CV to Pleasanton: 'Miley is Hard-Working'

Castro Valley civic leaders Brian Morrison and Richard Rhodes, asked what Pleasanton needs to know about Nate Miley, offered words that Pleasanton may find somewhat reassuring.

"When the people of Castro Valley have asked for something, Nate has done his best to look into it and give us what we've asked for," said Morrison, president of the . 

determining which constituents will be represented by which supervisors. Castro Valley remains in Supervisor Miley's District 4, but Pleasanton will shift from its longtime supervisor, Scott Haggerty, to join Castro Valley in Miley's district.

Seth Kaplan, Miley's chief of staff, said Miley will do what he can to ease the transition.

"We understand peoples' attachment to Haggerty — we like him too," Kaplan said.

"He works hard in his district and I think people will find Supervisor Miley works hard as well.

"(Miley) is going to have a very diverse district now, and the needs in one community are sometimes different from another," he added. "So the important thing will be to make sure we're accessible and get to know everyone."

Pleasanton officials were unhappy about losing their longtime supervisor and no longer sharing a district with their Tri-Valley neighbors, Dublin and Livermore. In a rejected alternative, Pleasanton would have been split between two districts. The newly approved map keeps Pleasanton intact.

The map was adjusted to reflect population growth, based on 2010 U.S. Census data.

Supervisor Haggerty's District 1, which historically included most of the Tri-Valley cities and a piece of Fremont, loses Pleasanton, population 70,000.

Morrison, who finished third of 21 candidates running for the board seat that Miley now holds, said he ended up respecting Miley and endorsed him in the runoff election.

"Even though my political views aren't the same as Nate's, we've always had good conversations and we were able to agree, or agree to disagree," Morrison said, adding that the the flow of communication remained open and productive.

Morrison said Miley has been particularly good at striking compromises among three competing interests that characterize both Castro Valley and Pleasanton—agriculture, environment and housing development. 

"He's willing to listen and understand," he said. "There are some things he can't do and he'll tell you that up front."

"As president of the chamber for this area, I've had to seek Nate's help and he has come through with flying colors," Morrison said.

Richard Rhodes, a Castro Valley resident and head of the Alameda County Planning Commission that serves Castro Valley and other unincorporated areas, said Castro Valley had been treated poorly in the past, but he appreciates what Miley has done for the town.

"He's done a great job," Rhodes said. "Admittedly, not a perfect job, but that goes with the territory. In any political decision, there are always winners and losers, so there's always somebody who dislikes what happens.

"Nate is a very good person. He gets very little credit for that. He could turn his back on Castro Valley and it would make no difference to him politically, and yet he serves Castro Valley remarkably well. He takes things seriously and wants to do good for people."

Pleasanton Councilman Jerry Thorne said it's a shame his city will lose a longtime representative well-versed in transportation and other issues important to the Tri-Valley. He worries that Miley's district is so far-flung that the supervisor's will be fragmented.

"(Haggerty) will still have me hounding him," said Thorne.

That said, Thorne noted he'll be happy to meet with Miley and get the city's new representative up to speed on local concerns.

Pleasanton Mayor Jennifer Hosterman said that in the beginning, she felt strongly that Pleasanton should remain in Haggerty's district because people living in Pleasanton identify so closely with the cities of Dublin and Livermore — the three are almost like one big city, she said.

"We share jobs, we share transit, we share a lot of things," she said. "We want to be treated much the same as our nearby communities so we requested to stay in District 1."

But the supervisors decided that wouldn't work.

Since April, county officials have been trying to rework the boundaries so that each district has a population of around 302,000 people. Since the 2000 U.S. Census, Haggerty's district has grown, and has 30,000 more people than it should.

When it became clear the three Tri-Valley cities would in fact be split up, Pleasanton officials began lobbying to at least keep Pleasanton intact as a city — including the newly annexed Staples Ranch and unincorporated Happy Valley.

Hosterman said she's happy that happened. Since the Tuesday vote, she has had conversations with Miley and said she's excited to forge a new relationship.

Haggerty said at Tuesday's meeting that the message from Pleasanton wasn't unified — some wanted to make sure that the city wasn't split, while others said it was more important to be included in a district with Dublin and Livermore.

"I think we've responded to the preponderance of constituents ... who were adamant they didn't want the city of Pleasanton split," he said.

The vote ends a months-long process in which citizens and local government officials lobbied for competing proposals. The supervisors must take a second vote on the map on July 26 before it becomes final.

A Tri-Valley group called the Alameda County Citizens Redistricting Task Force, which is closely affiliated with the Tea Party Patriots, put forth most of the maps considered. The group wanted to see Hayward divided into separate districts to remedy the imbalance, while keeping Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton in a single district.

Dublin, previously split between Districts 1 and 4, moves entirely into District 1. Livermore is also included in District 1.

To see the Pleasanton Patch version of this story, click .