Don Gruber is a candidate for Director,

Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District

This is for Ward 3, which includes parts of Seaside, Monterey, Sand City and Del Rey Oaks.

For a map of Ward 3, go HERE.

I believe the Park District is an important government agency, and it has a lot of impact on each of us, even if we never enter one of their parks. I believe that the current board is unfortunately focused on getting all possible users into parks, at the expense of the habitat, and I believe this is backwards. Here is a recent statement from the General Manager, quoted in a local paper:

"We are the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, not regional conservation district… we are a park district, which impels that aspect of providing public access."

You can read that whole article by going HERE.

To read other articles about the running track at Palo Corona Park, go HERE.

To see a list of parks in the Regional Park District, go HERE.

My argument with the current Park District board members is their apparent belief that quiet trails like this would be better with bikes, electric bikes and other machines. I disagree.

Why would I run?

Two words, in my order of importance:

1. HABITAT
2. ACCESS

Here's how the current Park District Board sees those words, in their order of importance:

1. ACCESS
2. HABITAT

As depicted above, there is really only one reason why I am running: I value HABITAT over ACCESS. The current Park District Board prioritizes differently, and I want that to change.