Getting involved

John Spencer admits he doesn't like talking about himself much, but when the discussion turns to scrutiny of his three years as a county supervisor, he has plenty to say.

"It's not all about me, but I've been able to get involved with my community and be successful by being elected," said Spencer, who is 60. "There aren't a lot of people who get that involved, but I did it, and I'm proud to accomplish that."

The current chairman of the board said recent criticism about the county's fire plan and economic development doesn't bother him.

Though it has taken four years to produce a fire plan, "It think it was good for us to take time to get it right," Spencer said Friday. "We'll go through it and probably make some changes and finalize it in 2008."

The Nevada County Supervisor for the Grass Valley area said he will have to study the plan further to figure out the changes.

Some county residents have said a recent economic report ordered by the supervisors that emphasizes new business recruitment also was long overdue.

But Spencer said the report comes "at a perfect time," as the county faces economic uncertainty with a tourist and service-oriented economy.

"It's critical that the cities and the county have a like-minded approach," Spencer said of a subsequent economic push. "If we can't get a buy-in from everybody, I'm not sure where it will go.

"If they do, we can give Gil Mathew at the Economic Resource Council some power to do things," Spencer said. "I've been saying for years that the ERC needs more money to do a better job.

"It's like giving somebody $30,000 and saying, 'Build a race car and get in this race.' You can build the car and get in the race, but you probably won't win.

"I don't think it's the county's particular job, economics," Spencer said. "We're involved and we can help the environment, but we can't be the sole provider.

"Business will come because of the business environment and the infrastructure and housing prices. The current players did as much as they could, but it hasn't been enough. I would like to see some incentives for business to come here, but you don't want to attract too many people."



Long Beach beginnings

The supervisor spent the first 30 years of his life in Long Beach with no designs on Northern California.

In 1966, Spencer served a tour in the Vietnam War as a helicopter maintenance man with the U.S. Army, another detail about himself he doesn't bring up often.

"I didn't have to be in any major combat, so I was lucky," Spencer said. "I served my country, was proud to do it and let it go, but it gave me a perspective of life."

He fell in love with Grass Valley after a visit with his ex-wife in 1976 and decided to buy a home here to rent out and eventually live in.

"I was a surveyor for the City of Long Beach, and I was getting concerned about my safety in the streets," Spencer said. "People's moods were changing, and they were getting more aggressive."

With no job, Spencer moved here in 1977. Within six months he was hired by the county's public works department as a surveyor and stayed until 1984.

"I couldn't go any higher with the county, so I decided to go into business for myself," Spencer said, and he's been an independent surveyor ever since.

The experience brought him close to county government, where he began interacting with the building, planning and public works departments. He also found himself before the planning commission and the supervisors on occasion.

After a divorce in 1994, Spencer decided to get involved with the community through the Grass Valley-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce.

"That's what got me closer to business and politics," Spencer said. "Because of my profession, I was asked to be on the zoning action team" that changed the county zoning laws in 2000.

In 2002, Spencer got involved in Drew Bedwell's campaign for supervisor and helped him to win.

"He was looking for a planning commissioner and was having a hard time," Spencer said. "I said I'd be happy to (accept the job) because of my background."

In 2003 Bedwell was diagnosed with cancer and resigned just months before dying.

"He asked me to run to fill his term," Spencer said. "I sent a letter to the governor (Schwarzenegger) and said I would like to be appointed and so did Bruce Conklin, who Drew had beaten" in the previous election.

"The governor decided not to appoint because it was an election year, so I won at the end of 2004 and ran again in 2006 when the term expired" and won.



A supervisor's tenure

There is little Spencer said he would change about his past three years on the board and his chairmanship, which is drawing to a close.

"It's a learning process," Spencer said. "I'd like to see (supervisors) Ted Owens and Nate Beason re-elected. I think we've got a very high-quality board in a position now to benefit the community as a whole."

The chairman of the board said he will have to see who else files for outgoing Supervisor Sue Horne's seat before he makes any endorsement. So far, planning commission Chairwoman Laura Duncan and LAFCo board member Alan Kilborn have filed.

Criticism is part of the job, but Spencer said people who accuse the board of "group-think" are off the mark.

"We're team players, and we have an overall intent for the county's benefit," Spencer said. "We do not have an adversarial relationship."

Some in the community have said the board is being run by County Executive Officer Rick Haffey without enough scrutiny, but Spencer disagrees.

"It's quite possible for that to happen if the board is not awake," Spencer said. "But our board sticks our nose in and asks why - we're aware of what's going on.

"In order for the board to work well, we have to have good people under us who know their jobs," Spencer said. "We don't want to micromanage, but we want to ask why every chance we get," and board members are not bashful about doing it, Spencer said.

Spencer said he was aware the county has $48 million in unfunded liabilities for pensions, but he knew that county fiscal officers were watching it.

"We are aware of the liabilities, and we are doing everything we can in budget and employee negotiations to make that liability slow down, so in the future it isn't harmful to us," Spencer said.

County fiscal officer Joe Christoffel has a handle on the situation, Spencer said, and deferred to him for specifics.

As for his political future, Spencer isn't sure if he will run again for supervisor. When his term expires, he will be 63 and looking at the end of his surveying career.

"It depends on what's going on at that time," Spencer said, and who announces to run for his spot.

"It's hard to say," he said. "I'm kind of looking forward to quitting work altogether at that time."

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To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.