For the second time in as many weeks, the Discovery Bay CSD board is deadlocked over the appointment of two new directors, effectively placing the decision in the hands of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.

At a special meeting held Wednesday, board members could not fill the two empty seats vacant since September. Because a full CSD board is comprised of five members, it takes three votes to pass a motion, which means the current diminished board must vote unanimously.

Despite various attempts to break the deadlock, President Ray Tetreault, Vice President Mark Simon and Director David Piepho were divided during a meeting that was contentious from the beginning and grew more so during the course of the half-hour session.

Tetreault began by suggesting the nomination process be reopened. Simon seconded the motion and Piepho rejected it. At last week’s meeting, the board directors had narrowed the field to three applicants: Kevin Graves, nominated by Simon; Brian Dawson, nominated by Piepho; and Michael McCleery, nominated by Tetreault. McCleery withdrew as a candidate last Thursday, saying he didn’t feel he was familiar enough with the issues.

Tetreault then tried nominating candidates one at a time, despite Piepho’s declaration at last week’s meeting that he would support voting only for a slate of two. Piepho rejected the one-at-a-time concept again Wednesday, voting against each in turn. “It’s not a ‘no’ for the candidate; it’s a ‘no’ for the process,” he said. “There is a process (voting by slate) and we’re following it.”

Simon made a motion to call for a special election rather than face another deadlock and be forced to send the matter to the BOS. His motion was seconded by Tetreault but rejected by Piepho.

Simon then offered that the board could appoint the one candidate they all agreed on – Graves. (Each had agreed to Graves last week as part of different slates) and then hold another meeting to work through the second nominee.

“I will just say,” said Tetreault, “that having another director would put us closer to being a full board. If we all agree on this man (Graves), there’s no reason we can’t do this.” Piepho said no, reiterating a point he made last week, that such a process could put the newest and least experienced board member in the position of being the deciding vote. The two remaining nominees should fill the two empty seats, he said.

“I see in front of us two nominees,” said Piepho. “I wanted to wait a week, hoping that something would change, and something did change; one dropped out. I would not be in favor (of a special election).”

Resident Jennifer Mixon agreed. “Regardless of who dropped out, there are two open seats and two nominations,” said Mixon. “It’s pretty basic.”

As frustration grew, voices got louder. One audience member asked why the nomination process could not be reopened to include all the original applicants. “Because I can’t get an agreement to reopen the nominations. I tried,” said Tetreault.

“That process has already gone forward,” added Piepho. “The reason I’m not interested in reopening the nominations is because after the last meeting they (the candidates not nominated) all got up and left after the meeting last week.”

Walter MacVittie, one of the applicants who left that meeting, was furious. He called Piepho’s remark a “ cheap shot,” and when Piepho began to respond, interrupted. “Excuse me, I think I have the floor,” he said to Piepho. “Good luck,” Piepho fired back.

Audience members, many of whom believe Piepho’s stance against the individual nominations was merely a maneuver to get his candidate, Dawson, on the board, grew louder, many shaking their heads and loudly expressing their contempt for Piepho’s perceived disrespect to MacVittie. Piepho supporters quickly came to his defense, arguing across the aisles, temporarily causing the meeting to dissolve into innuendo and anger.

A stern reminder from Piepho quieted the audience, but the atmosphere remained tense for the remainder of the meeting.

But before leaving the subject, Piepho offered one last option. “Before we go on, I suggest we redo the Graves and Dawson vote,” he said. “If one of the others had dropped out, I would have supported (the other two).”

“That’s disingenuous,” said Tetreault, referring to the fact that Peipho’s candidate was still in the running.

“If our goal is to work it out,” Piepho finished, “that’s what I propose. I would have been in favor of the other nominations but that didn’t happen.”

Barring the calling of another special meeting, the decision will now go before the county Board of Supervisors, of which Piepho's wife, Mary is a member. Some residents believe, however, that she should not be part of the process because of her marraige to David. The BOS will have 30 days from the date of the two directors’ resignations to either make appointments or call for a special election. If it does neither, the town will be required to hold a special election.

Rick Lemyre contributed to this story