5th District Supervisor Race 2016: Noreen Evans vs Lynda Hopkins

[farmerdan]

Barry,

I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours…Bob Dylan said that.
May the best (most popular) woman win…I said that

Yep, Vesta and I are plotting to pave over paradise and enslave the masses...

[jbox]

Lisa,
Perhaps you should review more facts concerning the current state of gravel mining before making such sweeping condemnations. ...

Thank you, Kitty. As head of the SEIU, Lisa Maldonaldo is responsible for at least $82,000 worth if BS hit pieces against Lynda, often using bogus and misleading claims and often having little or nothing to do with actual facts. The latest mailer I received today is typical; Noreen raising the hysteria level about how evil gravel mining will destroy the river. The facts as you point out put that question to rest.

Lisa has also been the most duplicitous and evasive poster on this thread, refusing to answer simple questions about her union and how pension issues might affect the county finances. Instead she hurls ridiculous accusations against anyone who raises questions and accuses them of being against working people or being racist or some other poppycock. Lisa Maldonaldo also attacks Hopkins as if she cares about the environment when all she cares about is the union. It is also quite odd that she claims to be against any kind of development when surely this is the sort of activity that can create jobs, even union jobs. Anyone who takes Lisa seriously has a couple screws loose.

It is clear that her support of Noreen is a quid pro quo arrangement, and Noreen will do the bidding of the public employees union. There can be no question about that. Unfortunately the corollary effect of this support means that, like credit card interest, the public pays for stuff that benefits only a small group of people and the public's money is diverted from other essential public services.

OK, that's it for me. I rest my case until tomorrow. Get out and vote, folks.

[mouse]

Another way of asking your question, which of our candidates has held elected office before, or heck, even had a real job in the last ten years? (Noreen is the candidate who, you know, worked for a living.)

And which candidate married a guy with money who got a farm for nothing, and now has taken half a million bucks from developers, gravel mining interests, the Ratto group, big wine and whoever in order to begin her career at the top! (Correct: Hopkins lies on her resume and has never had a real job!)

So which of our two choices for Supervisor of the 5th District has taken the most political donations over the course of their political careers ....

[KittyW]

Thank you for the amazing work that your organization is doing on behalf of the river and the environment. I was not implying that the Riverkeepers endorse Lynda, but her statement was in alignment with statements made publicly by your Exec Director.

I am simply pointing out that the situation with gravel miners is far more nuanced that the Evans campaign would have people to believe. It seems they are spreading hysteria that is not founded in reality.

Russian Riverkeepers cannot endorse a candidate but I do know that no one in the office is voting Hopkins. I find this thread on the river very disingenuous. Noreen has held panels on lowflow and trying to save the river and Lynda is just against in stream gravel mining which is rarely ever done anywhere anymore.

[larryjhanson]

Thank you, Kitty. As head of the SEIU, Lisa Maldonaldo is responsible for at least $82,000 worth if BS hit pieces against Lynda, ...

Gravel mining, unions and who is voting their financial interest.

First Gravel Mining, I am glad to see that high respect is paid to the Russian River Keepers for the great job they have done over the years for monitoring and initiating better solutions for our rivers. Gravel mining has had dire impacts on the river and we are living with those impacts today and that is why RRK has had to file lawsuits to either get it stopped or to get it mitigated. I am sure that RRK was not recommending gravel mining. The history of gravel mining in the Russian River indicates that it cannot be done in an environmentally sound way if done for economic interest. If the river should be mined at all, it should be done as an overall restoration plan for the whole river. So, in this case, the quote has been misinterpreted to mean that RRK was condoning economically based gravel mining in the RR which it was not.


Second, I guess we can now expect Trump-like inverse reality claims now that he set some kind of model for people to follow. The claim that unions are now so powerful that they can control candidates is in an alter reality. I don’t believe I am actually having to say this, but for the record, unions in this country were denuded with the Reagan so-called revolution and now completely out of balance with business almost totally controlling the economy from local to national. When was the last time you saw a labor page as part of any mainstream newspaper? Anyway, this should really be obvious and we should not pretend otherwise unless we want to join Trumpland (and I hope we are all not joining it involuntarily). But, really, shouldn't we all be more aligned with working people's issues that is promoted by labor unions?


