Marin IJ

Sparks fly as town picks new council member

Article Launched:10/19/2006 12:00:15 AM PDT

Tad Whitaker
Marin Independent Journal

Judy House was appointed to the San Anselmo Town Council this week.

The four council members voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint her to fill the term of Ian Roth, who resigned to become Fairfax finance director. House's term extends to November 2009.

Ford Greene, who also sought the post, was scolded by council members for harshly criticizing House and blaming her for the demise of the old Ross Hospital when she served as chief executive.

"I find it disturbing and insulting," Councilman Wayne Cooper said of Greene's criticism.

Councilman Peter Breen said House was a town volunteer who did the best during last week's public interview session. In contrast, he noted Greene launched a war of words aimed at House.

"I was truly embarrassed by that behavior," Breen said.

Greene campaigned for the appointment, noting he fell just 300 votes short of beating Roth during the council election last year. The other two candidates in that race, Tom Fallon and Lujza Mehling, backed Greene for the appointment.

Greene said the council never seriously considered him or the other candidates who sought the appointment.

"It was a done deal," he said. "I'm not going anywhere. There's an election in a year."

House has served on the Planning Commission for eight years, as well as on the Measure G Monitoring Committee. She holds a bachelor's in psychology from the University of North Carolina, and a master's in psychology from the University of West Florida.

She was CEO of the old Ross Hospital and has more than 25 years of experience in health-care administration. She sought a seat on the health-care district board two years ago, backing the Sutter administration of Marin General Hospital.

House dismissed the mudslinging and said she is eager to begin serving. She said she ignored Greene's accusations.

"Things were misrepresented," she said. "I just wanted to stick to the issues."

 

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