March 13--BRENTWOOD, CA-- Voters in the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District chose to reduce the soon-to-be elected board from nine members down to five in a recent mail-in ballot.
Although the results are still unofficial, 91 percent of votes had been counted on Tuesday afternoon and over 90 percent of those votes were in favor of reducing the number of directors on the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District's Board of Directors.
More than 12,000 voters from Bethel Island in the north through Oakley and Brentwood down to Tassajara in the south cast their ballots.
ECCFPD Fire Chief Brian Helmick wrote an argument in favor of reducing the board's size, saying that it would make the process more efficient, but more importantly, better-informed.
"It's a numbers issue and the reduction, I believe, will help with communications and in turn will help get consensus on things," Helmick said. "The work load for the office of the fire chief is overwhelming to some extent and there are many competing interests of time and it's a hard challenge for me to communicate effectively and keep nine individuals up-to-speed."
In November of 2016, a little over 62 percent of East County voters decided that they wanted to elect their own board members, rather than have members appointed for them by elected officials.
Currently, the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors appoints two members, the Brentwood City Council appoints four members and the Oakley City Council appoints three members.
"I was a supporter and fan of (reducing the size of the district) from the beginning," said ECCFPD board member Erick Stonebarger. "Take it away from the city councils and board of supervisors so the district has a direct say and hopefully that will encourage them to have more participation in how the district is run. There's a real significant challenge there and it won't be easy to overcome."
On Nov. 6, voters will elect five at-large members to the board of directors. The filing period for candidates starts on July 16 and ends on Aug. 10.
To learn more about filing candidacy papers, visit www.cocovote.us/run-for-office-or-file-a-measure/run-for-office/
The newly elected board will need to draw lots to decide which three elected officials will serve four-year terms and which two will serve two-year terms.
Overall, the largest turnout by percentage came from voters in the Deer Ridge area, with over half of registered voters in Brentwood precinct 128 making their voice heard.
Both the Deer Ridge and Shadow Lakes areas saw voter turnout above 40 percent.
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