Lastly, financial interest. People usually vote their financial interest. They are not villains for doing so. Some industries expect to do financially better supporting a certain candidate. The media likely will support a candidate that their major advertisers support or for other financial considerations. But I was hoping like in the past supervisor elections, that voters would not get derailed by being convinced to align with the financial interest supporters. The candidate they support will help them, but not necessarily you, which is not their real concern. They will, none the less, try to use out of scale issues and scare tactics to convince you and it will work for many. In those past elections, good solid candidates who represented the public interest and resource protection were beaten back from the financial interest folks by the industry public relations firms and mainstream media with targeted “articles". This election is just another replay using similar tactics. Many are getting derailed again as before to vote for the candidate that will keep the Supervisors beholden to those only with financial interests.


Most supporters and voters do not have direct financial gains and will be looking at the bigger picture issues. There are no direct financial gains for protecting and enhancing the environment and they will cast their vote not swayed by personal profiteering. Noreen’s alignment with labor unions, small businesses, small farmers, and the environmental community shows her commitment to the working people and to the larger view of environmental and resource protections. This, of course, includes the supporters for financial interest.


In this sense, she is for us, all of us.

[photolite]

What's done is done. Let the cards fall where they may and let us all pledge to get behind and support whichever of these worthy women carry the day.

[riverosprey]

Russian Riverkeepers cannot endorse a candidate but I do know that no one in the office is voting Hopkins....

Sorry O.W.
All the Riverkeeper staff that live in the Fifth District (Anastasia Hammond-Guerneville) are voting for Lynda Hopkins, along with former Riverkeeper president Fred Euphrat, and Riverkeepers's Clean River Alliance head Chris Brokate, along with other current and former Riverkeeper Board members. And a ton of volunteers not in the office!

As Lisa said we're all part of this right wing Republican Trump, Koch brother's conspiracy to destroy the Fifth District's environment... Including Vesta, Barry, Frank, and myself...Kitty pegged it right...fear mongering...

Almost over...can't wait :)

Kind regards and thank you for your good works protecting our environment---just disagree with your views and the old guard on this one.

[Erik Perez]

Who knows who really supports Lynda Hopkins, because it looks like she lies about her endorsements. This just in, Lynda Hopkins refuses to take down Paula Downing as an endorser when asked by Paula. Not to mention she still has Progressive Sebastopol up as an endorser, even though they retracted their endorsement last month. Even posted on here about it.

"I'm breaking my vow against political posts just briefly to relay some news that I think is important. Paula Downing, beloved former manager of the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, the Sebastopol Farmers Market, and several other markets, has been listed as either a supporter or an endorser of Lynda Hopkins for Fifth District Supervisor. This is not true. She has asked to have her name removed from that list but it hasn't been. She has a large Noreen Evans sign in her front yard and she told me this evening that she supports and is voting for Noreen Evans, not Lynda Hopkins. I'm pretty sure I know who is spreading the misinformation but I'll leave that part out so that it has no chance of gaining any more traction. Paula Downing, a woman of tremendous integrity and wisdom, supports Noreen Evans." (https://www.facebook.com/micheleannajordan?fref=ts)

All the Riverkeeper staff that live in the Fifth District... are voting for Lynda Hopkins, ...

[markwjam]

looks like you are falling for the "political outsider" trick...so often used by those who serve the über rich few , to get elected...that was how George Shrub Bush ran....it's how Trump is running....and some seem to be taking that stance in voting for the polite, fresh faced young one, who is financially supported by a number of greedy, selfish, not caring about people outside their class, brats...

look of Chris Hedges article on Unspoken Topics in America to find a great account of his education as a scholarship kid at the kind of schools that the über rich send their kids...you will see how the lack of empathy by the über rich is created and continued.

So which of our two choices for Supervisor of the 5th District has taken the most political donations over the course of their political careers ...

[larryjhanson]

...The Planning Commission approves or disapproves wineries; ...

Surprisingly there is a myth that wineries use lots of water. In fact most of the smaller wineries use less water per year than a single family dwelling. The real culprits for water use are the vineyards, the orchards, the croplands that provide food and wine (and beer) for all of us. ....

In Tom's posting, he says that the Commission approves or disapproves wineries. However, there is rarely a disapproval. Tom said that in many smaller wineries, "...use less water per year than a single family dwelling."
I know this is a claim made by applicants to get the permit. But a Commissioner also believes this to be true but possibly only true for small wineries. Not all wineries are small. Many are very large and some wineries start off small but increase their production.

