March 3, 2005
COVER
STORY | IN THE NEWS | STAGE DOOR
THE HUM | PREVIEW | CALENDAR
Journal
backs Wheetley
by JUDY HODGSON
It may be time to retire the
snickers that generally accompany Arcata City Council elections.
On March 8, Arcata voters will choose among six candidates for
one empty seat on the council, and the field they have to choose
from is the strongest the city has seen in some time. Indeed,
we 're probably not alone in wistfully imagining a council composed
of the five best candidates in the current race.
A natural resources planner
with decades of government experience. A forward-thinking alternative
energy engineer who has served the city for years. An energetic
and engaged Humboldt State University professor with a young
family. An attorney with a passion for civil rights. A recent
university graduate eager to roll up his sleeves for his town.
Except for the fact that the business community is not represented,
this field looks very much like a composite portrait of the best
Arcata has to offer. They 're all capable, and we'd have a hard
time picking a group more representative of the city.
That said, one of them stands
apart. The Journal enthusiastically endorses Mark Wheetley and
has every confidence that he will become, in short order, the
most effective leader that city government has seen in a very
long time.
What most distinguishes Wheetley
from his fellow candidates is a long record of accomplishments
in the public sector. Whether as a civil servant (he works for
the state Department of Fish and Game) or a citizen activist,
Wheetley has had a hand in building and securing a surprising
number of amenities that Humboldt County residents take for granted.
The Manila Dunes. The Hammond
Trail. The Eureka Marsh. The South Spit. The restoration of Salt
River and Redwood Creek. The county 's new homeless services
facility, the Multiple Assistance Center, which is just about
to come on line. The return of a portion Indian Island to the
Wiyot. In each of these cases -- and they are only a sample from
his career -- Wheetley has worked behind the scenes, navigating
a tangled web of federal, state and local bureaucracies to get
things done.
Of course, Arcata voters will
pick their candidate not just on their ability to get things
done, but on what he or she seeks to do.
Arcata cherishes its reputation
as a "progressive" city -- a charter member of that
small constellation of American university towns whose politics
and government set them apart from the rest of the country. But
maybe it's time to think a little more carefully about what progressive
politics should be on the level of city government.
For the last couple of years
just about the only thing that the Arcata City Council has done
really differently, aside from the roundabouts, is to issue periodic
"symbolic resolutions" -- demands on the federal government
to end the war or to scold John Ashcroft. The net effect of these
resolutions has been to secure Councilmember Dave Meserve semi-regular
guest spots on the Fox News Channel. They don't even make any
appreciable percentage of the citizenry feel good about itself
any longer, particularly when the quality of life in town continues
to deteriorate.
Wheetley harkens back to a different
era -- a time when Arcata 's reputation was built on actual achievements,
not symbolic ones. Today, anyone can walk through and enjoy the
visionary Arcata Marsh project, which showed the world an unlikely
way to balance community sewage treatment needs with the restoration
of wetlands. As a young HSU graduate, Wheetley cut his teeth
on the project. It continues to be his inspiration.
Nowadays, Wheetley talks about
building a regional parks district, so that local recreational
facilities might qualify for more funding from state and federal
government. He wants to strengthen ties to Humboldt State --
a smart move for any number of reasons, but Wheetley sees it
as a way to preserve Arcata 's extensive youth programs in a
time of budget crisis. He wants to foster neighborhood improvement
groups, so that they can offer ideas and feedback on issues ranging
from economic development to affordable housing to crime and
homelessness.
What do these proposals have
in common? They 're all innovative, ambitious and aimed at improving
the day-to-day lives of Arcata citizens. Impotent letters to
Washington, D.C., don't really factor into the Wheetley platform.
As we noted last week, shifting
the focus back to local problems is a common theme in this election.
It is to be applauded. But while other candidates have exciting
ideas about Arcata 's future, they don't yet have a track record
when it comes to making big things happen. Wheetley has both
in abundance.
COVER
STORY | IN THE NEWS | STAGE DOOR
THE HUM | PREVIEW | CALENDAR
Comments? Write a
letter!
© Copyright 2005, North Coast Journal,
Inc.
|