Editor:

I also publicly endorse Mr. Doug Harcastle for District III Contra Costa County Supervisor.

I would like to echo the comments of Dr. Michael Painter regarding Mr. Hardcastle. As the former General Manager of the Ironhouse Sanitary District (ISD), I had the opportunity to work directly with Doug for 12 years, and came to know and understand him well.

Doug was certainly instrumental (in conjunction with his fellow Directors) in helping reshape ISD from an outdated rural operation, into a modern, suburban oriented collection, treatment and water reuse operation that protects our environment and our sensitive Western Delta water quality.

In late 2012, when Doug decided to step down from ISD and run for City office, I knew ISD was losing an excellent public servant. While I did not want to see him go, I believed he had accomplished what he initially set out to do. Doug helped improve ISD over the twelve years he served and was leaving ISD in much better shape than when he found it.

While Doug was only one of five Directors on the ISD Board, he was critical in helping reset the Board’s vision for the future, and setting a high standard for staff that drove us to excellence. Doug understands the importance of working with others and did a great job of building consensus on the ISD Board.

Doug also understands the importance of establishing good public policies, hiring competent staff, providing staff the tools and resources necessary to do their jobs, and letting staff do their work. From a General Manager’s perspective, this policy-based mindset from elected officials is critical to well functioning public entities. I believe this skill will be especially important (and useful) when functioning at the County Supervisor level.

Of course, with staff empowerment comes staff accountability, and Doug also understands this concept. While Doug is no tyrant, he is demanding and he expects results from staff; and holds his agency people accountable for the tasks they are given.

With the addition of four years experience on the Oakley City Council, Doug has gained additional insight into a more complex city government. I believe this experience, combined with his 12 years at ISD, has helped him gain the knowledge necessary to function and succeed at the county level.

So, based on my 16 years of knowing Mr. Hardcastle, (five as a District Engineer, seven as a General Manager, and four as an observer and friend), I strongly endorse Doug as a candidate for the position of Contra Costa County Supervisor, District III.

Sincerely,

Tom Williams

Civil Engineer and Retired General Manager

25 year Antioch resident

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 24th, 2016 at 8:05 pm and is filed under Opinion, Letters to the Editor, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.