Conaway bill moves in Assembly Senate panel OKs partnership with county and tribe

By BEN ANTONIUS/Democrat Staff Writer
Daily Democrat

The county's effort to take over Conaway Ranch moved forward Wednesday,
while opponents lashed out at the effort as an "abuse of power."

The state Senate Committee on Local Government voted 6-3 to pass a bill
partnering local governments with the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians for the
ranch acquisition.

AB 1747, authored by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would include the
tribe in the management group for the 17,300-acre ranch.

Committee member Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, and vice-chairman
Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, said they believed eminent domain suits
jeopardized all private property rights.

Wolk dismissed the comments, saying the merits of the eminent domain lawsuit
would be decided in court. The lawsuit "will move ahead no matter what
happens with my bill," she said.

"My bill is about allowing a sovereign nation to participate in a
partnership for the future management of the property," Wolk said.

Cox said the two matters were "inexorably linked," and added that another
sovereign nation - the Rumsey band - should not help manage the property.

"They understand better than anybody about somebody taking their property,"
he said. "To have them help take this Conaway land - I was just amazed and
aghast."

Rumsey Tribal Chairwoman Paula Lorenzo spoke at the hearing on Wednesday.
She said the tribe pursued the partnership because its interests in the
Conaway property matched the county's: Agricultural and habitat
preservation, land and water conservation and flood management.

Next up for the bill is a mid-August date with the senate appropriations
committee, which should automatically pass the bill because it requires no
state money. After that is the senate floor and the governor's desk.

Wolk said she expects the bill to pass through the senate and said she was
"hopeful" that the governor would sign it.

"There's no way you can predict what the governor will do," she said. "But
if the governor looks at the bill on the merits, it should pass."

Tovey Giezentanner, spokesman for the current landowners, the Conaway
Preservation Group, said he did not have any comment on AB 1747.

The CPG will hold a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. today at the Putah Creek
Cafe in Winters. It has previously held such forums to allow residents to
hear about the owners' vision for the ranch and ask questions of CPG
members.

Yolo County Taxpayers Association President Dudley Holman, another opponent,
expects the senate to approve the bill, and said Tuesday he was pinning his
hopes on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Our only hope now is for the governor to veto it," Holman said. "I'm
optimistic that the governor seems to be a realistic guy."

The eminent domain hearing is scheduled for Aug. 23.

- Reach Ben Antonius at 406-6233 or bantonius@dailydemocrat.com.