TRUCKEE, Calif. — Voters in Nevada County will elect or re-elect three board members to the Truckee Donner Public Utilities District (TDPUD) board this November.
The seven candidates running for TDPUD’s board are incumbent Jeff Bender, who has previously served almost 16 years on the board; Barney Dewey, Courtney Murrell, and Steve Randall, all of whom are running independently of each other; and Dow Costa, Mark Hydar, and Critobal Martinez, who are running in coalition. Read more about each candidate below.
Jeff Bender
Jeff Bender is the only incumbent running and has been on the Truckee Donner Public Utilities District (TDPUD) board for more than 15 years. Bender is a mechanical engineer and general contractor who describes himself as a “family guy with a small business, a wife, kids.” He has lived in Tahoe for over 20 years and says he is incredibly proud of the TDPUD board’s work.
“I am incredibly proud of the Strategic Plan we made, which unfortunately some of my fellow candidates are speaking negatively about,” says Bender. “Everything we’ve done — offsite meetings, hiring consultants — is super financially responsible. We’re planning for the next ten years, about how we’re spending over $5 million. I’m proud of our plan! I’m motivated to do another 4 years at the TDPUD to lock in that stability and keep pushing forward, like I have.”
Bender highlights the Strategic Plan’s outline for a renewable energy portfolio, for rate stability and for local watershed stewardship as aspects he’s particularly excited about. He highly encourages participation in board meetings, which are open to the public (read more about TDPUD board meetings here).
Barney Dewey
Barney Dewey is running for Truckee Donner Public Utilities District (TDPUD) board for the first time in this election. His background is in the tech field. Dewey describes himself as a “a recognized expert in the field of wireless communication, a father and grandfather, and a committed community volunteer.” He is a full time resident of Truckee.
“I am in support of continuing in the direction the utility has been going in,” says Dewey. Beyond that, he has “three major positions.”
“The first,” says Dewey, “is making the switch to 100% clean energy in a way that doesn’t over increase rates. Second, I want to improve infrastructure on both the water and electric side. And third, I want to work better with other agencies in the area. I have a lot of contacts at other agencies. As a board member, I think that outreach component is important.”
Dewey highlights the people endorsing him, saying he believes the confidence those endorsements express set him apart from other candidates. You can find those endorsements here, along with more information about Dewey’s campaign.
Courtney Murrell
Courtney Murrell is running for Truckee Donner Public Utilities District (TDPUD) board for the first time in this election. Murrell has lived in Truckee since 2002. She is a longtime volunteer at Kings Beach Elementary and Truckee High School, and has been elected twice to the Tahoe Donner homeowners association board.
“I am running for the TDPUD for four reasons,” says Murrell. “First, I want to continue smart investments in power grid reliability and resilience, water quality, and wildfire safety.”
“Second, I want to boost our community’s commitment to clean, renewable energy and environmental stewardship.”
“Third, I want to continue supporting high quality customer service and responsive customer service, including utility repair.”
“And lastly, I want to ensure fiscal responsibility to keep water and electric rates affordable.”
Murrell supports the utility’s latest Strategic Plan and believes her experience on multiple boards and her excitement as a new candidate will help keep up the energy needed to get the plan done.
“I believe in their strategic plan and I feel that TDPUD staff is knowledgeable, competent and friendly,” says Murrell. “The PUD is not broken, and I really feel positive and excited about the future direction of our utility.”
Steve Randall
This is Steve Randall’s first time running for the Truckee Donner Public Utilities District (TDPUD) board, though he has a long legacy in Truckee as a community leader and devoted public servant. Randall has lived in Truckee for 39 years and was the general manager of the local Recreation and Parks district for 38 years.
“I’ve spent my adult life in service, giving back to the community, not only in my job but in my personal life,” says Randall. Outside of work, Randall has been a leader in a number of local clubs and sat on the Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce board, among a long list of other boards and leadership positions he’s taken on.
