Behar Steps Down From Water District Board

David Behar, Ross Valley’s representative on the Marin Municipal Water District board of directors, is stepping down from the post as he relocates from San Anselmo to Corte Madera.

Behar is halfway through his second four-year term on the board; his seat will be up for election again in 2014. Behar represented MMWD’s Division 3, which encompasses most of Ross Valley, San Geronimo Valley, portions of Larkspur, Greenbrae, Kentfield and adjacent unincorporated properties.

“I feel a certain obligation to help with that,” Behar said of finding a suitable replacement. He said that he’d been talking with residents and generating interest.

“We need someone who knows the district and the issues we deal with,” Behar said. “Someone who will roll up their sleeves and get to work.”

Behar, a longtime San Anselmo resident, is moving to Corte Madera to be closer to where his two children attend school. He was elected to the board in 2006 and re-elected in 2010.

“My time as a board member has been deeply rewarding, and I want to thank my friends and neighbors for their support of the work I’ve tried to do at MMWD,” Behar said in a prepared statement. “I am very proud of MMWD and the exemplary service it provides to our community, and I think we should all be thankful for this outstanding institution, which is such an integral part of Marin County.”

MMWD Interim General Manager Tom Cronin expressed his disappointment with Behar’s need to leave the district board but said he understood the decision was made for personal reasons. “David has given generously of his time, expertise and enthusiasm to the community and has done a stellar job representing his constituents,” said Cronin. “His work in the areas of finance and sustainability in particular has been extremely valuable. We will miss him.”

Cronin said that the MMWD “will ask for applicants from the community” and that the process involves validation by the Marin County Registrar of Voters.

While on the board, Behar served as chair of the Communications Committee, the Lagunitas Creek Technical Advisory Committee, and the Pine Mountain Tunnel Citizens Advisory Committee. In 2008 and again over the past two years, he has chaired the Finance Committee.

MMWD’s 147-mile-square-mile service area is divided into five divisions with approximately 37,000 residents in each division. The board has up to 60 days in which to appoint a new director to represent Division III for the remainder of the current term, which is through December 2014. The board plans to formally announce the vacancy and the process for filling it at the next regularly scheduled meeting, which is Wed., Nov. 7, 2012.