APG chooses Easterling for vacant seat 

By Billie Jo Jannen
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE — There was no shouting, and language was, for the most part, civil, but Tuesday's special meeting of the Alpine Planning Group was still rife with tension, as the group majority ultimately chose Jim Easterling to fill the seat left vacant in October by Scott Lamb.
     At issue for an increasingly restive five-member minority were the rules intended to govern group conduct and an ardent desire to seat someone who is not connected to development interests.
     While voting with the majority block to suspend the group's standing rules, Cheryl Lenz, Joe Forlenza, Paul Rohal, Jane Fitz and Ned Holmes maintained that the I-1 policy of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors would become the governing rule:
     “You can't just make up new rules,” Rohal said after the unanimous vote to suspend the rules. We’ve suspended the standing rule but must still follow I-1.”
     “If there are no applicable standing rules, vacancies are filled from the list of candidates in the election in order of the number of votes they received; and if no list exists, volunteers may be accepted,”  Rohal read from a page he had printed from the BOS website. “Confirmation of the candidate from an election list, or of a volunteer, shall be by majority vote of the remaining members of the group.”
     The I-1 document also states “Standing Rules may supplement this policy, but may not supersede it in any manner...Authority for the establishment and operation of all planning and sponsor groups lies in the Board of Supervisors Policy I-1…those [standing] rules shall be viewed as ancillary to the policy's bylaws and shall not contradict or supersede them.”
     Rohal also came prepared with a written decision by professional Parliamentarian C. A. “Chuck” Nolan, PRP, who stated, “..once the APG Standing Rule is suspended the vacancy can be declared and filled at the same meeting. However, Policy I-1 then becomes the governing document, which contains bylaws that require filling the vacancy from a list of candidates in the election; and if no list exists, volunteers may be accepted.”
     Rohal also had a list of candidates and their placement.
     Linda Richards, the highest vote-getter among non-winning candidates in the last election (November  2004) of APG members, had applied for the seat, as she had when another seat was vacated in the spring. She was vigorously supported by attendees at both meetings and was the candidate of choice for the APG minority.
     Lamb resigned the seat in question in September, when he moved out of Alpine. As he had done in the past, Chairman Mark Price advertised the vacancy prior to its having been declared — an oversight to which Fitz objected. The group's standing rules call for declaration of a vacancy at the following meeting and then selection of a candidate at the one after that (November).
     A hard-fought vote between candidates at the October meeting resulted in the majority approval of Easterling and a minority report objecting to the standing rules violation brought a letter from District 2 Supervisor Dianne Jacob.
     In the Dec. 2  letter, Jacob upheld the minority, writing, “…the APG standing rules have not been followed and therefore I am returning this appointment back to the Alpine Community Planning Group so that the item can be considered in accordance with the APG Standing Rules.”
     Price then placed on the group’s Dec. 8 agenda, consideration of a motion to suspend the rule and fill the seat. Just before the meeting, he removed it: “The minority seemed determined to have us vote on the announcement of the vacancy,” Price said. “After giving it thought, I decided to see if they were serious about voting on a vacancy or whether they were more interested in stalling the appointment. I gave them that opportunity.”
     The vacancy was not declared, due to an argument over the language on the agenda, and Price later announced the Jan. 11 special meeting with suspension of the standing rule and filling of the vacancy as the chief items.
     Benson made the motion to approve suspension of the standing rule, and the motion was seconded by Brad Bailey. On the vote, all members present approved the motion.
     Jim Mowry moved to declare a vacancy and this was seconded by Larry Urdahl. This motion was also approved unanimously.
      Price then said he had received an application from Easterling, but not from Richards.
     Helen Horvath read a prepared statement from Richards, who was not present. The statement, also sent to The Alpine Sun as a letter (see page 4), said she was not standing again because she believed the majority would always do everything in its power to exclude her.
     Rohal moved to follow the I-1 procedure, which would automatically seat the next highest vote-getter (Richards).
     The validity of all three documents tendered by Rohal were questioned by members David Waitley and Doug Benson.
     Price read an opinion by county counsel that said it is acceptable to fill the seat after suspension of the rules.
     On the vote, only Fitz, Forlenza, Rohal, Lenz and Holmes voted in favor, so the motion failed. All others voted against the motion. It failed.
     Waitley then moved that the group would make a choice between the two applicants who had come before the board previously: Easterling and Richards.
     This motion passed, with Fitz, Forlenza, Holmes and Lenz all saying “no vote,” and Rohal abstaining. All others voted in favor.
     Price then asked Horvath to see if Richards would still stand, under these circumstances.
     Horvath excused herself to make the call, returning after a few minutes to announce that she would.
     Price then asked that the roll be called and each member state the name of either Richards or Easterling. Fitz said “no vote, and Lenz, Forlenza, Rohal and Holmes abstained. The remaining eight members spoke for Easterling.
     The next agenda item was to review whether the standing rules should be changed.
     Audience member Ken Dawson said proposed rule changes had not been noticed, remarking “I strongly advise that this item be pulled.
     Mowry moved that the issue be referred to the coordinating committee for a recommendation.
     Price asked to revise the motion to also send the proposed changes to county counsel for review and recommendation.
     The motion and the amendment were unanimously approved.
     The group next meets on Jan. 26, when the 2006 officers will be chosen. Price has already announced that he will not stand as chairman in the year to come.
     The group meets the fourth Thursday of each month at the Alpine Community Center.

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