EDITOR:
The first quality I look for in a candidate for Assembly District 39 is whether they will represent all the residents of Douglas County (and Incline), or are they beholden to certain special interests. The one candidate that fails this test is Kelly Kite. His ties to developers and the development community are long, deep and well-documented. A large majority of his funding for his last campaign came from developers and their supporters, and I'll be surprised if the same isn't true this time around, as well.
Douglas County has a great master plan, but has had far too many master plan amendments, most of which favor developers to the detriment of the population as a whole.
Kite voted for more of these amendments than any county commissioner in history.
For instance, in his last election campaign, Kite received a $5,000 contribution from the Park Cattle Co. (a real estate development company). Two years ago, the Park Cattle Co. requested a master plan amendment that would have allowed them to build more than 4,000 homes on land that is zoned for only 225 homes. The only commissioner to vote for this ill-advised amendment: Kelly Kite. Is there a connection between the campaign contribution and the votes for the Parkway extension and the master plan amendment? You be the judge. Let's just say that Kite never met a development he didn't like.
In 2008 Kite was the only commissioner to vote against the growth control ordinance, which passed 4-1. The ordinance was then approved by an overwhelming majority of voters. Kite is simply out of touch with most residents.
Kite also left the county in worse shape than when he started, in finances, infrastructure and public facilities. Instead of getting ahead of the curve on these issues during the years of uncontrolled growth that he oversaw, we got further and further behind. Now we are faced with massive budget cuts, overcrowded and poorly maintained roads, and an inadequate senior center, to name just of a few of the problems.
While many of the problems facing Douglas County are not unique, states and counties that grew too fast now face worse financial crises, as well as higher unemployment and foreclosure rates than areas with more moderate growth. Budget cuts, layoffs, 15 percent unemployment and homes worth half of what they were worth three years ago are not a great legacy for Kite to leave to Douglas County.
If you are a developer, go ahead and vote for Kite - he's your guy. If you're not a developer, you should vote for one of his opponents.
My recommendation is Barbara Smallwood. She has the experience, knowledge and balance necessary to represent all residents of our county. She has lived here for 30 years, longer than any other candidate, and knows our issues well. She deserves your support.
Jim Slade
Gardnerville
