Rancho Calaveras, CA…For too long, District 5 has been burdened by County Supervisors who have lacked either the interest, ability or integrity to do the work required. None have been re-elected to office in District 5 in the past 20 years – a singular feat for Calaveras County. In running for this office, I will bring over 25 years of fiscal management experience and community service to bear on the issues concerning our District. Reasonable cannabis regulation and the consequent public safety issues are at the forefront today. Equally important are quality of life concerns that impact property values, protecting and making the most of our beautiful natural resources.

As fiscal officer, college teacher, event coordinator, newspaper editor and community volunteer, I have consistently produced positive sustainable outcomes. As your supervisor, I will work as hard as ever to lead our District into a brighter future.

As a Rancho Calaveras resident since 1990, I have seen a steady stream of one-term supervisors unable to accomplish anything meaningful for District 5 residents. After the successful recall vote against Supervisor Kearney, we now have a supervisor who has shown himself to be willfully ignorant of his basic job duties. I want to ensure that voters have the option to choose a candidate with the skills needed to understand and implement meaningful change and who will work to make progress on issues of local importance.

My vision is one in which our community works together to make long-range decisions that will benefit future generations. Long-term investments in education, parks and local infrastructure can bring quality jobs to our District. My wife and I have been married 33 years and have two 22-year old daughters in college, after attending local schools: Jenny Lind, Toyon and Calaveras High. Our goal is to make district and Calaveras County a healthy place where all people can live and thrive.

My 25 year career includes extensive experience in fiscal management, most recently overseeing agencies with budgets of $5 – $24 million. I have strong skills in and a thorough understanding of non-profit accounting, with strong skills in budget and grant preparation, Federal and State grant and financial compliance reporting, internal control, audit compliance, fiscal policy establishment, and cost and income allocation.

For the past two years, I have served as Fiscal Officer for Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency, after serving as Chief Financial Officer at Community Action Marin (CAM) for the previous 4 years – both non-profits have programs in Head Start, State child development, mental health, energy, food banking, housing services and other programs serving low-income clients. Before that, I both consulted on and directed the fiscal side of child care subsidy programs.

In prior positions, I helped facilitate leadership transitions, working beyond fiscal: directly with Boards and committees. As a past or current Board member of seven non-profits, I have served in all executive positions. This experience gave me a thorough understanding of the Board-staff relationship – what a Board expects from executive staff and what it means to have a functional, productive Board, able to act responsibly on behalf of the public.

I am an honest, hard-working and ethical leader, excel in situations where independent thought and judgment are critical, and have no difficulty making tough recommendations and decisions. I work well in difficult situations, under short deadlines. All this would allow me to do a great job as District 5 supervisor.

Specific areas of importance include:

1. Fiscal responsibility – The primary task of County Supervisor is to ensure that the county is solvent, with the ability to provide necessary county services with the funds available. Yet too often, County Supervisors have failed to take the time to understand the untapped potential of existing and future budget funds. Governmental budgets and financial statements can seem complicated. There are many individual funds that cannot be mixed because of their particular restrictions. I have the experience to both understand such complex statements and the interest to dig into fund details. Every Calaveras citizen deserves to understand how and where their precious tax dollars are spent.

2. Leadership and vision – The Calaveras County General Plan has not been updated for decades proving the maxim that a failure to plan is a plan for failure. We deserve leadership from our County Supervisors that enacts a living General Plan that is monitored regularly and updated as needed. One reason for our County’s stagnation is an inability to make important decisions transparent and understandable to its citizens.

3. Create a foundation for success – Calaveras County has potential for greatness. While already a beautiful place to live, we have not been successful in generating sufficient tax reveune to fund our police, our schools or basic infrastructure. Budget time is not a fun time for the County – there is never enough money to pay for basic needs.

In order to flourish, our local economy must have foundational industries that provide a reliable tax base and solid jobs. Absent sales and property tax revenues, Calaveras County must develop revenue sources that bring in funds from outside the county, as well as keeping local incomes cycling within local business as much as possible.

With the current situation of statewide recreational cannabis legalization upon us, Calaveras County should be able to take advantage of an industry in which it can be very competitive over other communities. Tightly regulated cannabis cultivation, marketing and distribution can provide much needed income to business owners and workers and tax dollars to enforce laws. I will be willing to work very hard to ensure that safe and responsible cannabis regulation generates the funds to help balance our budgets well into the future, while keeping cultivation out of residential areas. A ban is regulation that generates no revenue for necessary enforcement – thoughtful work needs to be done to ensure a safe, secure and prosperous future.

For more information, visit www.bruce4d5.com or call 209-559-6279.