Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does Rosemarie running "split the vote" and allow Brad Aborn to win?
A: There is some concern that by running Rosemarie is "splitting the vote" and therefore allowing Brad Aborn to win, and that she should drop out of the race and support Karen Smith since Karen has been here longer and announced earlier.
The facts are -- Unless one candidate receives one vote more than 50% in the June election, the two candidates who receive the most votes will proceed to the November election. Given the demographics of the District, it's virtually impossible that Brad will receive more than 50% of the vote on June with 3 candidates in the race. Thus the top two candidates will go on to November where it is most likely that either Karen or Rosemarie will win over Brad, if he even makes the top two.
Here is an article from the Sierra Sun Times that discusses this process relative to the 2012 election.
Q: I've heard some people say Rosemarie will drop out of the race so that Brad will win; others say that if she stays in the race, Brad will win. Which is it?
A: We've heard the same set of rumors. We think that if Rosemarie stays in the race, she will win, and that's what she's focused on doing!
Q: Why is Rosemarie running for Supervisor?
A: I'm interviewing for Supervisor because I believe in giving back to the community I call home. It's part of the way I was raised and definitely part of the way I've lived my life. Over the years, I've volunteered in a variety of capacities and in a variety of organizations. I'm also running because I believe in representative democracy and civil service.
Q: I have heard that Rosemarie does not like horses and does not let people ride on her property and wants to close all the horse trails in the area. Why?
A: Actually, Rosemarie love horses and people do ride on our property. In fact, our vet, Eileen Bissmeyer often rides on our property and just posted that fact on Rosemarie's Facebook page. Rosemarie certainly does not want to close the horse trails or forest service roads in the area. Rosemarie grew up on a ranch where her father and mother rode a horse every day while tending his cattle on the high range. Horses were part of her early life. When looking for a property to build our house, we specifically looked for a horse property as we really wanted to have horses. However, now that building our house is done (almost), our lives are so busy with various community organizations that horses will have to wait as horse can be a considerable time commitment and having horses without riding them would be a sin. Rosemarie loves all animals, and horses have a special place in her heart.
Q: What experience does Rosemarie have that will aid her in dealing with complex questions and unexpected situations.
A: Rosemarie has considerable experience in international business and knows a good deal about the interface between government and private industry. While managing an export licensing department for a high tech company, she was responsible for opening the market in Eastern Europe to U.S. scientific instruments and associated computers. This meant understanding the various technologies involved, and working to resolve the conflicting goals of the White House, and the U.S. departments of Commerce, State and Defense on this matter. Read the story about Rosemarie, Reagan and the Prince of Darkness that highlights her persistence and ability to deal with this very complex situation. In the same position she also opened the market in China to U.S. semiconductor equipment .
When another high tech company, along with Boeing and Lockheed Martin, was accused by an ambitious congressman of revealing rocket launch secrets to China, that company hired Rosemarie to help reestablish its credibility with the Department of Defense.
Rosemarie has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from the University of California at Riverside, a Masters Degree in Education from San Francisco State University and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Golden Gate University. Rosemarie worked in a group that wrote business plans for major corporations such as British Petroleum and countries such as Saudi Arabia. She taught graduate courses in international trade. She has worked with Congressional legislators to change U.S. trade law.
Rosemarie has traveled extensively and was a member of one of the first groups of westerners to enter China after Nixon opened that door. She was kidnapped by smugglers in Syria while traveling in the Middle East and her plane flight to Rome was hijacked to Egypt. At this point in her life, staying home in Mariposa and using her broad experience in solving problems the county might encounter has a lot of appeal!
Q: The J.C.F. Healthcare District has had financial challenges in the last few years because of Medi-Cal budget cuts. How has Rosemarie helped the Healthcare District in this crisis?
A: When Rosemarie heard of this problem, she realized that it would require more than local fundraising efforts to save the Healthcare District. What was needed was to work within the political system to restore the funding. Rosemarie was in an excellent position to do as she was serving as the Mariposa County Executive Board Member to the State Democratic Party. You can read about the details of this story here.