www.montereycountynow.com JULY 17-23, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 25 One of Monterey County’s biggest cheerleaders for special districts is Vincent Ferrante of North County. Ferrante didn’t know a lot about special districts until 2002, when a friend who knew he kept a boat at Moss Landing suggested he run for the Moss Landing Harbor District. Ferrante ran in a field of 10 candidates seeking three open seats and came in third after running a strategic campaign on a platform of supporting both the fishing industry and environmentalists’ concerns. He began his first four-year term and went on to run again and again—five times. He’ll be up for reelection for a sixth term next year. Ask him about what’s important to the harbor district and he’ll talk passionately about the importance of dredging and keeping the infrastructure up to date. As the former president of the board for the California Special Districts Association, he talks just as passionately about special districts generally and the need to educate the public about them. His focus as president in 2017 was on spreading the word about special districts through education, especially in the schools. “We need to get more recognition within the education system throughout the United States in textbooks, civics classes or government classes, to let students and others know about special districts,” he says. “We know we have a federal government, state government, county government, city government, but nobody knows about special districts.” As president of the California board, Ferrante was in a good position to talk to special district organizations elsewhere in the country, and the CSDA is in the lead nationally by coordinating the National Special Districts Association, which strives to give 40,000 special districts across the country a voice. “We have advocacy staff in Washington, D.C. that lobbies federal issues for us, and we have more states coming into the fold,” Ferrante says. The group created districtsmakethedifference.org, a website that educates students and the public at large about what districts do. McCormick says they’re working on a “special districts 101” to fit into middle and high school curriculums. They run a high school student video contest, awarding scholarships to top submissions. McCormick believes that even if the public doesn’t know the granular details, they know the services exist. “They may not know the term ‘special district’ but they know they are there when they need them,” he says. While the number of the county’s special districts may contract a bit in the future, that number could increase—if voters agree, and at the moment that’s a big “if.” During the LAFCO discussion on June 23, the community of East Garrison and the East Garrison Community Services District came into sharp focus. Currently the CSD is a dependent district, relying on the Board of Supervisors for its governance. McKenna says when the East Garrison district was created in 2006 the intent was always for it to become an independent district, which is why LAFCO’s policy continues to be that it will assist the county in achieving that goal. The report reviewed by the board that day stated staff will encourage the county to conduct a feasibility analysis about becoming independent every five to seven years. Leffel thought the county needed to pursue an analysis sooner rather than later. County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew, representing the county on LAFCO, reminded the commission that residents resoundingly rejected becoming an independent district in November 2022—Measure E was defeated 67.5 to 32.5 percent. If sentiments shift in the future, East Garrison could become the county’s newest independent district. For the existing districts, leaders have formed a strong bond with each other, meeting quarterly as a chapter of the CSDA, sharing ideas and encouraging one another in their efforts. They’re excited for the chance to network with others from around the state at the CSDA annual conference taking place this year in Monterey on Aug. 26-27. Workshops will tackle some issues of the moment that all governmental bodies face, including wildfire prevention, managing public protest in the face of rate increases and how to handle misinformation during elections. Other workshops include being an effective board member, following transparency laws, financing projects and what to do about board vacancies. For those who come a day early, there’s a chance for Ferrante’s Moss Landing Harbor District to shine—a pre-conference event includes a tour of the district, lunch and a boat tour of Elkhorn Slough. “This is the most fundamental form of government.” Join us for the Grand Opening of the Neighborhood Park at Ensen Community Park! ¡Únete a nosotros para la Gran Inauguración del parque del vecindario en Ensen Community Park! 99 La Posada Drive, Salinas, CA 93906 Sunday, August 17 | Domingo, 17 de agosto 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM © Learn more | Aprender más bit.ly/EnsenGrandOpening
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