Support Dr. Blair Ball for San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency

Well, it has become abundantly clear that Dr. Blair Ball is doing the right thing. We know this because it appears he has become the target of a smear campaign financed through the Inland Empire Taxpayer’s Association (IETA). IETA uses the money they get to influence the elections in our area. One of the largest contributors to this association if the Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIASC) based in LA. Through October 18, donations to IETA year-to-date were reported to be $118,919. They also reported spending almost $5,000 to oppose Blair’s candidacy. IETA is responsible for the negative signs and the flyers being sent to ratepayers.

In case you are unaware of how Blair became their target, at the October 8th meeting of the Beaumont Cherry Valley Water District (BCVWD), he voted along with the other board members to table two requests to supply water for houses yet to be built. With that vote, the board answered the questions that many of us who live here have been asking: Should the water board require that ratepayers be restricted in their water usage during the drought, while at the same time allowing developers to build more and more houses? The board showed by their vote that the right answer is No and tabled the requests from the developers and the BIASC.

The developers and BIASC now seem to blame Blair for ruining their plans to build without reasonable restrictions in Beaumont. However, it isn’t Blair’s fault that much of the promised water usage on these developments was supposed to come from a recycled water treatment plant. That was the Beaumont City Council’s responsibility to follow through on their agreement with the developers to supply recycled water for the purple pipes. When that was not done, and with all the required water coming from the Beaumont Basin--already in overdraft--the water board had no choice but to table the requests for any new houses. And rightly so.

Thus by doing the right thing for the residents of this area--conserving water during a drought--Blair is being smeared for saying no the developers and BIASC and their plans for our area. He owes nothing to these out-of-area groups and he has made it very clear that his loyalty is reserved for the ratepayers of BCVWD.

In my opinion, for many years Dr. Blair Ball was the lone voice of reason on the water board and he deserves our support now.

A VOTE FOR DR. BLAIR BALL = A VOTE FOR OUR COMMUNITY