A Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District board member is facing a challenger in the Nov. 5 election.

The district, which has a $41 million annual budget, serves 30,000 customers in the northern San Rafael area and manages approximately 105 miles of sewage collection pipelines. The district also produces recycled water, and is involved in solar and biogas power generation, garbage collection and more.

Incumbent Barry Nitzberg, a retired plumbing and wastewater professional, faces challenger Nicholas Lavrov, a parkland superintendent.

Nitzberg was selected by the board in May to fill a vacancy through December. Lavrov also sought the temporary appointment.

The winner will serve two years through December 2026.

Both candidates say their backgrounds make them the right fit for the position.

Nitzberg worked as a journeyman plumber and a contractor and was a territory manager for a major plumbing products manufacturer. He ended his career as a sales and marketing manager at Pace Supply Corp., a wholesale plumbing and wastewater products supplier. He also served 12 years on the company board.

“I have the background, the knowledge and expertise regarding wastewater and the entire process,” Nitzberg said. “I also have the business acumen that’s required of a board member.”

Lavrov has more than 25 years experience in public sector roles, including work as a National Park Service ranger in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and positions with the San Francisco Water Department, the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

He currently works as field manager at the Bureau of Land Management field office in Ukiah, which supervises 270,000 acres of parkland across eight counties and the Geysers geothermal field in Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties.

“I have a tremendous amount of experience in water, waste water and clean power affecting hundreds of thousands of people,” Lavrov said. “This is experience I believe the board doesn’t have right now.”

Lavrov said he has a “vested interest” in Marin as a resident who grew up in the county and is now a property owner.

“I believe that vestment is key to my dedication for this community and organization,” Lavrov said.

Nitzberg said he has the advantage in being an appointed incumbent. “The board has already given me the stamp of approval,” he said.

Both candidates said keeping rates affordable is a top priority. The district is in its second year of a four-year rate increase plan. As of July, each residence is charged a flat $1,356 a year. “We already have a low-income assistance program that offers a 10% discount,” Nitzberg said. “I would like to see that program grow.”

Lavrov said he’s interested in performing a financial audit of the organization to “see how we could look at keeping rates at an affordable level.”

“As a prudent board member, I would want to see what’s going on financially to see how we could button up inefficiencies,” Lavrov said.

Other priorities for Lavrov include improving the district’s critical infrastructure and increasing production and supply of recycled water.

“We need to get more purple pipe out there to increase its use,” Lavrov said.

Nitzberg said his other priorities include mitigating the effects of climate change and ensuring that the board implements the five elements of the district’s strategic plan.

“This is of high importance to me,” Nitzberg said. “In early 2025, we have a new solar array coming forward which save us on energy costs. In our process of wastewater we actually generate biogas as a byproduct and we can use that process to save energy as well. We’ve been increasing the amount of biogas we’ve been producing but we can get more out of the system through time.”

Incumbents Craig Murray and Gary Robards are unopposed in the election.