Arcata City Councilmember Mark Wheetley has dropped out of the race to become Humboldt County’s next Third District supervisor. Wheetley, who was arrested last month on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, made the announcement in an email statement sent out this morning, citing “a number of personal and professional obligations” that would […]
election
Humboldt’s 23 Percent Voter Turnout Not as Dismal as it Sounds
It’s official. The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors certified the county’s election results this morning, making official what’s long been known: Harbor District incumbents Pat Higgins and Greg Dale have each won four more years on the board. In the final tally, 23.28 percent — 13,897 — of Humboldt’s registered voters cast ballots in the […]
UPDATED: Higgins Pulls Ahead in the 5th
2nd UPDATE: With the final Election Night report in, we have a nail biter in the race for the 5th Division Harbor District Seat. After trailing all night, incumbent Commissioner Pat Higgins has taken a 12-vote lead over challenger Susan Rotwein with 100 percent of precincts reporting. With 3,666 votes counted in the race thus […]
Huffman Feels the Bern, But Endorses Clinton
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman announced this morning that he “feels the Bern,” but is endorsing Hillary Clinton in her bid to become the country’s next president because he feels she has a better chance to beat the “terrible GOP candidates” and trigger a Democratic wave that wins back both the House and the Senate. […]
Conflict of Interest Lawsuit Filed Against Harbor District; Commissioner Dismisses Suit as ‘Political Ploy’
Long-time local taxpayers’ advocate Leo Sears filed a conflict of interest lawsuit today, alleging that the Humboldt County Harbor, Conservation and Recreation District violated state law when it accepted a loan from Coast Seafoods and then gave the company a lease extension to cultivate oysters on hundreds of acres of tidelands in Humboldt Bay. Specifically, […]
Three Harbor District Hopefuls DQed for Lack of Signatures
It looks like there won’t be a 1st Division Harbor District race after all. Last month, we reported that a trio of candidates stepped forward announcing their intent to run for the seat being vacated by Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Commissioner Aaron Newman. Well, it appears two of them weren’t very serious. […]
Hoopa Tribe Just Says No
The attempt to legalize marijuana growing on Hoopa tribal lands has been defeated. Unofficial results of yesterday’s Hoopa Valley Tribe election show the measure, which would have repealed a ban on any marijuana cultivation — medical or otherwise — that’s been in effect since 1999, failed by a wide margin (63-36). The movement was launched […]
Keep Biting Those Nails
The Humboldt County Elections Office is zeroing in final election tallies, and has inched closer to determining the final number of ballots outstanding in the nail-biter of a race for Eureka’s Ward 3 city council seat. When the dust settled from Election Day, incumbent Mike Newman led challenger Kim Bergel by 104 votes, having taken […]
2nd UPDATE: It’s Too Late!
2nd UPDATE: And the polls are closed… Stay tuned for the first batch of results, which should be posted any time now by the humboldt County Elections Office. UPDATE: The polls close in an hour, so if you want to vote you’d better get to it. If you’re on the fence, scroll down to see […]
UPDATE: Bass Wins 4th, Kerrigan Mum on Future
Virginia Bass has won the 4th District, according to post-election results released today by the Humboldt County Elections Office. The vote tally, which includes ballots turned into the elections office and polling places on Election Day, saw Bass take 2,822 of the vote (52.05 percent), compared to Kerrigan’s 2,587. The Southern Humboldt Unified School District bond measure […]
The Supes: A Retrospective
Letter-writer Leo Sears reminded Journal and Times-Standard readers last week that in 2012, in this opinion column, I gave “kudos to [4th District Supervisor Virginia] Bass for chairing an emotional discussion, keeping everyone civil, and for finding a solution — a way forward” as chair of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. The agenda item […]
Vote Yes on Prop 42
Proposition 42, on the ballot for California’s June 4 election, will amend the Constitution to assure that local governments are legally bound to observe open-government requirements. If you prefer transparency to secrecy in your city government, local school board or county government, then the choice is clear: You should vote for Proposition 42. Proposition 42 […]
