Jose Olivar Runs for San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District

Jose Olivar, former Colton Utilities Commissioner, is in the run for the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District Division II. Through previously serving as the District I Colton Utilities Commissioner, Olivar has had years of experience including establishing the Agua Mansa solar farm an worked toward lowering the utility rates along with the electric rates. He also said he stepped in when a land fill company was going to bring toxic land soil, encapsulate it in concrete and put it next to the Santa Ana River in San Bernardino. If elected to the position in the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District Division II, he said he would reach out for federal funds and work with the neighborhood cities that are extracting waters from the river. He said he would also like to establish a form of retention like inflatable dams in the basins and retain more water instead of expediting the water out of the area. “I am for the citizens owning water,” he said. “The people should own the water, not private industries because once they do, it's water wars. I would like to avoid these water wars coming into the area because people come first, not companies. Water is life and that is key.” Olivar said an advantage he has is that he grew up in the area, played in the Santa Ana River when he was young and received his education from local schools in Colton, Grand Terrace and San Bernardino. “My loyalty is to the Inland Empire,” he said. Olivar was previously hired to work at the San Bernardino Water Department and visited San Bernardino Valley College where he spoke with instructors and the director to help establish an Operator in Training Program. He said he helped develop the program because he saw that the opportunity was not being given to the people of the Inland Empire because most people have to know someone in the trade to get into the business. Olivar was also recently appointed on the oversight committee for Measure D and will volunteer his time on the committee for the next seven years to help handle a General Fund Transfer. The General Fund Transfer will allow the city to transfer a limited amount of money each year from its Electric Utility Surplus Reserves to the City’s General fund, where the money can be used for general services for the community. "You have to be a good steward, no money (payment) is involved (for me) but it's about giving back to the community,” he said. "I have passion and I care about the future,"Olivar said. "I don't care about the money. I want the position to work with people to bring communities together. It’s not about me. It’s about us.” Olivar said when he was the utility commissioner, he was a part of lowering the water rates in the city of Colton and tried to eliminate the meter reader fee that he found to be unfair for residents and said he will continue his work toward eliminating that fee. "I have been committed and I walk the walk, I don’t just talk the talk," he said. "Water is our future, avoid a water war." George Aguilar, Vice Chair of Colton Utilities Commission and former Director of San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, said in a previous article with City News Group that he supports Olivar’s run for the position. With 28 years of experience as the director, Aguilar has also helped bring in more than $225 million in reserves, build facilities and has also served as a commissioner for the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority. “We need somebody to be a real representative,” Aguilar said. “Someone that’s going to really be there and care about our water, know about water and care to learn more about what the future of water will bring." Paid for by Committee for Jose Olivar for Water Board 2016