Editor's note: Last August, Lake County News published profiles of candidates for the District 1 supervisorial race in its earliest stages. As the June 3 primary approaches, we're offering several profiles on candidates not originally featured in that early field of contenders. For the earlier articles, click on District 1 Supervisor candidates share goals, experience and District 1 Supervisor candidates: Dornbush, MacIntyre to run.
MIDDLETOWN – James Comstock has spent the better part of his life in Lake County, a place he loves and now wants to help shape as a member of the Board of Supervisors. {sidebar id=68}
In 1942 Comstock's parents came to Lake County. Comstock, 58, was born and raised here, and he and wife Colleen have raised their four children in the county.
“I actually still live on the same ranch in the same house I was born and raised in,” he said.
The family ranch is a 1,700-acre spread that he owns jointly with his two sisters.
A Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Navy, it was only for the four years he spent in the service and his time at Santa Rosa Junior College that he left the county.
Since coming home to stay, he's worked in retail, industrial chemical sales and, most recently, the financial business, besides ranching the whole time.
In the middle of his fifth term on the Middletown Unified School District board, Comstock decided it was time to throw his hat into the race for District 1 supervisor.
Incumbent Ed Robey is retiring from the board at year's end, which has opened up a big field of supervisor hopefuls, Comstock among them.
“I decided to jump into the race because of my love for Lake County and my concern for the things that are and aren't happening here,” he said. “My No. 1 issue is we are exporting our kids.”
That ties directly to his second issue – the need for local business to provide jobs to residents as well as goods and services to the county's citizens.
Too much of Lake County's sales tax is left in Sonoma County, said Comstock. “We don't benefit one whit as a county from that.”
The trick is to balance the county's rural lifestyle – we don't want to look like Santa Rosa or Napa, he said – with a truly business-friendly environment that can develop jobs and tax revenue.
That can be accomplished, said Comstock, through careful planning and zoning, which will identify areas where business parks can be located.
Now is an excellent time to take on that task, since the county is in the middle of updating its general plan, he said.
“I believe the community boundaries need to be large enough to accommodate the reasonable and expected growth for 15 to 20 years,” he said.
By making boundaries large enough, an area can avoid sprawl – including mile after mile of strip malls and hodge-podge planning, Comstock suggested.
He points to Salem, Ore., where one of his sons lives and works. The city has a beautiful downtown, but by keeping the boundaries closed it gave rise to extraordinary sprawl. “It's a perfect example of what we do not want to do.”
Finding the right place for businesses will require providing the necessary infrastructure – roads, sewer and water, said Comstock.
There are solutions to the county's infrastructure needs, he said. While benefit – or assessment – zones to fix roads do work, he's not a particular fan of them because they require more affluent communities to pay the extra taxes.
“What I think we need to do is look very, very carefully at our budget,” he said.
That includes finding ways to save money, while putting the focus on road repair. “For us to just say we don't have enough money to fix them is not acceptable,” he said.
On the issue of water, Comstock said areas like Hidden Valley Lake are doing well, while Lower Lake is struggling, and needs additional water sources. The town's water scarcity is affecting its ability to host business; Comstock pointed to an area zoned for a 100-acre business park off Clayton Creek Road, yet there is not enough water to supply it.
One solution is to get control of the county's water back from Yolo County, but that won't be easy. Comstock said he supports continuing to work with Yolo County on an amicable solution.
One way to help prepare young people for the jobs that could be created locally is to get them the right education. Comstock said college isn't in the cards for every student, but ROP programs can give them job skills. He pointed to Lower Lake High School, where a class is constructing a home in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity.
He suggested that, on a local level, the county, cities and school districts can lobby the state legislature to continue to fund ROP programs in spite of proposed budget cuts.
Regarding issues like the foreclosure crisis, which is growing in Lake County, Comstock said, “The solution is too big for local government.”
The county needs to be sure it is assessing properties at the right value in order to not put additional burdens on homeowners in the middle of what he called a “nationwide disaster.”
“I don't know that I've ever seen anything like this,” he said of the foreclosure crisis in its local form.
From 1989 to 1991 was the last major downturn, he said, which wouldn't hold a candle to what's going on now.
So, why is he the best choice for supervisor?
Comstock points to his lifetime of experience living in Lake County, his record of local service – including 18 years on the school board where he's worked with budgets and administration – and extensive service on the area plan committee. He said he's the only candidate with all of that experience to recommend him.
How is he different from Robey?
Comstock said he's much more conservative than Robey, who he said he knows and likes.
Calling himself a “serious fiscal conservative,” Comstock points to one issue on which he and Robey differed dramatically.
A few years back, Robey had suggested a “timeout” on development applications because the result was projects being approved in areas where the new general plan likely would change zoning.
Robey's timeout suggestion didn't pass, but it resulted in an explosion of applications, said Comstock. The ultimate result could have been skyrocketing property prices.
Comstock said many people come to Lake County and then have the attitude that they don't want others coming here.
But a growing population is unavoidable in Lake, as the state's population continues to swell. Comstock pointed to Census statistics, which show a 13.1-percent increase in the county's population between 2000 and 2006, nearly double the 7.6-percent statewide growth rate.
“We need to plan and direct where we want the growth to go to maintain the rural atmosphere that we love,” he said.
With a field of six candidates, Comstock believes the race for District 1 supervisor likely will continue past the June 3 primary and last until the final election in November, although he said he would be pleasantly surprised if he could get the 51-percent majority needed to take an early victory.
He said his candidacy has received a lot of positive attention.
“People have been interested in what I've had to say and the vast, vast majority have been encouraging and supportive,” he said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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