ER - Partisan politics doesn’t bode well for Eureka

Partisan politics doesn’t bode well for Eureka
by Leo Sears Op-Ed The Eureka Reporter
2/16/05

“Today, I am speaking to you with a sense of urgency. Some special interests are not only urging the rejection of Robert Fasic but advocating a local developer, who gave nearly $2,000 in reported campaign donations to Rex Bohn's run for council, be appointed instead,” said Councilmember Chris Kerrigan in a Jan. 25 e-mail.

“Special-interest developers with very deep pockets are attempting to stack the Planning Commission. They'd like to see it become a rubber stamp for their personal projects – to pave the way for unchecked subdivisions and development in Eureka,” said Mayor Peter La Vallee in his Jan. 30 “My Word” article in the Times-Standard.

“I must be concerned about politicizing a nonpartisan, nonpolitical commission. Every community, including Eureka, is made up of different political groups. I am not willing to appoint anyone to this nonpolitical committee who would be perceived as a ‘win’ for one group and a ‘loss’ for another group,” is what Councilmember Jeff Leonard said about the Eureka Planning Commission appointments.

La Vallee went on to say that “proponents of rampant development are forever using words like ‘jobs,’ ‘the economy’ and ‘our youth have to leave the area.’ But if you look a bit more closely at all these buzzwords, you find that Eureka's diversified economy is already the most effective and sustainable way to deal with all those issues.”

Those of you who have been reading my weekly columns are familiar with my use of words such as "jobs," "the economy," and "our youth have to leave the area,” and you know I’m a long way from supporting “rampant development.”

I’ve have advocated long and hard for economic development that creates sustainable living-wage jobs, and I continue to write about the failure of our local economy in providing the living-wage jobs we need for a healthy and vibrant community.

The mayor’s statement that our present “economy is already the most effective and sustainable way to deal with all those issues” appears to simply parrot the mantra of the “no-growth” elements of our community in their efforts to draw the Redwood Curtain even tighter.

The quote from Kerrigan seems to speak for itself – if you didn’t support my re-election, you’re an undesirable special interest.

As to the other the councilmembers, I believe they would agree when Leonard says: “The important issue is that our community must have confidence in our Planning Commission being both fair and impartial. We need a Planning Commission that does not reflect the political agenda of any single group. We need a Planning Commission whose judgment is respected – not questioned because of their political motivations.”

Although Leonard always seems to say a great deal more than is necessary, this time around he said a great deal that needed to be said.

Patrick Riggs, Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee chairman, and founding member of the Local Solutions Political Action Committee, said he will ask the DCC to take a position on the Planning Commission issue.

The DCC has a record of supporting candidates for local office (their support of La Vallee and Kerrigan being prime examples) and politicizing nonpartisan elected and volunteer positions.

The PAC said, “The momentum in winning the initial Paul Gallegos for district attorney campaign in 2003, defeating the MAXXAM-funded DA recall campaign a year later, turning away the LNG proposal in April 2004 and winning the elections of Chris Kerrigan and Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap in November 2004 inspired us to formally establish.

“(They) believe that the quality of life in Humboldt County is being threatened by unsustainable development and resource extraction practices in the pursuit of private profit.”

Translation: “no growth” – “slam the door on any progress.”

The PAC founders include Michael Twombly, a founding member of the Green Party of California.

Twombly is currently a director of the Redwood Peace and Justice Center, as is Dave Meserve who recently received a national Courageous Resisters Award from Refuse and Resist! for his acts against “today’s national agenda of oppression.”

The RPJC is home to the Humboldt County Conscientious Objectors, Campus Greens, EarthSave Humboldt, Food Not Bombs and other like-minded endeavors.

According to its Web site, the PAC:

• Identifies opportunities for public service in elected and appointed positions;
• Recruits, advises and trains selected candidates;
• Raises contributions and provides direct financial support to local political campaigns;
• Coordinates volunteer campaign support;
• Fashions, frames and implements media and advertising campaigns;
• Assists in establishing and maintaining campaign and volunteer databases; and
• Provides critical campaign counsel and infrastructure needs to selected candidates.

Leonard is correct when he says, “We need a Planning Commission whose judgment is respected – not questioned because of their political motivations,” and is “concerned about politicizing a nonpartisan, nonpolitical commission.”

It is quite clear where the “politicizing” is coming from, and it doesn’t bode well for our community.