Water boards: As Desert Hot Springs residents, we support these 5 candidates for DWA, MSWD

Courtney Moe, Maria Lease, James Nindel, John Thatcher and Dirk Voss
·3 min read
For the first time, Desert Hot Springs will be represented on the Desert Water Agency board.
For the first time, Desert Hot Springs will be represented on the Desert Water Agency board.

Here in the western end of the valley, we have two overlapping water agencies, each responsible for a significant part of the overall infrastructure that serves us. Both of these agencies have elected governing boards, but unfortunately, many voters don’t always pay attention to those races that appear near the end of the ballot.

Sadly, the Desert Sun Editorial Board does not have the resources to interview all these candidates and will not be questioning and recommending candidates for these important seats this year. As long-term residents and businesspeople in Desert Hot Springs, we felt it was critical to let you know whom we view as the best candidates for these important races.

Our hometown Mission Springs Water District has two seats up this election, and there are three seats on the Desert Water Agency (DWA) board up this year. DWA is the wholesale distributor of water to Mission Springs Water District (MSWD), which serves Desert Hot Springs. For the first time in DWA’s history, there will be representatives on the DWA board who come from Desert Hot Springs.

We are pleading with voters to look very closely at these races, and pay close attention to them. While they aren’t as sexy or high-profile as city council or state Assembly races, they are just as important. Please do not just gloss over the candidates or maybe pick one who has the most yard signs along the highway. A few of the candidates are grossly unqualified to serve – a simple Google search of their names will confirm this. Others will do an outstanding job representing the citizens of the west valley. We’d like to recommend those we see as the best qualified to fill those seats.

For Mission Springs Water District, Division 1, we highly recommend re-electing Nancy Wright. Ms. Wright has served on the MSWD board since 1988. Her unblemished record of service speaks highly of her integrity and commitment to our desert and our water.  She also serves on regional and state-wide water agencies with distinction, and her knowledge of water issues and the infrastructure of MSWD make her by far the best-qualified candidate for this seat.

For Mission Springs Water District Division 5, we recommend Andrew V. Alder-Larue to fill this vacant position because of his record of advocating for consumers and underrepresented communities like Desert Hot Springs. His serious and credentialed legal and real estate background makes him an ideal candidate to look out for the best interest of the residents of Desert Hot Springs.

For Desert Water Agency Division 1, Stephen Bronack would be the best candidate to fill this seat.  Mr. Bronack is a professor of technology and design at Cal State San Bernardino. His background and credentials are solid, and his engineering and data analysis skills will be invaluable to DWA.

In DWA Division 2, our choice is Alfred Valrie.  Mr. Valrie worked for the L.A. Unified School District and partnered with the Metropolitan Water District and Cal Water to retrofit much of the school district's water infrastructure in disadvantaged communities. He can help advocate for the same things in Desert Hot Springs and throughout DWA’s service territory.

And finally, for DWA Division 3, we strongly recommend Jeff Bowman.  Mr. Bowman served for years on the Mission Springs Water District board and owned and operated a hot mineral water resort in Desert Hot Springs for many years. His in-depth knowledge of water gleaned from those endeavors makes him by far the best-qualified candidate in that race.

We all need to be water warriors and make sure that this precious resource is managed for the best interest of the residents and ratepayers in the western end of the Coachella Valley. We hope our recommendations have helped guide you as you make this very important decision.

The authors are all residents of Desert Hot Springs. Courtney Moe is retired; Maria Lease owns a spa/hotel; James Nindel is a community volunteer; John Thatcher manages several resort properties; and Dirk Voss is a business consultant and former planning commissioner. Reach them at cvmoe3@gmail.com.  

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of candidate Alfred C. Valrie.  

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: DWA, MSWD boards: Desert Hot Springs residents endorse candidates