Deadline May 8 to apply for water board seat
The Santa Fe Irrigation District is seeking a new local representative after Division 1 Director Kenneth Dunford submitted his resignation. Dunford sent notice to the district and his fellow board members that he had made a commitment to move to Carlsbad; his last day of service was March 31.
The vacancy will be filled by the appointment process and the new board director will serve until the November election.
Division 1 is located in the eastern portion of the city of Solana Beach and central-western portion of Rancho Santa Fe. Those who are interested must reside in Division 1 and must submit a letter of interest to the district by May 8. The letter can be sent via email to generalmanager@sfidwater.org or mailed to P.O. Box 409, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 to the attention of General Manager Albert C. Lau.
The board will interview candidates at the regular board meeting May 21, likely via teleconference.
At the April 16 Zoom board meeting, Director Marlene King sought clarification about Dunford’s board member status over the last several months.
“For three months — December, January and February — public comments were given to question whether Director Dunford was still residing in his division,” King said. “The district has yet to provide members of the public a reference to the specific underlying legal authority which permitted Director Dunford to serve on the board and live outside his division while deciding if he was to move back to his division.”
In addition to the public comment at board meetings, on March 9 the Rancho Santa Fe Association sent letters to SFID, the San Diego County District Attorney and the California State Water Control board alleging that Dunford was serving “illegally” because he did not reside within the water district.
General Counsel Paula de Sousa said Dunford was allowed to continue serving on the board under provisions of California Irrigation District Law together with provisions of the Elections Code and its definitions of residency to mean “domicile.” De Sousa said that a domicile is defined as where one intends to remain or live permanently.