Now that the town had made their call on the waste-hauling franchise, the ball is now back in the court of the Butte County Board of Supervisors.
Now, the question is, how are they going to vote? Based on comments made by the Supervisors when this hauling contract first came up to them on June 13 and they decided to postpone their decision until the town made theirs, here is an overview on what to look for.
Breaking it in alpabetical (which comes out to also be district numerical) order:
Bill Connelly, District 1- He's out on vacation until July 24, the day before the meeting. Odds are pretty good once he hears the Town Council's decision, he won't be pleased.
Connelly made no bones about throwing his support behind Norcal during the June meeting, even stating that he believe the joint county-town committee's process was biased against Norcal. Not too much of a surprise on that--Norcal's local branch is based in Oroville, which Connelly represents.
He said in June he would vote no on any negotiation process that excludes Norcal. Will he stick to that?
Jane Dolan, District 2- Dolan was on the town-county committee that recommended negotiating just with Northern. And anybody that's ever watched Dolan operate at a meeting -- regardless of what you might feel about her political persuaison -- would be hard-pressed to say she doesn't do her homework.
Now, is she willing to maintain her initial recommendation, or adjust it to what the town decided?
Mary Anne Houx, District 3- Houx's primary complaint in June was her opposition to a single hauler-franchise. Now that the two companies considered "local" are out of the game with the town, one's left to wonder if she's in definite opposition.
To make things even better, she doesn't have to worry about any re-election biteback. But could her actions have an impact on Maureen Kirk's campaign?
To sidetrack here a second: Now that Northern and Atlas have created a foothold in the county, are either of them going to start contributing to the runoff candidates for Houx's soon-vacant seat? Are Norcal and Waste Management going to try to amp up their political spending? These next couple of campaign donor forms from Kirk and Steve Bertagna should make for interesting reads.
Curt Josiassen, District 4- If Houx and Connelly stick to their guns in opposition, while Dolan and Yamaguchi maintain their recommendations from committee, Josiassen becomes the swing vote.
I talked to him on the phone earlier, and he didn't give any indication to his vote at this pont.
Since that possibility of being the swing vote exists, Josiassen could start receiving more mail and phone calls from Magalia than he's ever received in his life.
Kim Yamaguchi, District 5- Yamaguchi served with Dolan on the committee, and judging from the interview he gave a week and a half ago to myself and town reporter Kelly Reed, he's sticking to his guns.
I mean, think about it. Yamaguchi brought up pasta in the interview, in reference to his statement that town officials are bending politically "like a wet noodle."
After saying that, will Yamaguchi alter his stance come the 25th?
So, you out there reading this, post your thoughts. I want to hear what you have to say.
Post reporter 
