It’s obvious that there is a struggle between Highlands Mutual and the City of Clearlake. Both serve the public, so while having different structures that are meant to represent the people they serve.

Highlands Mutual has shareholders while Clearlake has constituents. Whether the water system is a mutual, public or private enterprise, I personally don’t really care. In the long run, all of us want running reliable, affordable, potable water coming out our faucets when we turn them on. It is, however, set up similarly to a public entity where there are Board of Directors that make decisions for the water company on behalf of their shareholders. Board of Directors are elected through a vote of the shareholders. It is important that elections are done right and that the public is informed to make the best decision for the future of the agency that provides water services to its shareholders. However, elections should be free and fair to ensure the highest levels of integrity.

Free elections are important to ensure that all voices are given the recognition they deserve. Suppressing votes or making it difficult to register a vote should never be a part of our election processes. The integrity of our elections are of the utmost importance, therefore ensuring access and participation is paramount to holding that standard of integrity. The courts recently found that the list of shareholders that were eligible to vote was not the appropriate count. It turns out that shareholders who own property, but don’t have water service, still get to vote due to having the ability to vote for directors who may make changes that would entice them to make a water connection and get service. Capacity fees, water rates, and water quality are things that board of directors can prioritize which may bring in more customers, so I agree with the courts findings that those within the district even without water connections should be able to vote.

I’m not sure for how long the shareholder list has been incorrect. I want to give Highlands Mutual the benefit of the doubt that this was a new interpretation that they had never heard before. However, on their website (https://highlandswater.com/election-information) it states “Under Highlands’ Bylaws and a court order, only parcels within these boundaries are shareholders.”

The latest iteration of the bylaws, approved on Jan. 31, 2024, state in Article VI Section 2. Membership “any persons owning a lot or lots” in a described subdivision, or “any person or persons owning any parcel or parcels of land” within an unsubdivided portion. Has it always read this way, does this mean that shareholders’ ability to vote or even attend or speak at Highlands Mutual meetings have been historically suppressed? I’m glad that this has been brought to light by the courts, but I fail to understand why the discourse regarding this issue seems absent from this upcoming election? No Board of Directors has mentioned it, no apology to shareholders who were not given a voice in the past, just crickets.

Finally, fair elections means not providing barriers or benefits to candidates and treating them all the same with equity. On Highlands Mutual’s website there are links to https://keephighlandswater.com/. Within this site are a lot of attacks and jabs at the City of Clearlake, similar to the types of attacks and jabs seen on the city’s website and social media, but again that is for a later topic of discussion. There is also a “Vote by Proxy Now” button found on their page. This leads you to a webpage that solely suggests voting for a specific slate of candidates when they are not the only slate. Now this page on its own would not create election integrity issues had it not been for the link from Highlands Mutual web page. Having a link to this page/site from Highlands Water suppresses all other candidates that are running in this election. There is no integrity in this and does not provide a level playing field for all candidates, hence the election is not fair.

Imagine being a director of an agency and choosing your own Board of Directors. Imagine a city manager choosing their own city councilmembers. Those who shall be led by the board or council created through an election do not get to officially support certain candidates. This is highly unethical. I’ve seen it before and I don’t like it, and even more I can’t respect it.

Board of directors, just like city councilmembers, are meant to represent the people (shareholders) of the district they serve, not work for or with the administrative team of the agency they’ve been elected to. This does not mean that as private individuals they can’t provide support, but an agency itself linking to a page that only shows one slate of candidates who happen to represent the current Board of Directors is unethical and destroys the integrity of any election.

In contrast, here is the city of Clearlake’s election page where all candidates that registered for the election are listed and in alphabetical order to ensure that no one was prioritized over another in any biased way. There is no link to specific candidate pages to help ensure that the public sees the names the city wants you to see. That is how fair elections work.

I’m embarrassed to see how this process has been moving forward. Besides the conversations regarding water rates, water infrastructure and water quality, which is a completely different topic and an important one for the future of Clearlake, I’m embarrassed that the current Board of Directors and the current administration of Highlands Mutual is not embarrassed with me that their election is proving to not be free and fair for the points listed above. The silence is unfortunately louder than the words currently defending Highlands Mutual’s work in the community.

To all the shareholders of Highlands Mutual, please vote. Please have discussions with various people who are shareholders, city officials, with Highlands Mutual staff and Board of Director candidates. Get a better understanding of what you will be voting on so that the future of your water is secure. There are choices and you are free to make those choices, but know that this election, this process is marred with issues that degrade the integrity. Make your voices heard, make sure to read everything and learn as much as you can and please cast your vote on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at 16374 Main St., Lower Lake, CA 95457.

Please visit both sites to make your decision.
https://reformhighlandswater.com/ 
https://keephighlandswater.com/ 

Bruno Sabatier lives in Clearlake, California. He is the District 2 representative on the Lake County Board of Supervisors.