Political veterans vie for District 4 seat in Calaveras

By Dana M. Nichols

May 05, 2012

Record Staff Writer

Editor’s note: 13th in a series

SAN ANDREAS – Three seasoned elected leaders are facing off against each other in Calaveras County supervisorial District 4.

The district was redrawn last year and now includes Copperopolis. That makes it possible for Russ Thomas, who represented District 5 for one term before losing a re-election bid in 2010, to challenge former board colleague Tom Tryon.

Debbie Ponte, a former mayor of Angels Camp, makes it a three-way race. If any one of the three gets a majority of votes June 5, he or she will win the office. Otherwise, the top two finishers will face off in November’s general election.

Tryon, a rancher living in the Angels Camp portion of the district, has served on the board since 1984 and is seeking an eighth term.

That long record gives both of Tryon’s challengers material to criticize, though in different ways.

“I believe I can bring a fresh leadership style,” said Ponte. “I’m someone who likes to collaborate and bring lots of folks to the table.”

That’s Ponte’s way of taking a diplomatic jab at both Tryon and Thomas, though Tryon is her main target.

Tryon is known for his blunt statements during board deliberations and for holding unapologetically libertarian political views. Although he recently switched his party registration to Republican, Tryon said he did so only because “we have a substantial libertarian presence now in the Republican Party.”

Thomas and Tryon were sometimes openly critical of each other when both were on the board, clashing, for example, over how best to plan for growth and whether to limit the ability of property owners to subdivide rural land for housing.

Tryon has for years argued that houses should be built where municipal water and sewers are available. He’s been a supporter of limiting the ability of property owners to subdivide rural land that doesn’t have access to municipal water and sewers.

Thomas says Tryon’s approach is overly restrictive and that modern, well-engineered septic systems make housing viable in many rural, large-lot settings.

Ponte says she admires retiring Supervisor Steve Wilensky for his ability to build consensus with other board members. Wilensky, a former labor union representative in Stockton, has been the most politically progressive member of the Board of Supervisors for the past eight years.

Ideologically, Ponte is closer to Tryon’s views on the need to limit government. Ponte said there’s a need, for example, to “look at what kinds of county regulations are strangling small businesses.”

While Tryon does advocate limited government, he rejects the idea that he has allowed Calaveras regulations to become excessive on his watch. “Most of the regulations we have are just enforcement of state law.”

Tryon says that Ponte is weak on specific policy proposals and refers to her campaign statements as “feel good stuff” about bringing people together.

The harshest exchanges of criticism, however, have been between Tryon and Thomas.

Thomas said that Tryon has “consistently been on a pathway that I think takes away certain options from citizens who own large parcels that they have always had.” Thomas says Tryon’s policies limiting the ability to subdivide agricultural land have contributed to the county’s economic stagnation.

Tryon calls Thomas’s accusation “hypocritical.”

“For him to say ‘I’m pro economic growth and Tom isn’t’ is a total rewrite of history,” Tryon said.

Instead, Tryon said, it was Thomas who caused “economic turmoil” by voting to install former Community Development Director Stephanie Moreno.

Moreno’s tenure from 2006 to 2008 sparked bitter complaints from builders and developers who said her reforms were hurting business.

Tryon has been critical of a community plan Thomas helped draft that envisioned a population of up to 40,000 people in the Copperopolis area, largely by allowing large-lot, low-density development between Highway 4 and Lake Tulloch. “You could put 60,000 or 70,000 people down there,” Tryon said of the plan, which he says needs significant revision before it can be adopted.

Thomas says Tryon is misinterpreting the plan, and that he and others were following county planning staff guidance when they drafted the Copperopolis Community Plan. But he also said he accepts that Rebecca Willis, the county’s current planning director, may have reasons for asking that the planned dimensions of Copperopolis be reduced.

He said he and others on the community plan committee went with a low-density approach with the objective of having “Copperopolis in the future look and feel approximately like it does today.”

Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 607-1361 or dnichols@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/calaverasblog.

The candidates

Debbie Ponte, 51

Party affiliation: Republican

Political experience: Angels Camp City Council member for nine years. Served as mayor for part of that time.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations from California State University, Fresno

Work: Residential care facility administrator

Personal: Married to Dave Ponte, two children

Quote: “I’ve always been involved in community. I thoroughly enjoyed my time serving the City of Angels.”

Russ Thomas, 69

Party affiliation: Republican

Political experience: Served four years as a Calaveras County supervisor, served six years on the Stanislaus County Planning Commission

Education: Business administration degree from California State University, Stanislaus

Work: Masonry consultant and sales

Personal: Married to Gloria Luna

Quote: “If you are completely satisfied with the state of the county at the present time, then I think you ought to continue with the present leadership.”

Tom Tryon, 67

Party affiliation: Republican

Political experience: Has served since 1984 on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from University of California, Berkeley; master’s in business administration from University of Chicago

Work: Calaveras County supervisor, rancher

Personal: Married to Denise, adult children

Quote: “They are not self-sustaining. The community centers are self-sustaining,” Tryon said, explaining his opposition to low-density housing developments on agricultural land.

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