What If They Held an Election but Nobody Ran? Life on Parks Panel

Looking for a high-profile local elected post? A steppingstone to higher office?

Then steer clear of the Miraleste Park and Recreation District governing board, which oversees the weeding, watering and trimming of bushes and trees on open land in the Miraleste section of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Perhaps because the job is so uninspiring, no one filed to run for the three seats on the Nov. 5 ballot.

And that, it turns out, is standard operating procedure.

“We always have a hard time filling empty seats,” says district director Winifred Brtis. “There’s nowhere to go from here; there’s no money in it, and there’s a lot of work.”

So the Miraleste district will do what its directors say it has done for years: Let the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council fill the board’s three posts by appointment. And, as usual, the appointees will be those whose four-year terms are coming to an end.

The five board members are so accustomed to this approach that they never file for reelection, since they’re always sure they’ll still keep their seats. And heck, they say, it saves the district money.

“By doing it this way, we avoid exposing the district to the cost of an election,” says Thomas Stolpman, one of the three who will now be reappointed. The others are Brtis and Robert Hansen.

Underlying the lack of interest in the parks panel, members say, is its combination of low visibility and--yes--controversy. Stolpman says the panel has a tough time dealing with homeowners who build on district-owned land--a wall, in one recent case; a paddle-tennis court, in another.

And the district often draws a cross fire of criticism from some homeowners who want more tree-trimming and others who want less.

“You get into a lot of controversy,” Stolpman says. “Some residents want to have panoramic views of the ocean, and others want to retain a semi-rural, green atmosphere.”

And for all the work, the parks panel does not command a dazzling array of government machinery. Functioning on a budget of $50,000 a year, it employs two gardeners and owns a truck, a wood chipper, three chain saws, a hedge trimmer and a weed whacker.

In a way, it’s pure public service--government without the glory. Which might explain why the board took a year to find a replacement for member Michael Lawler, who resigned last year.

At its meetings, Brtis says, the board repeatedly asked for a volunteer before finally finding someone to serve out Lawler’s term--physician Kenneth Holt.

Recalls Brtis: “We kept asking people in the district, and the response was always, ‘You guys are doing a great job, but I don’t want to join you.’ ”

So how would the park district’s incumbents feel if, in the next election, a strong field of candidates challenged them?

“If they want to replace us, fine,” Brtis says. “They’re welcome.”