FROM THE
Oct. 28, 2004
COVER
STORY | IN THE NEWS | IN THE GARDEN |
THE HUM | PREVIEW | CALENDAR
The
Journal endorses
by JUDY HODGSON
Last time around we started
with the toughest decisions facing voters and ended with the
easiest. Let's start with the "easies" this time:
For the U.S. Senate -- Barbara
Boxer. Yes, Boxer is a passionate advocate for all causes
liberal, but she operates as part of a large body of mostly conservative,
male colleagues, and her clear, articulate voice is most welcome.
The Journal continues
to enthusiastically back Mike Thompson for Congress. He
is a fiscally responsible, moderate Democrat and that is why
there are plenty of Republican-type business owners who back
Mike. Plus, he and John Kerry -- two distinguished veterans of
the Vietnam War -- believe this country was rushed to war in
Iraq prematurely and that it was wrong to do so.
For the state Assembly: Patty
Berg again. She's smart and super organized. (Have you seen
her meticulous note-taking?) Berg is a strong leader on senior,
health and education issues, and she is an all-around bundle
of energy. We are lucky to have her.
We're happy to see some strong
competition for two seats on the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water
District. We are recommending Javan Reid in Division Two,
a strong leader of his church and the community of McKinleyville.
In Division One, we recommend incumbent Vern Clooney.
We are urging a yes on Measure
Q, College of the Redwoods facilities. It will be tough to
get the 55 percent needed for passage from throughout the CR
district, but we are hopeful that those in Del Norte, Trinity
and Mendocino will join Humboldt in this important effort. The
Journal is reluctantly supporting Measure L, the
temporary sales tax for local services. And voters should reject
the fatally flawed GMO Measure M.
We are not making recommendations
to voters in the small cities of Ferndale, Trinidad and Rio Dell,
but we urge citizens there to study the candidates and vote next
Tuesday.
In the Arcata race (see the
Journal's coverage in this edition), we are backing Michael
Machi for the much-needed continuity; newcomer Harmony
Groves, who we hope lives up to her name; and Rob Amerman,
whose experience at city hall should give him an edge.
That leaves the Eureka City
Council Ward 4. First, the citizens of Eureka should be thankful
that both these men are willing and most able to serve and there
really is no wrong choice. However, of the two, we are backing
Rex Bohn as the stronger candidate.
The last 3 ! / 2 years on the
council Chris Kerrigan has demonstrated that he is hard-working,
articulate and a good listener. He is on the right side of many
issues we support -- quality of life issues such as beautification
and trails, for instance. However, there were several instances
in this campaign where issues of character arose and Chris came
up a little short.
In campaign literature, Kerrigan
takes credit for being "instrumental" in "saving
and creating hundreds of jobs in our community." Well, not
exactly. As a member of the Redwood Region Economic Development
Commission, he is one of 18 people who represent cities and agencies
throughout the county. About 80 (full-time equivalent) jobs have
indeed been "created" since Chris joined the board
in 2001, most outside Eureka. In addition, there are a number
of local businesses reporting jobs were "saved" because
they received RREDC loans, a claim that is always open to some
skepticism.
In addition, Kerrigan has exaggerated
his role in the effort to bring direct air service from Los Angeles.
(Some credit goes to the Humboldt County aviation director and
RREDC staff for doing the legwork, in conjunction with the city
of Redding, which initiated the entire effort.)
Exaggeration is not all that
uncommon, especially in politics. However, Kerrigan made a serious
misstep when one of his supporters, activist Richard Salzman,
sent out an e-mail using Kerrigan's phone number soliciting funds.
In it Salzman wrote that challenger Rex Bohn was "out for
himself a greedy oil executive bent on revenge." It is a
failure of leadership that Kerrigan did not act in the wake of
the controversy by publicly condemning Salzman's comment and
by apologizing.
We are backing Bohn because
he appears to be a man of strong character with a lifetime of
real-life experiences to bring to the council, and he has a track
record of getting things done.
COVER
STORY | IN THE NEWS | IN THE GARDEN |
THE HUM | PREVIEW | CALENDAR
Comments? Write a
letter!
© Copyright 2004, North Coast Journal,
Inc.
|