Once again it is time for we who have the vote to select from those, for whatever reason, choose to run for a County office. The key word in that sentence is “run.” What it should mean is “represent.” Of the candidates for the District 3 Supervisor seat, only one is known personally to us, the incumbent, Janet Bibby. Since she took office in 2003, Janet has impressed us as one who will consistently buck the prevailing winds of opinion for what she believes is right, or at least best for her constituency—us, we who elected her to represent us.

Think back over those years and find an issue where she was wrong, or where she sat-on-herhands because her opinion was not in line with the other supes (example: Who, alone, opposed pegging supervisors’ salary to that of Superior Court Judges?) To our knowledge, Janet does not charge taxpayers for mileage and expenses incurred during County, or any other business, in the borders of our County. She does not broadcast this, but it saves the taxpayer dollars. Dollars better spent on projects such as functional fire equipment, the PERS Fresh Start Program, and measures that minimize County exposure to litigation. And, hopefully, if Janet has her way, the long-sought fire station in the Guadalupe Valley area. She has shown herself to be selfless, not benefitting from perks, even when that selflessness is not widely known.

Whatever the issue, Janet stands for what is costeffective, what we absolutely need rather than what looks good in next week’s GAZETTE. What this gets us, as a County, is out-of-debt. Self-benefitting, short-term decisions have been made by past boards that have taken Mariposa County out of the black and into the red. The present board seems to realize that credit-card pleasure means pain in the future. One cannot please everyone, and one certainly should not please anyone for personal gain—something that should be axiomatic for public servants.

Before you commit your vote, ask yourself a few questions: What has she/he done for the public good in the years up to now? Why does he/she want to represent me? What personal gain does this candidate seek after a seat on the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors?

Janet Bibby has set the bar very high, and has quietly and consistently cleared it.

John and Diana Meloy