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Letters
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- Written by: Philip Murphy
The Board of Supervisors chamber was standing room only when I got there a bit after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, as the supporters and opposition to the state of Jefferson proposal filled the room along with a few familiar faces in county government, who were there for other business.
After a few minutes the sheriff walked in along with several of his staff members, who were there for the midyear budget review.
I told him that it might be a while before they got around to his agenda item, and he replied that the two sure ways to pack that room were to talk about “weed and Jefferson,” both statements were as accurate as they were obvious.
In spite of the huge crowd, only 30 minutes were alloted to the public's input and the board's discussion and decision on joining the state of Jefferson movement, rather amazing considering the huge step that would be.
Sure enough time slid by far past the scheduled end of the Jefferson debate, and after waiting the better part of an hour the sheriff left to try to salvage some of his morning, though his staff and other department heads remained behind to make sure they didn't miss their agenda item.
I stuck around too, not because of a real interest in the state of Jefferson issue, the reorganization of our watershed-related agencies was my item of the day.
This particular issue was deemed of such insignificance that it was relegated to the untimed agenda, the home of unimportant and noncontroversial business – in theory anyway. The Jefferson issue dragged on for another half hour before a break was needed and the meeting was briefly adjourned.
I used this opportunity to ask Board Chairman Anthony Farrington why the Jefferson issue rated such a short agenda slot and why the watershed agency issue had been banished to the “who knows when we'll talk about that” untimed agenda, and got a rather shocking response.
Mr. Farrington said he was surprised the decision about joining another state would have generated so much public interest, and it didn't matter if the watershed issue was timed or not because you never really know how things will work out time-wise.
As it was the watershed issue was discussed after lunch, long after I had decided to leave, since I had already wasted nearly three hours waiting and still had no idea when it would be addressed.
The irony here is that the board voted to join the state of Jefferson in large part because they felt that we had no real voice in Sacramento, yet once again when the chairman of the Board of Supervisors (who is responsible for the agenda) took an issue that he knew people had a keen interest in and would be there to talk about, and made public input on it nearly impossible by making us guess wildly as to when it might be discussed.
I agree that oftentimes we don't have a strong enough voice in Sacramento, but many of us common citizens here feel the same way about our county government as well.
One thing we should all be able to agree on is that wasting large amounts of county staff time due to absurdly unrealistic agenda scheduling is something that is unprofessional and unacceptable, particularly when the person in charge has 15 years of experience on the board.
Another point that needs to be understood is that the time of the unpaid members of the public who care enough about their community to get involved in the democratic process has value too, and when it is wasted in what oftentimes seems to be a deliberate attempt to inhibit that participation that is unacceptable as well.
Philip Murphy lives in Finley, Calif.
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- Written by: Victoria Brandon
As Lake County News has reported, on Feb. 17 the Board of Supervisors appears to have voted (the end of the meeting was extremely confusing) to support the county's secession from California to become part of the (so far fictional) “State of Jefferson,” with Supervisors Farrington and Steele in dissent.
This action was taken despite obvious disadvantages to the residents of Lake County, despite the absence of anything approaching a comprehensive financial analysis, despite the last minute news from proponents that a resolution of support would probably involve us in litigation to overturn Reynolds v. Sims (one person/one vote), and without the benefit of the coherent list of options offered by County Counsel Anita Grant.
As a particular touch of irony, one of the most frequent arguments given for the formation of a new state is rural Northern California’s supposed “lack of representation” in Sacramento.
This unfortunate state of affairs may apply to counties such as Siskiyou and Modoc, but its relevance to Lake County was decisively refuted the morning after the meeting by the announcement that Assemblymember Bill Dodd and State Senator Mike McGuire have introduced legislation to provide $2.4 million in funding to protect and restore Clear Lake.
Our supervisors need to work with these excellent legislators for the benefit of the community instead of seizing self-indulgent opportunities for grandstanding and making reckless accusations.
The actual motion, with its wording determined after rather than during the meeting, states “Upon approval by the State Legislature of the petition for withdrawal from the state of California and to form the state of Jefferson, the Lake County Board of Supervisors will consider the measure for placement on the ballot of the next general election.”
Does this mean that the county will be listed as a secession supporter in the meantime?
To clarify the situation, the subject is coming back to the board at 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday March 3.
Although the opportunity for public comment is likely to be restricted to details surrounding the timing and legal standing of a popular vote, it is nonetheless vital to attend this meeting.
In the meantime please write or call your supervisor: Tell him that you oppose the secession of Lake County from California, and that at the very least the people of the county should have an opportunity to express their will at the ballot box BEFORE the board takes it upon themselves to speak for us on such a momentous matter.
Unless the Board of Supervisors is willing to back away from this destructive proposal immediately, they should act to place it on the ballot at the first reasonable opportunity, and in the meantime refrain from stating an opinion in our names.
You can leave a voice mail for any of them by calling 707-263-2368 or send a fax to 707-263-2207. Email addresses are
Victoria Brandon lives in Lower Lake, Calif.
