"County Supervisors are Just as Territorial as German Shepherds"

As far as Jeff Stone was concerned, Riverside County supervisors' decision to make quarries eligible for fast-track review was a violation of an "unwritten rule."  He was talking about a general practice of letting the local supervisor take the lead on a major land-use issue arising within his district. "The concept is really more that, 'If it's in my district, you follow the lead on my vote,'" Younglove said. "You'll go along with it and approve it even if you don't think it's the world's greatest idea."

"I never saw the memo that explained the unwritten rule," said Larry Parrish of Rancho Mirage, who served as the county's chief executive 16 years. "It's not in the manual."  And it's certainly not a law, said former Supervisor Norton Younglove of Riverside, who was on the Board of Supervisors for 24 years.

"That sort of hometown privilege is jealously guarded in many places," Steve Erie, a political science professor at UC San Diego said. "It's all about preventing nuclear war among supervisors. ... The minute you violate that unspoken rule, that unwritten rule, you invite retaliation. And then things go from bad to worse."

"County supervisors are just as territorial as German shepherds," Jack Pitney, a government professor for Claremont-McKenna College said.

"Having served the 2nd District for almost 20 years, I think my colleagues recognize that I know my district best and they weigh my views before making a decision that affects my constituents," San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn said. "But in the end, whether it's a land use item or another issue, each supervisor has to weigh the facts and vote their conscience."

That means votes don't always go the local supervisor's way, said Horn. And he suggested that's the way it should be.

"This is not a fiefdom," Horn said.

Stone accuses Benoit of breaking 'unwritten rule'
DAVE DOWNEY, californian.com, Oct 6 2012

As far as Jeff Stone was concerned, Riverside County supervisors' decision to make quarries eligible for fast-track review wasn't merely bad public policy, but also a violation of an "unwritten rule."

He was talking about a general practice of letting the local supervisor take the lead on a major land-use issue arising within his district.

"I ask my fellow supervisors to please keep our unwritten rule to allow each supervisor to lead or oppose efforts in each of our respective districts," Stone said.

By that, Stone meant he, not Supervisor John Benoit of the Palm Springs area, should have been the one to introduce ---- or not introduce ---- the newly approved measure that could lead to a quick approval for Granite Construction Co.'s proposed Liberty Quarry near Temecula.

Stone asserted that Benoit's predecessor wouldn't have intervened in perhaps the most controversial issue ever to hit Southwest County's 3rd District.

"I had a great working relationship with former Supervisor Roy Wilson, may he rest in peace," Stone said in a Sept. 25 meeting. "I don't believe Supervisor Roy Wilson would have this agenda item forcing his will on my constituents without my blessing."

Unwritten though it may be, former officials said, the deference rule has been in place many years in Riverside County.

"I never saw the memo that explained the unwritten rule," said Larry Parrish of Rancho Mirage, who served as the county's chief executive 16 years. "It's not in the manual."

And it's certainly not a law, said former Supervisor Norton Younglove of Riverside, who was on the Board of Supervisors for 24 years.

Nevertheless, Parrish said the board long has had a practice of letting a supervisor make a motion on an agenda item concerning a project in his or her area.

Most of the time the courtesy extends to votes, too, said Younglove, who served from 1971 through 1994.

World's greatest idea

"The concept is really more that, 'If it's in my district, you follow the lead on my vote,'" Younglove said. "You'll go along with it and approve it even if you don't think it's the world's greatest idea."

So Benoit's fast-track initiative appeared to run counter to the long-standing practice.

"I don't think it's bad or wrong or anything," Younglove said. "But it is unusual."

Riverside is hardly the only county with a practice of deferring to local supervisors.

The rule is in wide use in Orange County. And it was on full display last week when supervisors there voted unanimously to approve a controversial 65-home development in the Santa Ana Mountain foothills.

The courtesy was cited before ...

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/swcounty/region-stone-accuses-benoit-of-breaking-unwritten-rule/article_17b43ad0-ed79-5b81-b7f1-79a80b62db0c.html