Rice and Weinsoff Face Off for Supervisor

UPDATE: There was a last minute addition to the District 2 Supervisor race that didn't make it into our article. College of Marin board member Eva Long filed late Friday to run against Rice and Weinsoff. Long, 69, is serving her fourth term on the COM board after being elected with the most number of votes this past November.

--

For the first time in 29 years, there will be a seriously contested election for the District 2 Supervisor seat.

This June, Supervisor Katie Rice, who was upon , will face challenger Fairfax Councilman David Weinsoff.

Ross Councilman Scot Hunter and Fairfax Councilman Larry Bragman said they were also considering running last week, but neither had officially entered the race this afternoon with the filing deadline for the June election at 5 p.m. today.

Both Rice and Weinsoff said it was an easy decision to run and each pointed to their years of experience serving the community.

“When Hal asked me and wanted to recommend me, it was with the clear understanding I would run in June for the full term,” said Rice.

Rice has served as the District 2 Supervisor, covering Ross Valley, since She served as Brown’s aide for eight years and was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown at the former supervisor’s recommendation.

. There will be a .

In the months since she was appointed, Rice said she’s just been working on connecting with people, making time to be the public face for residents to come to, and focusing on continuing Brown’s work.

Before serving as Brown’s aide, Rice worked in West Marin on farms in a variety of jobs and wrote articles about the region for local papers. She later co-founded the YES Foundation after moving to Sleepy Hollow and became involved in the Environmental Forum of Marin.

“This County is all about who I am,” she said.

She worked for Brown on his campaign before becoming his aide and immersing herself in district issues. When she was appointed to replace him, she said she felt it was her job to continue his work for the duration of his term.

“I don’t think it makes sense to come into a job not having been elected with a specific platform,” she said.

If she’s elected, though, she said the things she’ll focus on first are balancing the budget, reforming the county’s pension system and implementing the flood prevention programs that have been years in the making for the district. In the long-term, she wants to prioritize balancing growth and affordable housing with preserving open space.

Weinsoff has also been involved in the community for a number of years, since being elected to the Fairfax Town Council in the fall of 2005 – .

“The experience gained from making decisions on these issues every month (and even more frequently during my term as Mayor) is my primary qualification for a seat on the Board of Supervisors,” said Weinsoff in a written statement. “I believe it distinguishes me from any other candidate for this office.”

Before that, in addition to working as an environmental lawyer since the mid-1980s, he served on the Planning Commission almost immediately after moving to town in 1996 and was a founding member of the town’s Open Space Committee.

After some long and hard thought about what issues he wanted to champion during his campaign and as supervisor if elected, Weinsoff narrowed the key problems facing the district to pension reform, eliminating poverty, environmental policies that Fairfax has championed and that he has worked on as a board member for the Marin Conservation League, and streamlining county government.

The last of these he acknowledges may be obscure, but could end up being effective.

“This could be much more efficient,” he said of a couple specific ideas he’d like to see implemented, including coordinating technical assistance and support across the 11 towns and county.

Both candidates officially kicked off their campaigns in the last few weeks and have been out fundraising and knocking on doors.

(Hunter, while he was considering a run for the office, said he was given a consultant estimate of $150,000 needed for a supervisorial campaign.)

And, both acknowledge that the other has done great things for the community, but each believes they would better serve the residents.

“I know this district better than Scot Hunter or David Weinsoff do,” Rice said.

“While I understand why Hal, suffering the unimaginable difficulties of his current illness, would tap his close aide and personal friend to succeed him, it is important for Ross Valley voters to know that he strongly endorsed both of my successful Fairfax Town Council campaigns and has supported me throughout my career,” Weinsoff pointed out by email.

The race is bound to be a close one and is one of three Supervisor seats up for election this June.

Who will you vote for?