A few months ago, Tim Stanton got a sewer bill from the Otay Water District, even though his house in Jamul doesn't have sewer service and never will.
He got the charge taken off his bill, but his difficulty led him to wonder about the district.
“If I hadn't noticed it, it could have gone on for a long time. That got me going, 'Who's watching?' ” Stanton said.
Because of the bill problem, Stanton, a district engineer with the Ramona Municipal Water District, decided to run for the Otay board against incumbent Mark Robak. Two other incumbents, Jaime Bonilla and Jose Lopez, face no opposition in their bids for another four-year term on the board.
The board sets the ordinances, policies, taxes and rates for service in the 125-square-mile district, which has more than 182,000 residents in the southeastern portion of the county.
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Mark Robak
Age: 47
Residence: Spring Valley
Community involvement: President, Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College; past president, El Cajon Valley Lions Club; founder and past president, Santee Youth Foundation; member, Rancho San Diego-Jamul Chamber of Commerce
Occupation: Commercial real estate broker
Education: Bachelor's degree, San Diego State University
Tim Stanton
Age: 64
Residence: Jamul
Community involvement: Chairman, San Diego County regional standards committee
Occupation: District engineer, Ramona Municipal Water District
Education: Master's in civil engineering, California State University at Los Angeles; bachelor's degree, University of California Los Angeles
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The district has had contentious elections in the past, but the race between Robak and Stanton appears to be a low-key affair. The two are running for a seat in Division 5, which covers Jamul, Rancho San Diego and southern El Cajon.
Stanton said he has no problem with Robak's performance on the board, noting that Robak sent him an e-mail about his bill problem. He said his background as a former Otay employee, where he worked as district engineer from 1992 to 1999, and his current job for the Ramona water district will help make him a good board member.
“I just believe I could do an effective job of watching the costs,” Stanton said.
Robak, who was elected to the Otay board in 2004, said he wants to continue his work for the district. Before he moved to Spring Valley, Robak served on the Padre Dam Municipal Water District from 1996 to 2000.
“I'm doing this for the right reasons – my interest in community service and my background in this,” Robak said.
Robak is president of the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College, which promotes landscaping requiring less water use. He said water conservation is vital at a time when water rates around the county are rising because of the drought and state water policies.
“We have a big mission to accomplish, because 60 to 70 percent of the water that people use in the home is outdoors,” Robak said.
Robak said he would like to see the district's recycled-water facility provide reclaimed water in the Rancho San Diego area, as it now does for Chula Vista. That would require putting in pipes and infrastructure, he said.
Anne Krueger: (619) 593-4962; anne.krueger@uniontrib.com
