Penngrove rancher, activist joins supervisor race

A Penngrove rancher and water activist has become the second south county resident to seek a seat on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

John King announced his campaign in a widely circulated e-mail to “friends and family,” declaring he will seek the seat now held by Supervisor Mike Kerns.

Kerns is retiring in 2010 after 12 years on the board, and his exit is expected to generate a potentially large field of candidates in the primary election next June.

Former Petaluma City Councilmember Mike O’Brien has already declared he would run if Kerns retires.

King has fought the county and the city of Rohnert Park over groundwater issues for more than a decade and was part of a group that won a lawsuit against that city several years ago.

In his e-mail, King criticized politicians for “turning their backs on us” and said that his candidacy “is about serving the people of the second district and beyond.”

— Argus-Courier