“I have experience in management, in HR and in doing major projects,” says Randall. “During my tenure [at the Parks and Rec department] I did over $40 million public projects, and I understand governance and how boards work.”
“Company culture starts at the board level, and I can bring that understanding of how to develop a culture, of how to be accountable, inclusive and accessible,” says Randall. “I am not running with an agenda at this point. I run with my experience. I want to look at all the things that come before the board and make decisions accordingly, while listening to the community and to what staff have to say.”
Dow Costa
Dow Costa is running for Truckee Donner Public Utilities District (TDPUD) board for the first time in this election. Costa is running in coalition with Mark Hydar and Cristobal Martinez on a platform that emphasizes their desire to change the culture and direction of the TDPUD. By running as a coalition, the three are hoping to form a majority on the board.
Costa moved to Truckee in 2000 and has raised his three daughters here. Describing his style, Costa says, “I say what I think, and sometimes people don’t like that, but most of the time they do. Whether they agree with me or not, people generally appreciate that they know where I stand.”
Costa, along with Hydar and Martinez, promises to reform the culture of the TDPUD and make it more efficient and fiscally responsible. “What differentiates the three of us is that we’re recognizing that [this election] is not just about being able to turn on the water, turn on the lights and get the bill. It’s also what’s going on inside [the TDPUD].” The coalition has published records of financial history of the TDPUD on their campaign website, including documents regarding consultants and office remodeling expenditures.
He is also looking at ways to make “employee’s jobs easier” and make sure the utility is efficient for ratepayers. In addition to changing internal culture at the utility, Costa is interested in bolstering green energy agreements and securing long term contracts with green energy providers.
Mark Hydar
Mark Hydar is running for Truckee Donner Public Utilities District (TDPUD) board for the first time in this election. As mentioned, Hydar is running in coalition with Dow Costa and Cristobal Martinez on a shared platform. By running as a coalition, the three are hoping to form a majority on the board.
Hydar is a long time Truckee resident. He worked at a fishery, founded a construction company and was a law enforcement officer and union leader in Detroit before finding his way to the tech industry and California.
“It’s time for me to give back to the community,” says Hydar. “I don’t want to disrupt the community I have here, but when I started talking to people, the topic of compensation came up with the PUD staff. I started looking at pay differences and hearing about the offers that people are getting to go to other utility companies. I want to empower our community members to stay, and to pay our workers to do the hard work we need them to do so our services are always there.”
Hydar emphasizes that optimizing efficiency is a win-win for staff and ratepayers. He, with Costa and Martinez, would like to shift the direction of the TDPUD.
Cristobal Martinez
Cristobal Martinez is running for Truckee Donner Public Utilities District (TDPUD) board for the first time in this election. As mentioned, Martinez is running in coalition with Dow Costa and Mark Hydar on a shared platform. By running as a coalition, the three are hoping to form a majority on the board.
Martinez was born and raised in Truckee and has worked for the Union Pacific Railroad for 10 years.
“I have deep roots here,” says Martinez. “I feel like Truckee’s going away from people who were born and raised here. I want to have a real community voice [on the board] and to be a connection and advocate for the community there.”
Martinez wants to keep the TDPUD local, emphasizing the specific skills required to do the on-site work of a utility during a Tahoe winter.
Martinez is also the only candidate to consistently publish and speak in both Spanish and English.
Readers can find the TDPUD’s 2021-2024 Strategic Plan here, or on the TDPUD’s website. The plan discusses many of the election’s contended policy issues.
To attend TDPUD board meetings virtually, or to watch archived TDPUD board meetings and access transcripts, you can visit the “Board Meetings” page of the agency’s website. The board also “primarily meets on the first Wednesday of the month, or as approved by the Board, at 6:00 PM at 11570 Donner Pass Road, Truckee.” They encourage public participation and engagement.
Anna Kristina Moseidjord is a freelancer for the Tahoe Daily Tribune and Sierra Sun.