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Letter

Three Seats, and a Five-Month Clock

Andrew Sauer, Sugarloaf

A letter from a reader — not Big Bear News reporting. We read and edit letters before publishing, but we do not fact-check them the way we check a reported story.

A note on what this is. I am a candidate for the Big Bear City Community Services District board. I also sit on the Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency board representing County Service Area 53B, and I own and operate bigbear.news, where this letter appears. Everything here is my personal opinion as a candidate. It is not the position of the wastewater agency, its board, or its staff, and no one there has reviewed it. Letters on this site are opinion, not reporting, and this one is mine.

This letter is about the ballot, and it names the people on it, so two more things. I have written two other letters on this site, one on how the fire agreement ended and one on the Greenspot water project, and this one leans on both. And the letters form on this site is open to every candidate in this race. I have not written to anyone individually, so consider this the offer: any candidate for this board who writes in gets the same space, on the same terms and at the same length as this one. If the form's length limit is in the way, email hello@bigbear.news (opens in a new tab) and I will run it at full length.

Everything below is sourced and linked at the end. If I have gotten something wrong, tell me and I will correct it publicly. I would rather be corrected than be wrong in print.

The short version.

  • Three of five CSD seats are on the November 3 ballot. The incumbents are Bob Rowe, Al Ziegler and Jo Rowe. They are not the right fit for the decisions already on the table.
  • Two of those three seats are a husband and wife. On a five-member board that is one household holding a working share of the table, whatever the law allows. If I am elected I will move a policy so the district does not seat that again.
  • Ziegler has already served twelve years. The fire contract has to be standing on July 1, 2027. The water loan, if it is signed, runs to 2064. The people who will live with those bills should be the ones seating the table.
  • On July 14 all five CSD directors abstained on the fire authority's budget and it failed. Three of the five are on this ballot. They should say why before ballots arrive.
  • The CSD does not vote on Greenspot. It appoints the two directors who do. That appointment is on this ballot too.
  • Ask every candidate which fire option they support and what it costs. Then use all three of your votes.

Start with a fact that is not on the ballot pamphlet.

Three of the five seats on the CSD board are on the November 3 ballot. The district's own website lists the terms. Board President Bob Rowe, November 2022 to November 2026. Director Al Ziegler, November 2022 to November 2026. Director JoKay Rowe, who appears on the ballot as Jo Rowe, November 2024 to November 2026. Directors John Russo and Larry Walsh are seated through November 2028 and are not on this ballot. [1][2]

Three of five is a working majority, decided in one election. The last time these same three seats were on a ballot, in 2022, they were decided by 4,201 ballots out of 7,488 registered voters. [3] There are ten of us running for them this year. [2]

Fit, not character

I am not running a character case against anyone on this ballot. Everyone I have met in this process is trying to get this right. Twelve years is real service. It is not an argument for twelve more.

The argument is fit. This board has to finish two decisions that will outlast the term: a fire department that has to be standing on July 1, 2027, and two appointments that decide whether this valley ever builds the water project already on the sewer bill. The three people who hold these seats are not the right fit for that work.

Director Ziegler was first elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 and 2022. [1] That is three terms. The fire decision outlasts this one. The wastewater loan this valley has already been asked to sign matured in May 2064. [27] I will still live here when those bills come due. That is the horizon I am asking you to use.

He was also absent on July 20, when this board hired the consultant and started the five-month clock. [15] The largest decision this district has made gets made on that clock. The person who sits that seat should be in the room when it starts.

Decision one: fire, and a calendar nobody controls

The Big Bear Fire Authority is governed by ten people: all five CSD directors and all five directors of the Big Bear Lake Fire Protection District. [5] Director JoKay Rowe chairs it. Board President Bob Rowe sits on that board with her.

