consumers through the rate charged per 100 cubic feet. This method has been upheld in the courts, and is in fact encouraged by various laws.
8. Transparency What have you done or will do to promote transparency in your district?
Transparency and Accountability—“Knowing what you pay for”, is one of the principles contained in my platform. The others are “Get what you pay for” and “See what you pay for”. I believe in governing in a fully transparent manner so that customers (you and I) know exactly what we are paying for and why. Trust is essential in the Customer—Board relationship, and trust will only occur if we are fully transparent in all we do. Customers don’t always pay attention to the water bill and what goes into it, so we have to find ways of getting their attention and being completely transparent.
JOHN HAMMERSTRAND
1. Motivation. What is your motivation for running?
To assist in changing the policy of Padre Dam Municipal Water District, Metropolitan Water District (a public corporation) and San Diego County Water Authority decision to allow contaminants in our drinking water. The specific contaminant is the injection of (Hydrofluosilicic acid)—fluoride in our water supply—without public approval. This NEUROTOXIN injection is a form of medication and supposedly to prevent tooth decay.
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has never approved fluoride as a means to prevent tooth decay. To help prevent tooth deay, consume few sugars—brush teeth and floss…after every meal or snack. Fluoride is a topical solution, not to be used for systemic purposes. Therefore, placing fluoride in the water supply is a waste of money with no benefit. If placing topical solutions in our water is such a good idea, why have not the government and elected officials placed suntan lotion in water solution for us to drink to prevent sunburn for the beach. Even better, let’s place Ben-Gay in solution for us to drink to prevent sore muscles?
Let the individual public decide what medication they want and need. We do not need fluoride in our food, healthcare products and water. What about fluorosis risks and the danger posed to infants? Even better, those with dialysis treatment.
In Scandinavia, and lall of Europe and most other advanced nations have banned the use of fluoride. Why? Because fluoride in your body absorbs extra aluminum and it goes to your brain. Have you heard of Alzheimer’s disease?
2. Qualifications. What is your professional/career background, and how will it help you in the position for which you are running?
Thirty years as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist with the County of San Diego, many of those years working with safe and abundant water quality issues.
3. Leadership. Describe your view of what leadership as it applies to serving on your water board. To what degree should Board decisions be swayed by public opinion?
Continue to make and see progress as our most important product for health care and water quality needs. Listen to the citizenry and public at large to evaluate needs and mandates.
4. Challenges. What are the main challenges you believe your District faces?
To monitor and remove contaminates from our drinking water supply–contaminates that play an adverse effect in our rood, health care products, and water. My issue about fluoride toxin in our water has support from professionals in the medical, scientific, and environmental communities.
5. Vision. What’s your long term vision for meeting water needs in your District?
Continue to monitor our water supply wants and needs from the Colorado River, from the northern California river basin, from our near future Desalination Plant in North County. The Desalination Plant when online might produce at least 50,000 gallons per day as a start for the consumer.
6. Implementation. Has your District published a Strategic Plan to implement its goals and visions?
As a Board member, I shall evaluate existing strategic plans, goals and vision to assist the total Board members in deciding changes for the public good. My specific plan is to plan, organize, develop and control issues. We need new ideas to determine pension changes, union participation, and cost of water service to our public users.
7. Rates. Do you believe all water users should pay the same rate, or that some users should subsidize others? Please explain. What is your view of your District’s rate structure?
Pay for your own water use. It’s nonsense to pay more for water when you use less as opposed to those that buy in bulk and use very high quantities of water but pay substantially less. WE shall strive for the lowest cost of water per 100 cubic feet of water for our customers.
8. Transparency: What have you done or will do to promote transparency in your district?
Continue to have an open door and phone policy. Listen with and for the public for ideas and items of public interest.
Note: Hammerstrand provided additional “items of interest”:
AB 733 (1995) does not manate fluoride be injected into our water supply. It only states when funded by a third party, no ratepayers and no-tax funds. And water districts have more than 10,000 connections. The City of San Diego and Metropolitcan Water District (MWD)( has taken money from the FIRST 5 (i.e. first grade through ffth grade school). The MWD only has 200 connections. Therefore, not mandated by AB 755. Remember, City of San Diego is a charter city and cannot be mandated unless a statewide concern.
The State Legislature should pass a law warning fluoridating communities about fluorisis risk and the dangers posed to infants. Something like this: “Your public water supply has been fluoridated. According to the Center for disease Control and Prevention, when your child is under the age of six months and is exclusively consuming infant formula reconstituted with fluoridated water, there may be an increased chance of dental fluorosis. Please consult your child’s health care provider for more information.”
Only the poor, Black, Hispanic and White ethnic population that can only afford tap water for their baby’s formula are at high risk. What a shame.
My motive is for the public’s best interest.