Yolo candidate doesn't shy from challenges

Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, September 29, 2006

A race for the District 3 seat on the Yolo County Board of Supervisor features a challenger who freely speaks his mind and an incumbent who is reluctant to.

Supervisor Frank Sieferman faces a strong test from former Woodland Mayor Matt Rexroad. We prefer a supervisor who takes solid positions, even if we disagree with them from time to time, to someone who keeps us guessing. So should voters in this district, which covers the Woodland area.

Sieferman led a quiet life for 20 years as a mill worker in Yolo County. Then, in 2002, he ousted a once popular incumbent supervisor, Tom Stallard, who dared to suggest a flood control solution for a community (Woodland) that wasn't ready to hear about it. Sieferman takes justifiable pride in faithfully attending each and every supervisor meeting, participating in the discussions and voting at the appropriate time. But on issue after issue, he ducks the tough question while Rexroad in Woodland has dared to lead.

Consider a vital matter on the November ballot, whether cities in Yolo County should dump Pacific Gas and Electric as its electricity provider and join the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Rexroad says yes; Sieferman won't say.

Then there was a key issue in Woodland on the June ballot: whether the city should approve an urban services boundary that would delineate the ultimate path of growth. Rexroad said yes (actually, he underwrote the campaign to get it on the ballot). Sieferman initially wouldn't say. But since voters said yes and approved Measure A, he has begun worrying out loud whether this effort will actually accelerate growth in Woodland. Sorry, the time to reveal your thinking was before the election, not after.

This isn't a time for the timid in Yolo County. It has chronic financial problems and serious growth challenges. Somehow Yolo must maintain its commitment to agriculture while dealing with reality. Rexroad, who makes his living as a political consultant, seems to relish a challenge. That makes him the clear choice for a seat on Yolo County's Board of Supervisors.