Local Races

Just the ones I can vote in, anyway:

4th District Supervisor- I still haven't decided whether to stand aside, or vote for Virginia Bass. Stand aside seems like the best choice right now. I don't know that there will be all that much difference in what happens on the Board of Supes if Virgina were to win and I don't have much of a beef with Bon- Bon, really.

But Bon- Bon's supporters actually gave me two reasons to vote for Virginia:

My next door neighbor- a Neely supporter and San Francisco transplant- told me that just keeping Bon- Bon's seat on the Coastal Commission was enough reason to vote for her. That made me wonder if it might be a good reason to vote for Bass?

And, her supporters. After listening to Bon- Bon's supporters for months on end on other blogs, I can't help but throw Bon- Bon in with them and vote against all of them by voting for Virginia.

I know. Sounds petty, but I've said before I can vote for just as frivolous reasons as the next guy. Bottom line is, I still don't think it's going to make all that much difference in the larger scheme of things who gets the 4th District seat so I might well just avoid the issue and stand aside.

Assessor- I don't think there's any bad choices in this race. I'll be voting for Mari Wilson if for no other reason than she's worked there for so long and knows the job. I also like the idea of someone being able to work their way up in an organization and finally reach the top.

That goes back to my days in the National Guard as I moved up through the ranks. I never really coveted higher rank or authority. It did get a bit frustrating, though, when I'd be next in line for a Squad Leader position and some new guy with higher rank than I would enlist and jump into the position I was ready to take and that happened fairly often, as I recall.

If Mari proves incompetent for the position, we can always vote her out next time around. Until then, she should get the chance to prove she's capable of the job.

District Attorney- Allison Jackson is the most qualified and has the experience.

I think Paul Gallegos' heart is in the right place, but he just doesn't seem capable of much to me. Quite frankly, I feel embarrassed having him as our District Attorney, especially when the local pot growers hold a fund raiser for him.

Time to give Allison a chance.

Mayor, City of Eureka- Frank Jager. No explanation needed.

Ward 1, Eureka City Council- Marian Brady. No explanation needed, although I will say I'm surprised at how many signs of hers I've seen around town.

Ward 3, Eureka City Council- Mike Newman. No explanation needed.

Local Measures:

Measure N- Yes. No explanation needed.

Measure O- No. Believe it or not, I make that decision with a bit of a heavy heart. I do think the city needs the money. Of course, the city can always can use more money. I'm just not going to voluntarily accept another tax.

If this was the only tax increase we were facing, I'd be a little more inclined to vote for it, but it isn't. We're facing up to a 50% increase in our water bills in Eureka. Should Prop 23 fail, our utility bills might go up as high as 60%. Taxes are going to have to be raised, eventually, at the local, state and federal level to pay of all the debt we've acquired.

Things don't look good, and I'm going to try and protect my finances as best I can.

Jerry Droz Was Right?

Reading the Times- Standard account of the Eureka Mayor's Race candidate forum, has me wondering if Jerry Droz was right in his accusation that Peter LeVallee contributed to the deterioration of the 101 corridor and the increase in the transient population?

It sounds like Levallee thinks the conversion of local motels into housing for the homeless as happened at the Serenity Inn and Broadway Motel is a good thing and he's suggesting more of the same.

I'll have to say I do get that yucko feeling when I drive by those places. I'm glad people have a place to sleep and stay out of the weather, but do we really need even more places like that around town?

Kubby For City Council?

Steve Greenhut has a nice piece in the Orange County Register this morning expressing a bit of optimism toward the prospect of moving us back to a more freedom friendly society. He focuses on past Libertarian Party gubernatorial candidate and current candidate for South Lake Tahoe City Council, Steve Kubby.

His piece gives me a little more respect for Kubby than I'd had in the past- his seeming obsession with marijuana having been a problem for me earlier on. It looks like he's running a principled race for that city council seat, though, bringing up land use and regulation issues. I'll wish him luck. I think we could use some Kubby types on our city councils up here.

Marian Brady's Facebook Page

Candidate for Eureka City Council, Marian Brady, has started a Facebook page for her campaign. All Marian's supporters will want to add her page to your FB "Like" list.

Oh, another Eureka City Council candidate, Mike Newman, has started up his campaign page.