Candidates vie for CPA trustee positions

Part one of two-part story

Thirteen candidates are competing to fill nine open trustee positions with the La Jolla Community Planning Association, the city’s advisory organization that deals with building and development.

To be eligible to hold a trustee position, candidates must be members in good standing and have attended three meetings in the past 12 months.

In addition to six rotational vacancies, each of which carries a three-year term, three other positions, carrying two-year terms, are open due to a resignation and members not able to fulfill attendance requirements.

The positions will be determined by who receives the highest number of votes, with the top six filling the regular trustee seats. The election will be held March 6 and is open to all CPA members. In order to be a member, individuals must be over 18 years of age, own or rent a home in La Jolla, own commercial property in La Jolla or be a La Jolla business owner, and have completed an application for membership. To vote, members must have attended one meeting in the last year.

John A. Berol, La Jolla Shores.

Berol’s community service includes serving as chair of the La Jolla Shores Association where he also served on the land-use committee and chair of the traffic committee. Accomplishments included attaining the alcohol ban for La Jolla Shores Beach, stopping the plan to widen La Jolla Shores Drive, obtaining an ordinance prohibiting the building of basements in a manner that requires pumping groundwater to the storm sewer that empties onto the beach and working with the LJSA, the LJCPA, the Town Council and Birdwatchers to attain a written consensus for not widening the streets of La Jolla. In 1992, Berol received a City Council of San Diego Special Commendation from Council member Abbe Wolfsheimer for his dedication to the community of La Jolla. On the current issue of paid street parking, Berol is opposed.

Tony Crisafi, business/property owner

Crisafi, a registered architect, established Island Architects in 1992, with work experience in designated historic neighborhoods since 1978 and a background in architectural history. He has been a member of the La Jolla Shores Permit Review Committee for nine years and is currently a member of the La Jolla Community Planning Association and La Jolla Shores Association. He previously served as a trustee of the La Jolla Community Planning Association in 1995 and 1997. He believes that any new design in La Jolla should be better than what is replaced. Design and implementation of new developments should honestly respond to its environment.

Jim Fitzgerald, Muirlands

Fitzgerald and his wife Daisy have lived in La Jolla for 19 years. He is an active member of the La Jolla Community Planning Association. He holds a BA in economics from Stanford University and a MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. His professional background includes more than 35 years as a business executive with senior management experience, including Ford Motor Company, Reynolds & Reynolds and Newgen Results Corporation. He is presently a professor of finance at SDSU College of Business. His volunteer activities include president of Project Wildlife, board member of San Diego High School Academy of Finance and advisor for Ark Antiques for Animal Charities. Fitzgerald is running for trustee because he believes he can offer the experience, the commitment and the balanced and proven judgment to effectively serve the La Jolla community.

Orrin L Gabsch, Muirlands

Gabsch and his wife Karen have been residents of La Jolla for more than 34 years. He owned and operated Burns Drugs for many years and is a registered pharmacist. Currently Gabsch serves as vice president of Pacific Pharmacy Computers. Examples of his community service include La Jolla Town Council trustee and past president, board of directors and vice president of Promote La Jolla, member and past chairman of La Jolla Traffic and Transportation Board, member and past director of La Jolla Rotary Club, advisory board member of Stevens Cancer Center- Scripps Memorial Hospital, graduate of LEAD San Diego, Inc., board of directors and chairman of senior loan committee for Landmark National Bank, member of the Planned District Ordinance and Bylaw committees of the LJCPA, and trustee of JCPA 2003-2005 and 2007. Gabsch wishes to continue serving the La Jolla community as a trustee of the LJCPA, as his long-time residency as a homeowner and businessman provides an understanding of the community’s issues.

Timothy Golba, Muirlands

A resident of Muirlands with his family, Golba started his own firm almost 20 years ago. In the first year of his three-year term, he served on the executive board as the treasurer and then as president for the following two years. His other appointments include serving on the City of San Diego’s Sustainable Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and the Community Planning Chairs Committee (CPC). He also serves on several private boards and committees. He was named in the inaugural class by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine as one of San Diego’s “40 under 40” for being one of San Diego’s young Entrepreneurs and Civic Leaders. Golba hopes to continue on as a trustee to advance the good will, communication and open and healthy dialogue that the LJCPA has experienced the past 2 years.

Lynne Russell Hayes, Muirlands

Hayes has been a La Jolla resident since 1999 and is a residential architect. She has been a trustee with the LJCPA since 2005 and would like to serve another three-year term. She served as treasurer for the last two years. Hayes has also served on the La Jolla Coastal Development Permit Review Committee since 2004, and other San Diego advisory committees. She is concerned about the future of La Jolla and feels that it is imperative to have knowledgeable people as trustees of the Association that understand the regulations and the Community Plan for La Jolla.

Additional information about the La Jolla Community Planning Association and 2008 election candidates can be found at www.lajollacpa.org or by calling (858) 456-7900.