Let's look at average sized wineries. The average winery has wine tastings most days of the week from 9 to 5. This means a stream of visitors that an average single family does not have. Water is provided as well as toilet and kitchen facilities when appetizers or other food is provided. This is in addition to the winery workers and maintenance crew and hosts for wine tasting and food preparation. The weekends are the fullest for the tastings which would be like a singe family gave a big party every single weekend of the year. Then there are the large events several times a year with hundreds of people using the facilities for the permit that the applicant said would use no more water than a single family unit. Somehow this is considered to be a myth.

Commissioners who are selected by the Supervisors have a role in protecting Sonoma County's resources But it is the Supervisor who sets the lead. It is not easy to protect the environment and also protect the economy. But the environment cannot continue to suffer from choosing economy over it. The leadership for this would have to come from experience, dedication, and independence from industry from a candidate like Noreen Evans to provide a good balance for Sonoma County.

[Kate Fenton]

Do you have a link to the Hedges? My search didn't come up with it. Thanks!

...
look of Chris Hedges article on Unspoken Topics in America to find a great account of his education as a scholarship kid at the kind of schools that the über rich send their kids...you will see how the lack of empathy by the über rich is created and continued.

[Lisa Maldonado]

Aww jbox... I'm beginning to think you don't like me...... Thanks so much for the compliment " all she cares about is the union".... it's something my significant other has said many times and it suffuses me with a rosy Norma Rae- like glow every time I hear it. of course being a daughter of the working class your attacks on my identity as a trade unionist are truly music to my ears- no mattter how insulting you mean them to sound. And as for your other personal attacks "duplicitous, evasive et al. I enjoy them as well because I love how they illustrate the hypocrisy of the Hopkins camp in accusing others of 'attacks and dirty campaigning' while reveling in personal insults just like yours. I also enjoy how Barry periodically takes breaks from admonishing those he disagrees with to 'tone it down' or 'be more civil' while reserving his 'gratitude' for your especially harsh and venal attacks.... indeed it makes me a little wistful to think this might be the end of a beautiful relationship.......

Thank you, Kitty. As head of the SEIU, Lisa Maldonaldo is responsible for at least $82,000 worth if BS hit pieces against Lynda, often using bogus and misleading claims and often having little or nothing to do with actual facts. ....

Lisa has also been the most duplicitous and evasive poster on this thread, refusing to answer simple questions about her union and how pension issues might affect the county finances. Instead she hurls ridiculous accusations against anyone who raises questions and accuses them of being against working people or being racist or some other poppycock. Lisa Maldonaldo also attacks Hopkins as if she cares about the environment when all she cares about is the union. It is also quite odd that she claims to be against any kind of development when surely this is the sort of activity that can create jobs, even union jobs. Anyone who takes Lisa seriously has a couple screws loose.

....

[Peacetown Jonathan]

A hearty shout out to say thank you to Tom Lynch. Kudos and gratitude, Tom, for your clear minded, level headed, articulate and entirely civil championing of the need to rethink our pension system for new county employees, and to restructure our county permit system to encourage auxiliary housing units to TRULY resolve the worst housing crisis in our County's history.

[KittyW]

With my heart shattered and my mind still reeling in in shock and horror from watching the toxic red tide sweep over the middle of the nation like a slow motion tsunami of hatred, bigotry, lies and fear…. I want to express gratitude for the beautiful blue bubble in which we live. I feel so privileged to have been debating a detailed dissertation of 2 worthy candidates for Supervisor on the home front here in the 5^th District of Sonoma County.

We had such good choices. The rest of the country should be so lucky.

As I ponder how we will possibly get through the next 4 years, I am thinking that it's time to dig in deeper to our beautiful area and find tangible ways to show up on a local level. Debating on this thread has helped me to more deeply understand forces at work here.

Thank you to everyone who has taken time to read, comment and debate. I'm happy to have you as neighbors, even when we disagreed. We're so fortunate to be here. Let's make the most of it.

[jbox]

...Thanks so much for the compliment " all she cares about is the union".... it's something my significant other has said many times and it suffuses me with a rosy Norma Rae- like glow every time I hear it. ......

Well now, it is nice to hear you only care about the union and really don't care about the environment, that your attacks on Lynda Hopkins were nothing more than pious platitudes.

When our new Supervisor negotiates with your union I'm sure she will take the high road and do it in good faith.

Adios, Lisa

[Shepherd]

The election is over. Can we stop this back and forth attacks, please. If not, Barry, would you consider discontinuing this thread? It is no longer relevant. We now have lots of different work to do with the dramatically changed reality.

