I was urged by several Isla Vista friends to run as a balance
to Buttny on the environmentalist slate. But when I approached
Donna Hone, she said that all three positions were filled on
the environmentalist's slate. Resentment grew in some Isla Vista
circles because of the unwillingness of the leadership of the
Goleta environmentalists to share power with Isla Vista in the
selection of candidates for an office that required such significant
Isla Vista voter support. There were some weeks of discussion
between us, but no compromise was reached.
I ended up running as an "independent" environmentalist.
The irony was that Buttny was later pressured by the Goleta-based
environmentalists to withdraw from the race (although his name
remained on the ballot) when information surfaced about his
felony arrest during the 1960's antiwar movement.
These events and stresses made it a difficult campaign, and
the results were upsetting. Hone managed to keep her seat, finishing
third to fellow incumbents Don Weaver and Gary MacFarland. Although
I gathered 67% of the vote in the I.V./UCSB area and came in
first in every IV/UCSB precinct, my support in Goleta was very
weak and I finished a disappointing sixth overall for the three
contested seats.
The next year held a big surprise, as the environmentalists
were forced to undergo another election challenge a year ahead
of schedule. In 1984, led by developer Jerry Beaver, a recall
campaign was mounted against theWater Board majority. Although
Ed Maschke, Pat Shewczyk and Donna Hone were successful in holding
on to their seats, the campaign was taxing financially and emotionally.
"We had to go through four elections in two years,"
laments Maschke in explaining that this period was very difficult
on the Goleta environmentalists who were active in the 1983
and 1984 Water Board campaigns, in Bill Wallace's third district
supervisorial re-election campaign in 1984, and then in the
1985 Water Board election. "It was a tremendous drain on
our financial resources, as well as just physically draining
on everybody."
The results were critical. After ten years of dominance, the
environmentalists lost control of the Goleta Water Board in
1985.
"People just generally took the threat of us losing both
our seats not nearly as seriously as they had in the past,"
says Maschke, attributing this to the overwhelming support the
environmentalists received in the recall election of 1984.
Maschke also speculates that the 1985 election was the one in
which the difference between the environmentalists and their
opponents was most blurred in the minds of the voters.
"The developers always posture themselves as having the
same positions as us," Maschke says. "The only difference
(they say) is that they could do a better job. In the last election,
they were just successful in hiding the source of their money."
Ultimately, however, it was probably Isla Vista that dealt the
lethal blow.
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