It's the little things that give insight into the true measure of the man.
-Unknown
If you've come here to learn about Steve Vaus, you've already seen his lists of of many impressive accomplishments. From being endorsed by every public safety and local San Diego governmental organization of merit, to showing true leadership and compassion in times of need, to leading from the front during a crisis, to raising money for Rady's Children's Hospital for the past 30 years. A handful of foibles, the most prominent of which stemmed from him being, according to the State, too transparent with residents about the quality of the water. But you want to know more.You can gain insight to how someone leads by looking at what they do when the camera's are not rolling. When there's no real scrutiny. Discussed below are several of what are, on the surface minor things, but in reality give true insight into philosophy, governance, and character. It is my hope that these may help you get a better idea why Mayor Steve Vaus truly is, far and above, the best choice for San Diego County Supervisor.
Taxes/Fees
Steve Vaus kept his word when he promised that a temporary water rate surcharge would be just that: Temporary.
A little background: During the last round of water drought, the State mandated statewide water use reduction. This resulted in a Temporary Drought Recovery
Surcharge of 7.5% on all water user's bills. As we are all aware through experience, the government will convert "temporary" taxes and surcharges into permanent tax increases. The government just can't avoid the temptation. But this time, with Vaus's disciplined leadership, he ensured that this "Temporary" surcharge remained just that: Temporary. The 7.5% fee increase was promised to remain in effect for a specified period of time, and that's what happened. True to form, Steve Vaus is a man of his word. We need to have that kind of trust in our leadership, a trust that is lacking in practice in the other options for County Supervisor. Vote Vaus.
Redistricting
Steve Vaus played a guiding role in Poway's redistricting process, helping to ensure that Poway's elected leadership continued to represent as broad a cross section of the residents as possible.A little background: About a decade or so ago, a pair of lawyers perverted the Federal Equal Rights Statues and convinced a handful of California Senators that forcing redistricting upon local governments could boost their electoral power. The law was given financial teeth by letting those lawyers collect millions in fees from local governments that resisted, or, in fact, even if they complied with their private lawsuits. I sometimes wonder if one of those bribed Senators is now one of Vaus's competitors to this very County Supervisor seat or, as is typical for a true career politician, if they were just one of his proxies, as he has been known to hide behind in the past.
Poway was served by these Malibu based lawyers and was forced to undergo redistricting. Typical to Poway, all residents were encouraged to submit their own maps how they saw fit, and the Council was set to choose the best one. In the end, there were four maps and the council unanimously picked the one that Steve Vaus had drawn. Truthfully, the last four maps were essentially the same. But the insight comes from the process to get to those finalists and why.
Steve Vaus, who chaired the Poway Road Specific Plan, knew the importance of ensuring that each Council district had a portion of the Poway Road Corridor. He felt it essential that all stakeholders had "skin in the game" to ensure that no Councilmember would be tempted to approve development in that space without understanding the potential impact to their own voters. And he put forth this view to the other council members during the process so that the finalists, whittled down from strangely Gerrymandered options, to those that only included options where everyone had equal representation.
That's how good local governance works. Taking a person enmeshed in what matters to the residents, what's important to them, and incorporating it within the very structure of how decisions are made. That's what we need at the County Level.
Decentralizing Mayoral Power
Boring title, huh? It's in the details of local governance where the most twisted things can happen. Usually it's about some sort of funding diversion or power grab. All out of the limelight. But, strangely enough, in this case, Mayor Vaus led the charge to ensure that the rest of the council had a greater say in how meetings were run, incorporated rules to reduce the intimidation of public speakers, and decentralized the power of the Mayor. Little known to all but meticulous readers of arcane municipal code, the Mayor in Poway has, or had, a remarkable amount of centralized and unchecked power.These included the power to decide who could speak at the podium. The absolute power to end discussions, when he/she saw fit. These, and others, were not exercised by practice. But it was there in the law. And it was not right. As part of the "boring" background work of representing the residents of Poway, Steve Vaus led the charge to clean up the municipal code to make sure that the Council could override the Mayor and keep a discussion open. Formally extended the time that a person wishing to speak could submit their petition. <- Curiously on that point, Mayor Vaus had used his discretionary power to informally extend that time whenever possible. And ensured that steps were taken to reduce the potential for speaker intimidation.
What we, as County Residents need, is more input in governmental decisions that impact us, not less. Steve Vaus has a proven track record of delivering on this ideal. Time and time again.
