Keith Carson

by Madeline Smith Moore

What does the Alameda County Board of Supervisors do for us that our City Council does not? The president of that board, Keith Carson, spent an informative hour educating us about the duties of that branch of government. Each county in each state has its equivalent of our supervisors, sometimes called commissioners, who work with and support the city. The county can go to the state and/or directly to our lobbyists in Washington for grants and funding, which funnel down to the city. Simply put, the county serves as a "safety gap" between the city and the state. "Call the County" is often the mantra of the Council and of the citizenry in general. They, along with their counterparts on the City Council, are involved in nearly every aspect of the welfare of our community.

Working closely with law enforcement, the county is responsible for those arrested while they are tried in court, sentenced, and remanded to Santa Rita County Jail or Juvenile Hall. Highland Hospital, 19 community clinics, school-board clinics, and mental-health facilities are all the responsibility of the county, as is the well-being of an estimated 7,200 homeless in Alameda County.

Keith Carson met recently with city mayors and selected city councilmembers, including Jean Quan, to address waste management and recycling issues. Drainage problems, which will soon be exacerbated by our promised rainy season, are a county responsibility. Weights and measures and fair pricing also fall within its jurisdiction, under the umbrella of environmental health.

One of the ways the county involves itself with education is to get students, middle and high school, to involve themselves in the process of government as it relates to their own lives. Students are invited to and have input into these meetings. The county hosts interns from our high schools and offers seminars and courses aimed at encouraging our youth to go into science or business and to be informed of their many choices.

Together with Kaiser, the county is currently running a series of seminars aimed at helping people who are caring for older relatives or friends and are preparing for caregivers for their own advancing age.

The county is working with professional futurists, who estimate that in fifteen years or so, the population will be divided this way: 80,000 citizens 65 and older; 20,000 between 25 and 64; and 60,000 under 25. How will the 20,000 in the 25-64 age group manage to care for the 80,000 over 65 and the 60,000 under 25? Where will the professionals come from? Who will do the work? What about affordable housing and transportation? One of the organizations Keith Carson chairs is Economic Development Alliance for Business, aimed at growing businesses, large and small, with a view to filling this gap between age groups. Mr. Carson and his staff, collaborating with their counterparts on the City Council, will combine their resources to solve the rapidly approaching problem.

Keith Carson's term as President of the Board of Supervisors runs out in 2007. However, the Board of Supervisors has no term limits and, after meeting his staff and catching their enthusiasm and respect for Mr. Carson, I can imagine he will see us well into the next 25 years.