On February 6 of this year, Citygate Associates presented its fire services review to that board with two paths to financial stability: both agencies fold into San Bernardino County Fire, or both stay in the partnership and amend the agreement. [8][9] The board never moved to amend the agreement. Four days later it voted 9 to 0 to send both agencies to County Fire for proposals. [10] On April 29 the Fire Protection District adopted a resolution terminating the agreement effective June 30, 2027, whether or not this district agreed. On May 18 the CSD voted 5 to 0 to manage an orderly dissolution of an agreement the city had already ended. [14][24] Big Bear Lake has since said it chose County Fire's Option C and expects that partnership to begin July 1, 2027. [24]

The district is moving, and that is worth saying. On July 20 the board approved Resolution 2026-25, a contract with AP Triton, LLC for a Fire Service Governance Transition and Feasibility Study, not to exceed $79,989 with a $20,011 contingency, $100,000 in all. The vote was 4 to 0, with Director Ziegler absent. [15] The Grizzly reports the study covers three options: a fire department run by the district, annexation to County Fire, or an independent fire district. General Manager Glenn Jacklin expects the findings in January, which he has said publicly leaves the district "five months to wrap things up whichever way it goes." [19]

Read that calendar. The largest decision this sixty-year-old district has made gets made by a board seated in December, on a five-month clock. [17] That is why this election matters, and why the three people who hold these seats have to be the right ones for it.

I am asking for something specific. Before ballots arrive, every candidate in this race should say in public which option they support and what they believe it costs. That includes the three incumbents and it includes me. Not a preference for local control in the abstract. A number, and a reason.

I will go first. If the district can afford to keep fire service under local control, as its own department or a new local district, that is where I would go. Response time on this end of the valley is measured in minutes, and I live here. If the numbers will not carry it, I would say so plainly and contract with the county rather than promise what we cannot fund. The full reasoning, with the agreement and the minutes, is in my letter on how the fire agreement ended.

One more item, and it is the sharpest one on this ballot. On July 14 the fire authority's board took up the budget for a fiscal year that had already started. The budget carried staffing cuts, and two of the city's directors voted no rather than accept them. Two ayes, two noes, one absent, and all five of this district's directors abstaining. The motion failed. [13] The authority needs seven of ten votes to adopt a budget, [7] but two ayes fails under any rule. What failed it was the abstention. The August 11 meeting was cancelled. On September 8 the budget was back on the agenda as "preliminary," and as I write this, no minutes are posted saying what happened. [12][13] On August 19 our own board took up a revised exhibit putting $6,490,463 in from each agency, against $13.1 million in revenue and $12.8 million in spending. [16] But as the general manager put it, until the fire authority convenes and passes it, "you don't have spending authority." [19]

Here is the part I want voters to hold onto. The authority's own bylaws say a special meeting can be called by the chair, by a majority of the authority's board, or by a majority vote of either agency's board. [6] This district's five directors could call that meeting themselves. Three of the five who abstained on July 14 are on this ballot. One of them chairs the authority. One of them is married to the chair. I would like all three to say, before ballots arrive, why they abstained, what it would take to get a yes, and whether the budget passed on September 8.

Decision two: water, and the appointment nobody talks about

The CSD does not vote on the Greenspot Recharge Project. It appoints two of the five directors who do, and the wastewater agency needs four of five votes to build anything. [25][26] Russo and Walsh hold those appointments today.

So the board you seat in December picks the two people who carry the east end's water argument. That is on this ballot even though the project is not. It is also why the household question is not a side issue. Two of five CSD votes decide who sits in two of five wastewater seats. One kitchen table should not hold that much of the chain.

I am not neutral. I support the Greenspot project, and I voted for a rate schedule already on your bill. That is my exposure, and I published it myself rather than wait for someone to find it: the rate schedule is already on your bill, and here is the record behind it.

A household on a five-member board

A five-member board is a small instrument. Three directors are a majority, and three directors are also a quorum. The biggest decision this district has made in sixty years gets made by three people in a room at five o'clock on a Monday. [1]

Two of the five seats are held by Board President Bob Rowe and Director JoKay Rowe. [1][2] She chairs the fire authority. He is president of this district, and he sits on that authority with her. [5] That is two gavels and two of five CSD votes in one household.

I am not saying that is illegal, and I am not asking anyone to pretend the law is the test. Recusal exists because public-ethics rules already treat a household as one interest. On a city council of seven, one recusal leaves a working board. On a five-member district, one recusal leaves three people. Those three are a quorum. They are also a majority. The table does not shrink. It becomes the whole board.

