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Letters
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- Written by: Ted Mandrones
In my 32 years as a local businessman, I have learned a few things about Lake County residents: We are mostly down-to-earth citizens who can tell the difference between fact or fiction and we are committed to the well-being of our families and our communities.
So it’s not surprising that just about everyone I talk to supports Measure S, the ballot measure to protect and restore Clear Lake.
The lake is a natural marvel, a recreational paradise and also the greatest asset Lake County has.
Without a thriving lake we can’t build a thriving economy, or create the kind of future that our children and grandchildren deserve.
Measure S is an investment in that future: please join me in voting “yes on S” to make that future bright.
Ted Mandrones lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Lynn Hollenback
Measure O is about the greedy business of cultivating marijuana in Lake County.
One person, not a business or a corporation, has provided substantial funding toward growing marijuana in Lake County.
One person donated more than $7,000 and $4,000 has been donated by another two households to the pro-pot campaign.
Pro-marijuana folks desperately want O to pass so their marijuana income can continue unchecked, untaxed, unregulated and unenforceable.
A recent $5,000 infusion of campaign funds for those wanting O to pass has resulted in an influx of very large marijuana signs throughout the county.
Coincidently, No on O & P campaign signs are being stolen and destroyed. Freedom of speech denied; the right to a different opinion and the right to feel safe in my own community denied by the greed of “pot for profit” growers.
Measure O is not the steppingstone toward legalization. Measure O is not about medicinal marijuana; it is the movement toward greed and profit over people.
The county’s current voter-approved ordinance permits the cultivation of marijuana for medical use, it is enforceable in our communities and it can be easily amended. Measure O, if voted in, is unchangeable unless returned to the ballot.
I encourage all Lake County residents to read the voters ballot information, checkout the ballot arguments, read the 33-page document especially page 20 and discover the layers upon layers of enforcement obstacles.
Measure O, should it pass, will be impossible to enforce, but don’t listen to me, ask local law enforcement.
No on O is endorsed by the Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
If O (or P) passes, it will destroy our family friendly community and our quality of life.
Regardless of your political party affiliation, I encourage you to vote no on O & P. For more information visit www.protectourlakecounty.com .
Lynn Hollenback lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Philip Murphy
The county policy regarding marijuana cultivation over the years has been clear and consistent: first, ignore problems for as long as possible, then overreact to them in a way that makes things worse.
Measure N is the latest example of this, as the latest flurry of lawsuits has shown.
Measure N is what happens when several dozen people spend hours telling our Board of Supervisors how to make a workable ordinance, and not one single change is made in the document – the primary stakeholders were completely ignored at every step of the process!
No other group is ever treated with so little regard or respect by our Board of Supervisors, because when when scoring points with your base is the goal, the facts, reason and logic just don't matter.
The whole issue could have been settled long ago, but Supervisor Farrington walked out of the negotiations because he claimed he didn't have the time to attend one more meeting.
Oddly enough he did have time to defend a marijuana grower as an attorney in an out-of-county criminal court case at about the same time, so apparently there is a positive economic impact from the pot business – for some.
Now the people who knew it would be a disaster to close the dispensaries, and who have always been willing to negotiate a fair and workable ordinance, are asking voters to support Measure O.
Measure O has the same limit for collective growers as we have today (48 plants), but also allows grows in RL and RR zoning just like other crops.
Measure N says if you live on less than an acre you have to grow indoors, Measure O lets you have four plants outdoors.
The opposition to Measure O is making some pretty wild claims about how all kinds of devastation will occur if Measure O passes, but it's hard to see how moving four plants from in your house to outside would cause that.
As it stands, because of the strict Measure N rules there are so few legal collectives we can't even supply the three dispensaries in the city of Clearlake with legally grown local marijuana. This is an absurd situation.
In 2016 recreational marijuana use is certain to be legalized in California, and is also certain to become a multibillion dollar industry, what Lake County needs today is a bridge to 2016.
Measure O is that bridge. It makes illegal growing less profitable by increasing competition, it helps create another economic engine for our local economy, and it evens pays for itself with fees paid by the growers to fund enforcement.
Don't let hysterical people with a record of being wrong and self-serving politicians fool you, Measure O is the best cultivation ordinance we could ask for. Please support it with your vote.
Phil Murphy lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Mark A. Cooper, DDS
On Nov. 4, voters in Lake County will have the opportunity to select our next representative in the California State Assembly.
I believe Bill Dodd is the right man for the job.
Bill has served for 14 years on the Napa County Board of Supervisors, where he has worked with people of all political backgrounds to build consensus and achieve major accomplishments for his constituents.
Among his many accomplishments was spearheading Napa's flood control project that projected 2,000 properties from flooding, restored 900 acres of environmental wetlands and created $1 billion of investment in Napa's downtown businesses.
Bill has taken a keen interest in the challenges facing Lake County, visiting our area 40 times over the course of the campaign to learn about our most pressing policy issues.
He is committed to preserving our agricultural tradition and will support fully funding the Williamson Act, a state program that preserves land for agricultural or open space uses.
He has taken an active stance in favor of Measure S, understanding the need to mitigate invasive quagga mussels and other nuisances endangering the lake that has such a large role in sustaining our economy.
These major challenges that we face are not Democratic or Republican issues, they are issues that every citizen faces and require leaders who will get things done in a bipartisan fashion.
This is just the approach Bill Dodd has taken in over a decade in public service and that's why I support him to be Lake County's next Assembly member.
Mark A. Cooper, DDS, lives in Clearlake, Calif.