Image above: Victorious new KIUC board member Jan TenBruggencate.
Photo by Dennis Fujimoto for Garden Island News.
[Publisher's note: We congratulate those who won... especially Jan Tenbruggencate, who we endorsed, and who is the only new progressive voice to join the board of KIUC.]
By Coco Zickos on 27 March 2010 in The Garen Island News-
(http://thegardenisland.com/business/local/article_de4f04b8-3a45-11df-a047-001cc4c03286.html)
Carol Bain, Allan Smith and Jan TenBruggencate were elected to the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative Board of Directors late Saturday afternoon. The new board members will serve three-year terms which end March 2013.
Governing the “business and affairs of KIUC,” the board is responsible for certain activities such as “approving annual operating budget, construction work plans, compensation plans and capital expenditure budgets,” according to KIUC’s Board Policy.
“I’m humbled and very eager to serve again,” said Smith, who was re-elected to another term on the nine-member board.
During the next three years as director, Smith said he wants to “continue on our track in moving ahead as a co-op and do what we can to make a difference” and “make things sustainable.”
Harnessing the sun’s energy is one way Smith said the island could move forward in its quest to decrease its dependency on fossil fuels, especially when it comes to photovoltaic systems because the “technology is there.”
“I’m very pleased to win,” said Bain, also an incumbent. “There is work I feel I need to complete.”
Bain, who said she will push for renewable energies, noted the “great” team of directors has “a lot of work ahead.”
TenBruggencate could not be reached for comment by press time.
Though first-time candidates Pat Gegen and Carol Medeiros were not elected to the board, both said they felt like they put in their best efforts.
“It’s more disappointing for the people who voted for me,” Medeiros said, adding she will not be running again next time around.
“The forum was very stressful,” she said when asked what some of her reasons were for choosing not to run again.
Planning to “keep his pulse” on the co-op’s activities, Gegen said he will continue to regularly attend KIUC board meetings and will “try to influence the direction of the co-op in renewable” sources from his position as a community member.
Gegen — who alone touted more than a decade of work experience in the energy field, from renewables to oil — said he is unsure at this point whether he will run again.
Of the more than 24,000 KIUC members, around 6,700 voted in the election.
The newly elected board members will be inaugurated at noon, Tuesday, in the KIUC Main Conference room, 4463 Pahee Street, Lihue. The board will then hold its regularly scheduled meeting at 1:30 p.m.
The official results of the 2010 Board of Directors Election are as follows: Allan A. Smith 4,323 votes or 21.34% Jan TenBruggencate 4,126 votes or 20.36% Carol Bain 3,240 votes or 15.99% Pat Gegen 2,671 votes or 13.18% Carol Medeiros 2,422 votes or 11.95% .
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