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Greenbelt Alliance In the News

February 1, 2005

Candidates jostle for county supervisor seat

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Kromm coupled his announcement with an endorsement of Fairfield Mayor Karin MacMillan as his successor.

That move prompted longtime Suisun City Mayor Jim Spering, who had been readying a challenge against Kromm, to announce his candidacy.

The announcements create two wide-open races for the top spots in Suisun City and Fairfield.

And the emerging county contest between the two - MacMillan is known for her slow-growth stances, and Spering for his aggressive redevelopment positions - could be interesting.

The positioning has already started, apparently.

"Voters are going to have a real choice," Spering said of the 2006 election, "because there are stark differences between us."

MacMillan said her campaign will highlight the comparison between Fairfield and cash-strapped Suisun City. "It's going to be a tale of two cities," she said. "Fairfield is sitting in a position where we have flexibility and resources. ... We're sitting quite well."

Suisun City, she indicated, has several financial problems. The two candidates have allegiances to seemingly opposing forces.

MacMillan, with 10 years on the council, led Fairfield in creating an urban limit line and the Travis reserve area and supported the regional Greenbelt Alliance and its slow-growth philosophy.

Spering, Suisun City's mayor for 18 years, aggressively helped transforming his city into a transportation hub, while also representing Solano on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

The two most recently clashed over a failed half-cent sales tax for transportation, which Spering championed and MacMillan worked to discredit because she feared accelerated growth.

"I like to find solutions and build consensus," Spering said. "I really think that's one of the major differences between us."

Voters also may be thinking about Proposition A, which would expire in 2010 if not renewed, when picking between Spering and MacMillan. The initiative works to keep urban development out of the county's unincorporated area.

However, Spering said there could be some "tweaking" of the measure to give farmers more options, while MacMillan said Proposition A has reduced urban sprawl and would continue to do so.

"The legacy of Proposition A is that Solano County does not have the sprawl that other counties have had," MacMillan said. "It's allowed the county to grow in a responsible way."

The mayors' moves to grab a seat on county government has triggered corresponding political moves.

And while it's still early for Fairfield's November race to be clear - filing dates are this summer - MacMillan's announcement prompted the first play.

Vice Mayor Harry Price announced that he'll run for the top spot. He said he decided to vie for the seat four years ago, and the political shake-ups prompted him to announce a little early.

"I would have waited. I would have preferred to do that," Price said. "But I said four years ago I was going to do this, and I have the experience."

Suisun City's next election is 2006, a bit further into the future. No quick announcements were made last week.

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