Campaigns for seats on the Orange Cove police and fire protection district boards are usually mundane and uneventful. Most of the time, no one challenges the incumbents for the unpaid jobs.
That's not the case this year.
Six people are vying for two spots on the police district board in Tuesday's election. Three are competing for two seats on the fire district board.
The police district race is attracting attention because Orange Cove is in the process of starting its own police department. Candidates disagree over how much of the $120,000 provided to the district each year should go toward funding the new police department.
The district, which covers the city and the surrounding area, is one of only three such districts remaining in the state. The other two are the Fig Garden Police Protection District in Fresno and the Broadmoor Police Protection District in the Bay Area. The districts were created during the last century to distribute tax revenues for police services and originally served unincorporated areas.
The three-member board that oversees the Orange Cove district isn't responsible for running police operations. Its only job is to spend money that comes in from sales-tax dollars to support law enforcement in any way it sees fit.
The district's money is usually used to buy new equipment and pay for overtime for the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, which patrols Orange Cove. But because Orange Cove plans to start up its new police department early next year, some believe that the city should get a large portion of those funds.
Board members Dale Anderson and his uncle, Leroy Anderson, are up for re-election. Dale Anderson, who owns an auto-repair and towing shop in Orange Cove, said he worries that his opponents want to give all of the district's money to the city.
"We have to make sure part of the money is spent in [the unincorporated parts of] the district, not just Orange Cove," said Anderson, who has been on the board for about 25 years.
Two of the challengers are Eldon Thompson, who retired from a sales and marketing career, and Tina Tugas, a bookkeeper for a real estate management company in Orange Cove. Tugas said that the district's funds should be divided between the city and the Sheriff's Office; Thompson said he thinks the money should be allocated on a case-by-case basis. But both are concerned that the current board members won't give enough of the money to the city.
The other two challengers, Antonio Sosa, a sales representative, and Patricia Rios-Lopez, an eligibility worker, could not be reached to comment.
In the fire protection district race, Bob Terry, a retired fire chief who is also a member of the police district board, is challenging incumbents Manuel Ferreira and Darryl Hofer on the three-person board. He said he would resign his seat on the police district board if he wins.
The fire district covers a larger area than the police district and is directly responsible for providing fire-protection services. Its annual budget is about $180,000, Hofer said.
Terry, who worked for the district for 25 years before retiring last year, criticized the board for its "excessive use of lawyers" and for running up high legal bills. He said volunteers in the district aren't happy with the board's leadership.
But Hofer, who has been on the board for four years, said he has helped improve the district. Before he arrived, he said, the district was run inefficiently and didn't have any by-laws.
"We've corrected some past things that weren't done right," Hofer said.
Ferreira could not be reached to comment.
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