I was surprised that both the Napa County Taxpayers Association and the Napa County Republican Party endorsed Kyle Iverson, the incumbent for Napa Valley College Board for Area 4, given his voting history.
Kyle Iverson was registered Republican from October 1999 until he decided to run for public office in July 2014, perhaps turning to “no party preference” to be more electable. Despite his republican roots, his votes on the Board do not seem to be in alignment with either the Republican Party’s or the Taxpayers Association’s emphasis on fiscal responsibility.
For example, in Iverson’s first year on the Board, he voted to approve the 2015-16 budget, even though the expenditures exceeded the revenues, and the college had no plan to address future deficit spending.
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In June 2016, Iverson voted to grant the college president a 3% raise, even though the president was already making over $305,000 per year in total pay and benefits.
From May 2017 until May 2018, Iverson approved all of the college’s bond feasibility studies, totally $157,800. Based on the polling, college staff did not recommend putting a bond on this year's ballot, but surely Iverson was open to the idea, or he would not have approved all the bond studies.
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In February 2018, Iverson voted to approve a contract with independent professional baseball team, Napa Silverados, with no clear plan to ensure that the college would get the $41,000 worth of advertising it was to get as part of the deal.
In April 2018, Iverson voted to continue paying online radio station, Napa Broadcasting, $200 per month to audio record and post the Board’s monthly meetings on the Napa Broadcasting website, even though at that point the college was already videotaping its monthly meetings and posting them on its own website.
Either Trustee Iverson does not value fiscal responsibility, or he cannot say no to staff recommendations. Either way, it is a red flag.
Meanwhile, challenger Xulio Soriano, has a “7 Generations Platform.” The concept behind his platform is that the decisions public officials make today should be made with an eye to the future, extending out seven generations. In my view, this would include fiscal responsibility.
Please vote for Xulio Soriano when you cast your vote for Napa Valley College Trustee for Area 4.
Sincerely,
Zachary Samuel Barker
Napa native born and raised