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- Written by: Nancy Harby
Citizens of Lake County: Beware of the secessionists among us! A small-but-vocal minority of states-rights libertarians are attempting to pack the county supervisors’ chambers on Tuesday, Feb. 17, with a cockamamie scheme to separate from the state of California and form their own state called Jefferson.
The state they’re proposing would be an impoverished rural backwater, lacking a major university, an international airport, a deep-water harbor or a city of any significance. During a previous failed effort, separatists in 1941 actually proposed Yreka as the capital of Jefferson. Have you ever been to Yreka? Yikes.
They hearken back to the good old days of the Civil War, when West Virginia became a state by first seceding from the union, then seceding from Virginia to rejoin the union.
And their example of West Virginia is actually an excellent case study in poverty, pollution, and poor health when a small, rural area cuts itself off from the larger, more prosperous, more functional state.
Compare West Virginia to the rest of the country now to see just how bad it could be for Lake County to exit California. Here are Quick Facts from the most recent census: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/54000.html .
Lake County already suffers from the dubious distinction of being the poorest county in the state of California. I care about my property value and you should too. We should be emphasizing our place at the heart of the prosperous Wine Country rather than considering joining the potato farmers to the north in a sentimentalized fantasy of bygone agrarian independence.
This entire State of Jefferson effort would be laughable if the secessionists didn’t take themselves so seriously. It’s little wonder that their propaganda is swaddled in half-truths and half-baked “patriotism.”
On Tuesday a small number of libertarian malcontents will swarm the supervisors chambers, shouting about taxes and the 10th Amendment. Remind them of West Virginia and maybe they’ll go away.
Nancy Harby lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Karissa Carpenter
For those folks who might not know Marc Hansen, he was a rock star! He and lifelong friend David Raitt were the front men of The Hansen & Raitt Band, a rock and roll-blues-funk band well known in Mendocino County and beyond.
But there was one thing that he was even better at than rockin' out, and that was being an amazing father.
I would like to introduce myself to those of you who do not know me, but if you knew Marc Hansen then most certainly you would already know of me. My name is Karissa, Marc Hansen is my pops, and I am trying to raise money to save his land … my land.
As many of you might know already, my dad Marc Hansen died in a car accident with his sister, my aunt, Elise Hansen, about an hour from my home on their way to visit me here in Oregon on Valentine's Day in 2012.
It wasn't an unfamiliar trip, for he drove that road at least five times per year to visit me, my husband and our four kids.
There was the black ice on the road and it caused my dad to lose control of his car and into oncoming traffic. That road is treacherous and takes at least one life every year.
I never thought in a million lifetimes that something like this would become part of my life story.
This was devastating for me and my family and honestly has been the hardest thing that I have had to go through.
But even harder and more unexpected was when the other party involved in the accident filed a claim against my father's estate for $275,000 for physical (a shattered knee and broken wrist) and emotional damages.
Through much negotiating I was able to get the amount down to $160,000 – $50,000 of which is to be paid out by my dad's car insurance, leaving his “estate” to provide the remaining $110,000.
Now my dad was a man who prided himself on living by simple means. He didn't have much in the way of “assets” that could satisfy the demands of the lawsuit.
What he did have though was his land. A little eight-acre slice of paradise along Mill Creek outside of Ukiah, Calif.
He always told me, “All you really need in order to live on this earth is a little piece of land,” and I have known the importance of that land since the time I could begin to know things.
Basically through the way of things, I was forced to put the property up for sale. I've been fighting this now for three years.
As hard as this has all been though, I had accepted the facts as they were and came to terms with selling the property.
It was originally listed at $250,000 and due to forces beyond my control it now sits at $190,000 and it is still not selling. Unfortunately the house is so old that there isn't even any recorded information on when it was built.
My dad was unable to keep up on the maintenance and it fell into disrepair around him. Due to this condition of the house, potential buyers are being faced with financing issues and so there my home still sits.
I'm starting to panic now because time runs out in May. May is when the case will be put on the court's calender for the judge to determine the outcome. Both of my lawyers have impressed upon me the importance of avoiding that forced sale scenario because I will lose and I will most certainly get nothing out of it.
This is a devastating reality for me. I always knew that the place would be there for me when the time was right, I mean my pops always told me that I am an “indigenous species to the canyon,” … I was born in that house. I always felt connected with it … I was even baptized in the creek.
In racking my brain, trying to figure out how to not lose out entirely on the land my dad made sure to be able to leave me, my thoughts went to this: “It would only take 1000 people to donate $100 each and that would save it.” The more I got to thinking about it, the more convinced I am that there are enough people out there who would support this cause.
So this is where I am at now, I am asking anyone who knew Marc Hansen, or any one else for that matter, for a little help to save my dad's land.
Anything would help and there are no words to express my gratitude to those of you who do donate to this cause.
With your donation I will send you a copy of Marc Hansen's studio album which he recorded in L.A. in the 1980s: "Rock N' Roll Is After You" on which lifelong friend Bonnie Raitt sings background vocals.
The fundraising page can be found at http://www.gofundme.com/helpsavemarchansen or by visiting www.gofundme.com and searching Marc Hansen.
Thank you for your support.
Karissa Carpenter lives in Southern Oregon.