There’s a new city council in Arcata. On Dec. 15, newly elected members Meredith Matthews and Kimberley White were seated at the dais, forming the city’s first all-woman council, joining just a handful of cities across California to ever do so. (Read more about the landmark occasion in the Nov. 17 Journal story “Marking a […]
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Election Countdown: Council, Mayor Races Set for November
The list of candidates vying for open city council seats across Humboldt County is now set for the November election, which will also see dozens of local school and special district board races on the ballot. Over in Arcata, six candidates are seeking to fill two open seats, including incumbents Meredith Matthews, who was appointed […]
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Is ‘Right to Housing’ a Solution to California Homelessness?
The law says that every student is entitled to a free public education. What if it said the same about housing? That’s what Darrell Steinberg, the mayor of Sacramento, believes to be the key to addressing California’s homelessness. He recently proposed an ordinance that would require the city to provide at least two housing or […]
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Watson Releases Statement Saying He is Entering a Rehab Program
Arcata Councilmember Brett Watson issued a statement this evening saying he was entering “a 30-day residential rehabilitation program to focus on depression and personal issues.” Watson, who was replaced as mayor at a special meeting earlier this week, states that he informed the council and staff on Oct. 11 that he intended to step down […]
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Arcata Council Casts ‘No Confidence Vote’ After Removing Mayor for ‘Alleged Behaviors’
The Arcata City Council voted unanimously Wednesday evening to remove Brett Watson from the position of mayor and followed up the decision with a no confidence vote in his ability to serve as a councilmember. Watson was not present “due to personal reasons,” according to Stacy Atkins-Salazar, who was selected to serve as mayor until […]
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Arcata Council Set to Select a New Mayor, Vice Mayor
Arcata Mayor Brett Watson has not submitted a resignation letter but the city council is scheduled to select his replacement and chose a new vice mayor during a special meeting tomorrow. The item on the 5:59 p.m. agenda just before the regularly scheduled meeting states simply: With a mid-term vacancy of the mayor’s position, the […]
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Sofia Pereira Stepping Down from Arcata Council, Named New Humboldt County Public Health Director
Arcata Mayor Sofia Pereira, who has also served as the county’s Emergency Operations Center operation chief during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced she will be stepping down from the Arcata City Council by June 25 after being named Public Health’s new director, replacing Michele Stephens. “Starting June 27, I will begin a new chapter as the […]
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Rio Dell Mayor Asks Supes to Move Terra-Gen Appeal Meeting Down South
Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes has sent a letter to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors officially requesting a change of venue for any future meeting on Terra-Gen’s proposed wind farm. The Humboldt County Planning Commission voted 4-2 Thursday, with commissioners Mike Newman and Alan Bongio dissenting and commissioner Brian Mitchell absent, to deny the […]
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Residents Only: Eureka’s First True Ward Election
When Eureka voters were preparing two years ago to vote on whether to change course on how they selected council members, they were meet with divergent views on what such a shift would mean to the city. Those opposed to the ultimately successful Measure P predicted that a “true ward” system would severely curtail who […]
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Want to Run for Office? The Deadline is Looming
Time is running out for candidates to file their nomination papers to run for council and mayor in cities across Humboldt County — the exception being Ferndale, which closed its nomination period today. All others have deadlines tomorrow. That is unless an incumbent does not seek a return to office, in which case the filing […]
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Arcata, Meet Your New Mayor and Vice Mayor
The Arcata City Council today selected Sofia Pereira to serve as mayor for the next year and Brett Watson, who was appointed to his seat in April, to serve as vice mayor. The council rotates the honorary positions on an annual basis. Pereira, a Humboldt State graduate and the community manager for She Should Run, a […]
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5TH UPDATE: The Council Races
5th UPDATE: The final tallies are in… The only nail biter race appears to be in Eureka’s Ward 3, where challenger Kim Bergel trails incumbent Mike Newman by just 104 votes. It’s currently unclear how many provisional and vote by mail ballots remain to be counted in Eureka, so it’s hard to tell if Bergel […]