That is not hypothetical here. In September 2023, when this board filled a vacancy, one of the five applicants was Director Bob Rowe's wife. The staff report said he would not participate. The minutes say he recused himself and left the room "due to a conflict of interest with his wife as a candidate." With three directors voting and its own unanimity rule in the way, the board voted to lower that rule to a majority, then appointed Michael Eagleson 2 to 1. [18][20][21] Stepping aside that night was the correct recusal. It was also a demonstration. One household interest took a seat out of the room, and three people did the rest, including rewriting the rule so they could.

JoKay Rowe was not appointed that night. She was elected in 2024. [1] The household is now seated. On rates, on fire, and on who this district sends to the wastewater agency, two of five votes come from one kitchen table. The conversation that happens on the drive home is one the rest of us cannot see, and it does not appear in the minutes.

That is a bad design for a board this small, whether or not anyone has broken a statute. I would like both of them to say, in public, before the consultant reports in January, whether there is any fire matter on which two directors would have to step aside, and what the plan is if there is.

If I am elected I will put a motion on an early agenda. The district will not appoint a sitting director's spouse or domestic partner to a vacancy. And it will adopt, as policy, that it will not seat two members of the same household on this board again. A motion cannot un-elect anyone. The voters seated this household, and only the voters can unsit it. A policy can keep the next vacancy from repeating the 2023 scene.

What I would actually do

Three things, and none of them requires a rate increase. Record the meetings, with plain-language summaries and Spanish translation, because this board is about to make a fifty-year fire decision at five o'clock on a Monday in a room almost nobody can sit in. Explain every fee before the vote instead of after, line by line, with no job cuts and any savings going to bill help for seniors and squeezed families. And get the CSD and the City talking again, because fire, water and weather do not stop halfway down a twelve-mile valley.

And the honest fact on my side. Replacing three of five directors at once, in the middle of a fire transition and a rate cycle, changes the table. That is what this election is for. Three of five is on the ballot because the terms lined up that way. [1][2] Directors Russo and Walsh are seated through 2028, and a consultant's work survives an election. The cost of leaving the same three seats in place, on a five-month fire clock and a forty-year water bill, is the one I will not ask you to pay.

Who this is for

I am not running against the people who plow roads and fix mains at two in the morning. My complaint is with a board's pace, and with who is sitting in the chairs, not with a crew's work.

Nobody standing at the CSD counter chose any of this. They will pay for it anyway, in a water bill, a sewer bill, and a fire decision that outlasts every person now on that board.

Ask every candidate which fire option they support and what it costs. Ask who they would send to the wastewater agency. Then use all three of your votes.

Andrew Sauer is a candidate for the Big Bear City Community Services District board, represents County Service Area 53B on the Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency board, and owns bigbear.news. The opinions expressed here are his own, offered as a candidate. They are not the position of BBARWA, its Governing Board, or its staff.

