RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - Residents Stephen Booth and John Merchant were the only candidates who filed for two vacancies on the Rancho Murieta Community Services District Board of Directors, which means their names won’t appear on the Nov.  5 ballot. They will take their seats  at the December board meeting. 

Director Martin Pohll could have run for another term, but he opted against it. Asked his reasoning, Pohll said he was too old. 

“I don’t want to be in my 80s serving on the board,” he added.

Appointed to the board in December 2022, Booth announced in a July 17 news release he would seek election to the board. He said he was running again to be the voice of the community on the board.  

“CSD and the community at large face crucial financial, infrastructure and water supply challenges,” Booth said. “The community deserves a representative who will demand consistency, accountability and transparency as well as act in the best interests of the community.”  

After serving on the district and Rancho Murieta Association boards years ago, Merchant was most recently elected to the district board in 2016. He was about to serve a second term in October 2022 when he unexpectedly resigned. 

Merchant told the board he wanted to turn his attention to SOLOS (Save Our Lakes and Open Spaces). Merchant is vice president of the community action organization that advocates for responsible development.

Since then, Merchant has been working on water supply issues and has harshly criticized the initial work completed on the Integrated Master Plan, which hasn’t been finalized. He also helped launch a petition drive in mid-July demanding that the district declare a moratorium on development.

Merchant indicated his belief that it has reached the point in which he can be more effective working from the inside than as a critic on the outside.