Colusa Councilman Reische seeking supervisor seat

Colusa City Councilman Tom Reische is adding a little intrigue to the District 2 county supervisorial race.

Reische, a four-time mayor, took out papers Friday to run for the seat occupied by Tom Indrieri, saying he has nothing against the incumbent, but has been encouraged to run for that office.

"I have had a few people request I do this, and I have been struggling with it for a long time," said Reische, who is on a tight schedule to get his signatures collected and papers filed before the March 9 deadline.

Actually, the deadline is even tighter than that since he has an Ace Hardware convention back east he will be going to prior to that.

Reische said his family has encouraged him as have several others in the community. He admitted some of those people believe Indrieri has overstepped his place as a county supervisor by involving himself in city matters.

But Reische, who lives a couple houses down from Indrieri, is not one of those. He said Indrieri is a city resident and has a business in the city, so he has the right to speak up.

"That has not been an issue with me," Reische said.

"I think Tom does a good job, but I have had a few people request I give him a run," he said.

Reische believes one of his strengths is his ability to build bridges between the county and the cities. He knows there will be a learning curve, but said issues such as levees and water are discussed at the city level, too.

Former county mental health director Curtis Boewer also is running for the District 2 office.

Two incumbent supervisors filed their papers seeking re-election this week.

Mark Marshall, who is facing a challenge from Williams City Councilwoman Angela Placheck-Fulcher, filed his papers on Tuesday.

As a three-term incumbent in District 3, Marshall has been accused by Fulcher of having become complacent.

"Fresh, new ideas are always welcome," said Marshall, referring to Fulcher's campaign comments about what she would bring to the board. "But I think, if you look at my record and what I have accomplished over the last 12 years, it shows I am anything but complacent"

Marshall said he has been instrumental in bringing more than $1 million worth of projects to Williams, including funding for the Williams Community Center renovation, city parks and improvements to the Sacramento Valley Museum.

He said he also played a key part in bringing the Woodland Community College campus to the area.

But the most critical issue facing the county, he said, is economic development. He sees Williams, and its position along the Interstate 5 corridor, as a critical piece of that effort.

And while he thinks agriculture will continue to be the top industry in the county, he believes it must diversify if it is going to create the kind of job growth needed.

"Job creation has to be first and foremost. As you know we are number one or two in the unemployment rate in California every month," Marshall said.

Rick Gobel also has taken out papers for the District 3 seat, but had not filed as of Friday afternoon.

Gary Evans, a two-term incumbent for District 1, filed for re-election on Thursday. The district includes the north area of Williams and the Maxwell-Stonyford region.

Evans said he would like to finish up the general plan process, and that might take another term.

"The priority is the general plan. I know we are supposed to finish it by this calendar year ... but I am not confident we will get to the end game this calendar year," said Evans, who is fairly satisfied with the draft plan as it sits.

However, he believes the public has a right to have its say, and that could take some time.

He said he has distinct memories of the process that took place back in the 1980s, and remembers the board then being more interested in what other government agencies were saying than the county residents' opinion.

"I don't want to see that happen again," Evans said.

Evans said he believes he has represented the county well, noting particularly the PG&E plant as a specific accomplishment that he had a hand in making happen.

"And we are one of the few counties that are fiscally solvent, and I think that is because of the polices we have put in place."

Kenneth Cohen has taken out papers, but has not filed his papers either.