With Beth Hart and Joe Tatusko retiring from the Borrego Water District (BWD) Board of Directors, and current Board Vice President Lyle Brecht seeking a third term, the November election will bring two Borregans for voter consideration – Dave Duncan and Kathy Dice.

We asked each of them to a summary of their candidacy, with more info to be provided as the election nears.

In the order of filing with the County Registrar of Voters, they are:

Dave Duncan

With passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the scope of responsibility has increased dramatically for the BWD. The BWD is no longer just in the water delivery and wastewater treatment business – it is now in the resource management business as well. It is this area in which my skills and experience come to bear: Appointed by the Governor of Oregon to serve on the Groundfish Management Panel to the Pacific Fisheries Management Council between 1989 to 2001.

In 1996, again appointed by the Governor of Oregon, I served as a community stakeholder on a committee tasked with developing a management plan for Oregon's near shore ocean waters. Both endeavors are analogous to developing and implementing our Groundwater Sustainability Plan and meeting the requirements of SGMA. I am also the Ratepayer representative on the GSA Advisory Committee for the GSP. If I am elected, I look forward to working with the other board members to create a sustainable water supply and a sustainable community.

Kathy Dice

I have lived in this community for 30 years, and as Superintendent for both Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Salton Sea State Recreation Area.

I've always kept an eye on our water situation, in the watershed itself and in the Borrego Valley. Protecting our aquifer is a part of what I did. With a focus on environmental impacts on the Park, I've worked with the BWD on many Park-related projects.

I decided to run for the position because I've always felt the need to give back to the community. We all have concerns about how our groundwater sustainability plan will be implemented, and how it will impact Borrego Springs, and I want to help the transition go smoothly.

I have experience with conservation programs and how to make adjustments for new realities, and I am familiar with budgeting and finance – the Park budget was about $4 million – and all the planning, management, and priority-setting that goes with it, including writing grant proposals to supplement the budget.

Lyle Brecht

I am running for a third term for the governing board of the Borrego Water District. I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges during my almost 8-years of service as Vice President of the Board since 2011.

During this time, my focus has primarily been on working to restore the credit worthiness of the District.

The District, with its restored credit and with the requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, is now in a position to address the critical overdraft of the Borrego Basin.

Some of my background for this work on the District Board includes: Former business development executive; commissioner for a rural water district in Tennessee; president of a community planning association for northern Baltimore County, Maryland; policy advisor to Office of Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and advanced degrees from Harvard Business School and from the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences.