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Letters
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- Written by: Rebecca Curry
I am a liberal Democrat and activist who strongly believes in my party’s platform and commitment to civil rights and individual liberty. As such, I cannot possibly support the bad policy evidenced in the language of Measure N.
Criminalizing people who are abiding by California state law is bad policy.
Criminalizing more people with a lack of ability to enforce is bad policy.
Criminalizing people’s activities in their own homes is extremely bad policy.
Authorizing county law enforcement to enter private homes at their discretion to inspect for plants is detestable policy to any civil libertarian.
The California State Democratic Party’s adopted 2014 platform includes language supporting the legalization, taxation and regulation of marijuana (not medical – just a straight up end to the prohibition).
The party’s platform is adopted every two years. It reflects the values and input of Democratic activists and legislators up and down our state.
We Democratic activists go to great lengths to debate and compromise in order to come up with statements of policy that are workable and just. It is a reflection of values and policy positions that every Democrat can run on.
Measure N in no way moves us toward that this goal outlined in our platform. It moves us backwards.
It is reactionary and unjust.
We, as Democrats, believe that prohibition is a failed policy. The war on drugs (which right now includes marijuana) has only served to make war on our own citizens. Measure N only adds to the morass.
I cannot support any county policy that makes people criminals for exercising their rights under California law.
I cannot support any policy that sets up people to be criminals without any measure of justice or responsiveness to the community.
I am well aware that some in our community have suffered at the hands of rogue growers who don’t care about their neighbors or the community they live or operate in.
However, making more criminals does not alleviate these people’s suffering. Measure N addresses none of the concerns of my neighbors and friends.
We need responsive inclusive policy in this county to regulate all aspects of the marijuana industry. And we need the funding to enforce it. Measure N provides none of this.
Send our Board of Supervisors back to work, and ask them to come up with a policy here in Lake County that protects all of us.
Vote no on N!
Rebecca Curry lives in Kelseyville, Calif.
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- Written by: Victoria Brandon
We all know that Lake County faces some tough problems these days, and so does the state of California, problems made even more challenging by the effects of one of the worst droughts on record.
At a time like this we simply cannot afford ineffectual business as usual in Sacramento: we need strong, fair leaders who relish hard work, have the integrity to speak the truth and stand up to the enticements of special interests, and possess the foresight to look beyond the conflicting pressures of the moment and focus on sustainable long term solutions that will meet the needs of our children and grandchildren.
That’s why, as a resident of Assembly District 4, I’m so excited to have an opportunity to vote for the next great champion in the state legislature, Joe Krovoza.
Joe’s public service record, effectiveness and commitment are all truly outstanding. He has worked for 17 years at UC Davis developing world-class academic programs in clean transportation and energy efficiency; as mayor of Davis he has spearheaded efforts to protect open space, improve air and water quality, increase energy and water efficiency, and reduce carbon pollution; and as head of the Putah Creek Council he helped to transform the creek's ecology and restore its historic salmon run. Above all, he understands water on a level unmatched by any legislative candidate past or present.
In the Assembly, Joe will stand up for California's environmental and agricultural treasures and will aggressively combat climate change and polluters.
This is why he has been endorsed by the Sierra Club, and why the California League of Conservation Voters, environmental leaders, and prominent ranchers throughout the district are also rallying behind him.
Assembly District 4 needs Joe, and so does California: please join me in voting for him on June 3.
Victoria Brandon is conservation chair for the Sierra Club Lake Group. She lives in Lower Lake, Calif.
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- Written by: Nelson Strasser
“Threat: A statement of an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not done.”
Make no mistake about it: Rent control for mobile home parks is coming to the city of Lakeport. The process to make rent control law is now in progress, and, it is inexorable.
The owners of my park, Fairgrounds Village, have begun the counter-attack: They have sent out a letter, which offers a 10-year lease, allegedly tied to the consumer price index, but demanding a minimum of 3-percent increase in space rent annually (whether CPI, and thus Social Security benefits, which are tied to CPI, go up, or not), and a maximum of 8 percent.
The owners failed to point out in their letter, that if a tenant signs a long-term lease (defined as any lease over 12 months), that tenant is not eligible for rent control.
Not content with lying by omission, and apparently desperate, the owners then resort to a threat: Residents who refuse to sign the 10-year lease “can expect large rent increases … ”
Interestingly, I was invited recently to attend a meeting of management and a selected number of tenants. After the meeting, I spoke with one of the owners. I told him that I lived very humbly, but, that I had never been happier, and they I did not need much, but that I did not want to be homeless, and that if rent increases continued to exceed Social Security benefits, I would be.
I told him that what brings me joy is hiking and kayaking and bicycling, and my friends and family, none of which are high ticket items. And, that being forced out of retirement, I was working with young people, and that my work was more satisfying than anything I had previously done in my life.
The owner told me that he had gone on a two-year mission to a third world country, and admired the people that he served because they were very happy while being very poor.
Later, it hit me that our lives were mirror images: I began my working life seeking my fortune and devoted my energies to my business, and now, late in life, I found service rewarding. He, on the other hand, began his career at the service of the poor, and now, he was busy amassing material wealth, and, if the poor got in his way, then, they would have to be dealt with by whatever means necessary.
I thought about the classic film, “The Magnificent Seven.” Yul Brenner, the leader of a group of gunmen, takes the side of the villagers against the marauding bandits. Eli Wallach, playing the leader of the bandits, cannot understand that turn of events. He wonders out loud why a gunman would take the side of the peasants. The bandit explains to the noble gunman, “If God did not want them shorn, he would not have made them sheep.”
My first emotion, when I read the letter, was anger. I thought, “These guys go right for the jugular.”
Then, I felt a sense of compassion: How pathetic these owners are, that in their consciousness, money trumps morality, and that they are so desperate for dollars, that they would resort to threatening and intimidating old folks.
I want to tell the owners: Gentlemen, you have lost your way.
Nelson Strasser lives in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Nola Montgomery
It’s a sad commentary. Signs being vandalized and stolen are one thing – seems to be the nature of political campaigns in Lake County. It’s wrong, but done apparently in the dark of night so there’s not much risk of getting caught. Oh well.
Then, there are the sheriff’s debates. First, let me applaud the students at Yuba College and their professor for conducting a fair and orderly debate. Nicely done. Also the debate at the Middletown Luncheon Club was also fair and professionally moderated. Another nice job.
As for the debates in Kelseyville and Middletown, sad commentary abounds.
In Kelseyville, the sponsors of that debate (Lake County Peace Officers Association) had already endorsed sheriff candidate Brian Martin, an important fact not disclosed to the audience. Sometimes these stunts, once exposed, have unintended consequences at the voting polls. Time will tell.
Then there was the debate in Middletown (Middletown Area Town Hall) where the questions seemed geared to put incumbent Sheriff Rivero on the defensive and the only question allowed from an evident Sheriff Rivero supporter was rejected by the moderator.
Maybe in the big scheme of things debates don’t matter all that much. They seem to draw mostly supporters of the respective candidates, who square up on opposite sides of the room – like rival teams – complete with cheerleading squads.
It is said that in love, war and politics anything goes. Maybe it does and maybe fair play doesn’t really enter into the picture. It is, after all, politics (and love/war relationships).
Thankfully, there is one place in the political arena where fair play is assured – the privacy of your home or the voting booth at voting time.
We the people. Has a nice ring, doesn’t it?
Nola Montgomery lives in Lower Lake, Calif.