Sources

  1. Big Bear City CSD, Elected Board: director terms; Ziegler "Elected ... in 2014, 2018, 2022"; Walsh "Appointed ... in 2011 and Elected in 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024"; JoKay Rowe "Elected ... in 2024"; Bob Rowe listed as Board President; "Regular Board meetings are scheduled at 5:00 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month." https://www.bbccsd.org/index.php/board/elected-board (opens in a new tab)
  2. San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, Candidate List, November 3, 2026 General Election, page 193: Big Bear City CSD, "Number to be elected 3," ten candidates on the ballot; Bob Rowe, Al Ziegler and Jo Rowe listed as incumbents. https://uploads.rov.sbcounty.gov/ROV/Elections/2026/1103/Report_CandidateList.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  3. San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, certified Statement of Votes Cast, November 8, 2022, Big Bear City CSD Member, Board of Directors (Vote for 3): Registered Voters 7,488; Times Cast 4,201; Turnout 56.10 percent. No Big Bear City CSD contest appeared on the November 2024 ballot. https://uploads.rov.sbcounty.gov/rov/Elections/2022/1108/sov/38396Big_Bear_City_Community_Services_District_Member_Board_of_Directors_(Vote_for_3).pdf (opens in a new tab)
  4. San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters, Statement of Vote, District Total Canvass, November 8, 2022, page 102. https://uploads.rov.sbcounty.gov/rov/Elections/2022/1108/Results/District%20Total%20Canvass_20221208065549922.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  5. Big Bear Fire Department, Board of Directors: a ten-member board of all five CSD directors and all five Fire Protection District directors; JoKay Rowe, Board Chair. https://www.bigbearfire.org/about-us/board-of-directors (opens in a new tab)
  6. Bylaws and Policies of the Big Bear Fire Authority (2025), Section 5.2: "A special meeting of the Board may be called at any time by the Chair, by a majority of the Board, or by a majority vote of the board of directors of any Participating Agency." https://www.bigbearfire.org/home/showpublisheddocument/2330/639015010149800000 (opens in a new tab)
  7. Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement creating the Big Bear Fire Authority, June 21, 2012, Section 6.3(b)(ii): approval of budgets "shall require seven (7) or more affirmative votes of the entire membership of the Board." https://bigbearlake.gov/images/DOWNLOADS/SERVICES/PUBLIC_SAFETY/FIRE_PROTECTION_DISTRICT/DOCUMENTS/June_21,2012_Joint_Powers_Authority_Agreement-_Formation_of_the_Big_Bear_Fire_Authority.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  8. Citygate Associates, Fire Services Review, Preliminary Results Briefing, presented to the Big Bear Fire Authority February 6, 2026, slide 27, "Potential Choices: Determine feasibility of both partners folding into County Fire / Remain in current partnership and update JPA agreement." https://www.bigbearfire.org/home/showpublisheddocument/2346/639059779382770000 (opens in a new tab)
  9. Big Bear Fire Authority, Special Meeting Agenda, February 6, 2026, sole item: the Citygate presentation. https://www.bigbearfire.org/home/showpublisheddocument/2344/639058417791600000 (opens in a new tab)
  10. Big Bear Fire Authority, Regular Meeting Minutes, February 10, 2026, page 4: direction "that each respective agency solicit a Request for Proposal for fire services from San Bernardino County Fire Department," Ayes 9, Noes none, absent Russo; no motion to amend the agreement. https://www.bigbearfire.org/home/showpublisheddocument/2368/639137366657100000 (opens in a new tab)
  11. Big Bear Fire Authority, Regular Meeting Minutes, April 14, 2026. https://www.bigbearfire.org/home/showpublisheddocument/2392/639204208383470000 (opens in a new tab)
  12. Big Bear Fire Authority, Regular Board Meeting Agenda, September 8, 2026 (revised September 3), Item 7: "Consideration of Big Bear Fire Authority Board FY 2026/27 Preliminary Budget." https://www.bigbearfire.org/home/showpublisheddocument/2402 (opens in a new tab)
  13. Big Bear Fire Authority, Board Meeting Documents: minutes of July 14, 2026, budget motion "AYES: Segovia, Hicks. NOES: Putz, Melnick. ABSENT: Herrick. ABSTAIN: Ziegler, Walsh, Russo, J. Rowe, B. Rowe. Motion Failed."; August 11, 2026 regular meeting cancelled; approved minutes posted through June 9, 2026 as of September 13. https://www.bigbearfire.org/about-us/board-of-directors/board-meeting-documents (opens in a new tab)