In my case, I am no longer send some things to Wacco, like about a Grief Circle that we had at the Grange last night, because it is not worth enduring the anger and attacks.

[Barry]

The election is over. Can we stop this back and forth attacks, please. If not, Barry, would you consider discontinuing this thread? It is no longer relevant. We now have lots of different work to do with the dramatically changed reality. ..

I know 5th district Supervisor race has been very emotional for many people, and many people are not happy about the outcome.

Perhaps I have been too lenient when it comes to allowing freedom of expression. I tried to maintain the line to keep it about issues and not personal, but i wasn't always successful. Airing differences of opinion within the progressive community is an important mission of WaccoBB, but it can only be successful if we respect everybody.

So I'm going take Shepherd's guidance and close this thread soon. I'll keep it open for another day or so for any last comments. Please be respectful, and I encourage you to use this opportunity to help our community heal.

The campaign is over. Lynda is our new Supervisor. People on both sides fought passionately for what they thought was in the best interest of our blessed county. Sometimes the fight took the high road and sometimes it took the low road, most unfortunately. Please, let's put it behind us, now.

Let's keep the present and future in front of us. As Hillary said, let's keep an "open mind". Let's see what Lynda does now that the campaign is over. While I supported her, I understand Noreen's supporters' concerns. I hope you'll raise your voices either in support or criticism of her actions from an unprejudiced point of view.

Barry

[Richard Nichols]

This is my last post on wacky. Take me off.

5th district was bought by some very sleazy people, and nothing hopkins can say proclaiming innocence can change that. She was even photoed with our favorite present 5th sup. It is not a matter of opinion that hopkins and her backers spent something like $750K to steal the election.

So here is what I have to say to any self proclaimed progressive and liberal that voted hopkins. You sold yourself out, were to ignorant and uniformed and/or fell for the numerous lies put forth. As for you Barry, welcome to the bosco boys club who have successfully elected DINOs time after time for years. I am sick at heart. The community will not heal as long as big money buys elections. I no longer trust the so called progressive community in the West County to do anything but be led around. Don't bother to try and talk to me about it.
I'm done with you all.

...So I'm going take Shepherd's guidance and close this thread soon. I'll keep it open for another day or so for any last comments. Please be respectful, and I encourage you to use this opportunity to help our community heal....

[Barry]

This is my last post on wacky. Take me off.

5th district was bought by some very sleazy people, and nothing hopkins can say proclaiming innocence can change that....

Thanks for your healing words, Richard.

[Lisa Maldonado]

Here's the thing. While it feels terrible to lose an election, we need to keep this in mind. It's just an election. The people who were assholes and jerks two days ago are still assholes and jerks even though they won an election . The people with principles and ideals are still the good people even though they lost an election. The fights and the issues are still out there and we still need to fight them and be on the right side. #perspective#laluchasigue #wecan'tstopwewon'tstop

[Richard Nichols]

And thanks for your delusional politics
Good bye

Thanks for your healing words, Richard.

[mouse]

Just mark 2016 down as yet another election year when rich people bought our representation and installed completely undeserving, unworthy, lying charlatans into power at both the local and national level. America is truly the land of the chump.

Do you think Hopkins will refuse the pension she so abhors, but now qualifies for? Not likely. Countdown to vast expansion and development, expanded wineries and of course, Koefsinger and the Ratto group getting let out of their fines!

I hope to never see her muppet face in my neighborhood again.

[podfish]

Just mark 2016 down as yet another election year when rich people bought our representation and installed completely undeserving, unworthy, lying charlatans into power at both the local and national level. America is truly the land of the chump.

where (or when) was this wonderful land you compare us to? We maybe can be great again.

[Barry]

I'm really aghast at the posts that replied to my post that tried to bring some healing after this bitter race.

I'll let these stand as a testament to the raw emotion that is still out there, and how poorly it reflects on the speakers and their cause.

Note how they compare with Noreen's statement:

"This morning I called Lynda Hopkins and offered my congratulations and support and promised to work with her on the challenges our county faces, particularly in view of the results of the national election. As I've said many times during the past year, this election was never about me or my candidacy--we are building a progressive movement here locally. In the immortal words of Bill Kortum, never give up, never back down. I'm grateful for all the people I've met and all those who have helped and been by my side along this journey. Our work has only just begun."

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