Directors Jim Lamb and Andy Su have qualified for the November ballot. Bernice King Tingle has taken out papers but has not submitted her final qualifying paperwork, according to Bassem Nakhla, candidate filing supervisor for the county registrar of voters.
Tingle said Thursday, Aug. 2, that she planned to complete the process and run for re-election in November.
The deadline to submit completed candidacy papers to the registrar’s office is Aug. 10, Nakhla said. No one else has picked up papers.
The directors’ reasons to seek another four-year term vary, but Lamb and Tingle both said their longevity on the board had created a strong working knowledge of what is needed to perform their duties as government leaders.
Lamb, Su and Tingle were all elected Nov. 4, 2008, during the community’s first board of directors election.
“I think I’m making a difference, and I believe at this point something I have to offer, that other candidates can’t, is my institutional knowledge,” Lamb said. “The simple answer is I really enjoy it. (I’m) learning new things about how government works, and as a result, I’m becoming more effective at the job.”
“(It’s an) advantage when people consider me — (they) see I’ve been very thoughtful and gone the extra mile to educate myself about the issues,” he said. “I’m a believer in (the) master plan and proponent of it and want to see that come to fruition.”
Tingle said her decisions as a director since 2008 were made as both a community leader and a resident.
“I really do have the heart for Mountain House,” she said. “There’s been four years of learning information, four years of taking board certified training, and the coming years we can spend trying to be more directional in following the Mountain House master plan — some continuity as we move forward.”
Her approach to leadership, she said, emphasizes the town’s future in addition to its present needs.
“I try to step outside myself before making the decision,” she said. “Not ‘What’s in it for Bernice?’ (but) ‘What’s in it for the cohesive of the community?’
“I just want to work further to make that dream town a reality.”
The third remaining member of the original governing board, said his platform to oppose new taxes has made him a standout among his opponents.
“I’ve voted against tax increases and a deficit spending budget,” Su said. “I’m pro-balanced budget and anti-taxes.”
“We have to pay taxes, but I don’t think the solution is always raise taxes; the other side is to reduce expenses,” he added. “I voted against tax raises the last three years, and my opponents voted for them. There’s always an opportunity to be more efficient.”
One of the goals Su said he hoped to accomplish is improving the way the board measures its successes and failures. He said his 2009 plan for an annual survey of residents — which lapsed after that year but was reinstated earlier in 2012 — could be improved to give the board better feedback from the community.
“I want good data,” he said. “Without data, how do you know how well you’re doing? How do you know if you need to change anything?”
All three directors said they considered Mountain House their home for the long term.
One seat on the board is out of the hands of its holder: that occupied by Director Jass Singh.
A campaign to recall Singh succeeded in collecting enough signatures to qualify a ballot measure for the November election, and voters will decide then whether he stays or goes.
If Singh were recalled and a write-in candidate did not want the job to fill his remaining two years, it might be up to the remaining four board members to appoint a replacement.
Lamb said he knew of a resident interested in taking over the seat, but he declined to reveal a name.
Celeste Farron, the fifth director, was elected in November 2010, and her term expires in 2014.
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