I finally got David Couch to give me a straight answer on whether he's still planning to run for District 4 Supervisor next year now that incumbent Ray Watson has announced he plans to run again.

Well, sort of a straight answer.

"I don't have a good answer for you yet," he said. "I have to thread the needle on that answer."

Sounds like a resounding maybe to me.

--James Geluso

I read the draft Bakersfield Recreation and Parks Master Plan this week. Here's an interesting thing I found in it: Those willing to support paying for parks are more likely to be young, Hispanic and have kids; those who don't are old, white and either childless or have grown children.

"Residents polled most often stated they are somewhat or definitely against the development fee increase proposal (55%). The greatest levels of support for the proposal were noted among respondents reporting a household head less than 40 years (53% somewhat/definitely support vs. 40% among remaining respondents); among respondents describing themselves as Hispanic (53% vs. 42% among those described as White); and among households with children less than 18 years (49% vs. 40% among those with none)."

You can download the whole report at http://www.bakersfieldcity....

Kern County Supervisor Ray Watson's announcement this week that he plans to seek a second full term has gotten the attention of some watchdogs who are hoping to see Watson leave office.

On a mailing list dedicated to environmental and growth issues, mainly in the south-central part of the county, UCLA Professor Jan de Leeuw has proposed starting a campaign group called "Committee to Elect Anybody but Ray Watson."

And by anybody, he means anybody. At all. To that end, he's proposed a slogan: "George W. Bush for Fourth District Supervisor"

===

When Watson was still considering retirement rather than re-election, Bakersfield City Councilman David Couch was considering a run. Since Watson's announcement, Couch has been uncharacteristically unavailable for comment on his thoughts on the race.

Couch's immigration proposals cost him with the lefties that populate de Leeuw's mailing list, but the professor maintains that Couch is still a better choice than Watson.

-- James Geluso