At its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 19, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors officially appointed the Fern Valley Water District directors for 2022.
All four individuals — Robert Krieger, Gary Erb, R. Jonathon Brown and Walter “Walt” Bonneau, Jr. — are currently incumbents. FVWD had scheduled a mail-in ballot election for directors Aug. 31.
Since no other candidates filed for election, the number of candidates equaled the number of seats to be filled. Consequently, the county Registrar of Voters canceled the election. And pursuant to the State Election code, it is the supervisors’ responsibility to then appoint the qualified candidates to the term for which they filed.
Krieger, Erb, and Brown will have full four-year terms beginning Dec. 1 and Bonneau will serve a two-year term and will have to run in 2023 for a full term. That is also when President Richard Schnetzer’s term will expire.
Erb was initially appointed in November 2019 to replace former Director James Rees, who had resigned. One month earlier, in October 2019, Bonneau was appointed to replace former Director Trisha Clark, who resigned after leaving the district. She had been re-elected in 2017, which is why Bonneau had a short term to fill.
Brown, appointed in August, replaced former Director Jim Gates.
In her comments about the “Impact on Residents and Businesses,” the registrar wrote, “Filling out those various vacant positions with qualified individuals who will serve their respective constituents will benefit the community.”
The board also appointed three directors to the High Valley Water District board in Twin Pines in addition to the FVWD directors.
