Vote NO on Measure B | Local control is best The Chapter has endorsed a NO on B vote. Measure B is an advisory vote, asking if the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, serving Monterey Peninsula cities and Carmel Valley, should be dissolved. Development interests support dissolution because of the District’s recent stands against dubious water schemes (such as “credit transfers”) to provide water for growth. No alternative power structure is proposed in this measure, so it is unclear who would take over management of this vital resource if the Board were dissolved. We oppose dissolution, because the Board: • Is made up of locally-elected representatives, so residents have more voice in how their scarce water is managed than if that power were moved to Sacramento or Salinas. • Is mandated to manage the environment, while the private water purveyor is mainly concerned with increasing profits. • Is working to resolve the many-decades water supply issue by looking at alternatives to a destructive dam on the Carmel River. • Has shown leadership and courage by instituting better well-monitoring and reporting, and launched an investigation of water management on two of the area’s largest subdivision/golf course developments. • Went to court to (successfully) defend their decision to deny a distribution permit to the huge dunes resort proposed for sensitive coastal land in Sand City. These environmental and community benefits could be lost if the District is dissolved. Vote NO on B. —Gillian Taylor, Co-Chair Conservation Committee

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