John Stephens
Napa Group Chair

Do you remember your defining moment of change that opened your eyes, the professor or guru that sparked that clarity of vision? It seems a great author can sometimes converse with you, imparting a ray of truth in an otherwise mundane and murky world. It was Rachel Carlson's "Silent Spring" in the early sixties that changed Ginny Simms. As a young mother of two, Ginny had always volunteered for community groups like the PTA, Community Projects, and even a stint as board member of the Republican Central Committee. But she also saw that other women needed support breaking into the work force, encouragement in facing the challenges of the world, and help developing a political awareness. So she began working with the early AAUW and the NV Stanford Club in Napa.

She went to an environmental seminar at Stanford, when environmentalism was a newly coined word. Back home she watched in horror as the Napa Planning Commission approved 600 houses for the city in just one night. She began to speak out in favor of the Ag Preserve. But Ginny's activism really matured when she and friends also began sitting in at meetings and making comments on City and County growth projects as the Napans Opposing Wastelands, Inc. At one time the County was to build an ultra modern County center atop a ten foot wall. When architect Fred Monhoff refered to it as "the box the building came in," Dave Kelly mentioned to Henry Winger that the wall "might have a chilling effect on surrounding businesses" and the plan was shot down.

One Acre." It was also approving subdivisions on the outskirts of town. John Tuteur, Dorthey Erskine, and Ginny ran for the Board of Supervisors and won. With the election of Sam Chapman and Dowel Martz in 1978 the County adopted its first General Plan directing and curbing urban growth.

Since then, Ginny has worked on Measure J which required a public vote before farmland could be used for anything else. It effectively stopped the outward sprawl of housing into the ag areas. She helped defeat a huge 7000 unit housing development on the south side of the Syar quarry, just south of the State Hospital. Ginny helped form Get A Grip On Growth to battle the Stanly Ranch development, an exclusive resort with 894 units. Recently Get A Grip locked in ag only use of Stanly Ranch for the next twenty years, a 75% Napa grape source requirement, and special consideration for the most visible corner lots.