  14. Big Bear City CSD, Regular Board Meeting Minutes, May 18, 2026: Resolution 2026-16, "Authorizing the Orderly Dissolution of the Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement," Ayes 5, Noes none. Posted as "05-18-26 Minutes Approved" at https://www.bbccsd.org/index.php/board/board-meeting-documents (opens in a new tab)
  15. Big Bear City CSD, Regular Board Meeting Minutes, July 20, 2026: Resolution 2026-25, professional services agreement with AP Triton, LLC, "not-to-exceed contract amount of $79,989.00," "$20,011.00" contingency, "$100,000.00" total authorized; Ayes 4, Noes none, absent Ziegler. Posted as "07-20-26 Minutes Approved" at the page in source 14.
  16. Big Bear City CSD, Special Meeting Agenda Packet, August 19, 2026: revised FY 2026-27 Big Bear Fire Authority budget exhibit, CSD $6,490,463, FPD $6,490,463, total revenue $13,093,354, total expenditures $12,756,643; staff recommendation "Receive and discuss." Posted as "08-19-26 Special Meeting Agenda Packet" at the page in source 14.
  17. Big Bear City CSD, Special Meeting Agenda Packet, August 17, 2026, 60th anniversary: "The District was officially established on August 23, 1966, following voter approval." Posted as "08-17-26 Special Meeting Agenda Packet" at the page in source 14.
  18. Big Bear City CSD, Regular Board Meeting Minutes, September 18, 2023: "Director Rowe recused himself from the meeting due to a conflict of interest with his wife as a candidate"; the board "unanimously voted to change the voting requirement to a majority vote"; "Directors Russo and Ziegler voted in favor, Directors Walsh voted no"; Michael Eagleson appointed. Posted as "09-18-23 Minutes Approved" at the page in source 14 (2023 archive).
  19. Stacy Moore, "Big Bear City passes fire budget; fire department waiting for full board to OK spending," Big Bear Grizzly, August 28, 2026: the three options under study; findings expected in January; "That leaves us five months to wrap things up whichever way it goes"; "It's called spending authority. If you don't pass a budget, you don't have spending authority." https://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/news/big-bear-city-passes-fire-budget-fire-department-waiting-for-full-board-to-ok-spending/article_ee64bfd1-82db-4911-910c-0ebab8b837aa.html (opens in a new tab)
  20. Kristina Nehls, "Director's wife among candidates for CSD Board appointment," Big Bear Grizzly, September 15, 2023: staff report, "Due to a conflict of interest, Director Rowe will be unable to participate in the discussion and decision"; five applicants. https://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/news/directors-wife-among-candidates-for-csd-board-appointment/article_0324373c-5449-11ee-be52-13b0ce93fac3.html (opens in a new tab)
  21. Kristina Nehls, "Eagleson appointed to vacant seat on CSD Board," Big Bear Grizzly, September 22, 2023: "voted 2-1"; "Bob Rowe recused himself from all discussion and voting." https://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/news/eagleson-appointed-to-vacant-seat-on-csd-board/article_73f05e9a-5940-11ee-8f55-db6126b0d688.html (opens in a new tab)
  22. "Big Bear Lake and Big Bear City CSD air differences about end of fire partnership," Big Bear Grizzly, July 3, 2026. https://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/news/big-bear-lake-and-big-bear-city-csd-air-differences-about-end-of-fire-partnership/article_1ed1d859-fd6e-490e-9041-75b7c864c788.html (opens in a new tab)
  23. "What is the future of fire services in Big Bear City?", Big Bear Grizzly, June 18, 2026. https://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/news/what-is-the-future-of-fire-services-in-big-bear-city/article_5facd4e0-d576-4523-9a7f-c010a222acab.html (opens in a new tab)
  24. City of Big Bear Lake, Fire Protection District page and timeline: April 29 and May 18, 2026 resolutions; the FPD "chose Option C" (June 30, 2026 release); County Fire partnership expected to begin July 1, 2027. https://bigbearlake.gov/index.php/en/departments/public-safety/fire-protection-district (opens in a new tab)
  25. BBARWA, Governing Board: Larry Walsh and John Russo seated as the Big Bear City CSD appointees. https://www.bbarwa.org/governing-board (opens in a new tab)
  26. BBARWA, Regular Meeting Minutes, August 27, 2025: WIFIA loan roll call; the motion did not pass without four of five votes. https://www.bbarwa.org/files/8a7df0f58/082725+Regular+Meeting+Minutes.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  27. BBARWA, Regular Meeting Agenda Packet, August 27, 2025, Item 10.A: $50,597,000 WIFIA loan, maturity May 2064, 4.83 percent. https://www.bbarwa.org/files/b79d4d553/082725+Regular+Meeting+Agenda+Packet.pdf?get_file=true (opens in a new tab)