Sonoma County supervisor Lynda Hopkins announces pregnancy

I don't how anybody pulls off the job of being a County Supervisor in the first place, let alone as a mother of 2 young kids, and now being pregnant with a third! But if anybody can do it, Lynda can!

Whadya think?
Barry

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Sonoma County supervisor Lynda Hopkins announces pregnancy

MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | July 15, 2018,8:41PM

Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins is poised to become the first supervisor in the county’s history to give birth while in office, with her announcement Sunday that she and her husband are expecting their third child.

The new baby is due in January, two years after the west county leader was sworn into office as part of the first female majority to sit on the five-member board.

“We’re really excited,” said Hopkins, 35.

The first-term supervisor announced her pregnancy on Facebook, earning congratulations from hundreds of constituents and friends. She included an ultrasound image among the comments, though she later conceded it was somewhat “strange having a very public pregnancy.”

Hopkins in an interview said she plans to take three weeks off from her supervisorial duties when her son or daughter is born and then “everyone can expect to see a lot of me and the baby out and about in west county.”

She and her husband, Emmett, live in Forestville with two daughters, ages 3 and 5. Emmett Hopkins is the volunteer coordinator for LandPaths, a nonprofit outdoor education, land stewardship and conservation organization.

Lynda Hopkins, who serves alongside Supervisors Susan Gorin and Shirlee Zane, is just the seventh woman elected to serve on the governing county body since former Supervisor Helen Rudee, now 100, broke the gender barrier in 1976.

Hopkins also is the youngest woman to serve on the board and, as a candidate three years ago, was shocked by repeated questions about her ability to handle the duties of county office while parenting two young children.

“I’m sure I’ll face those kinds of questions” again, she said Sunday.

But, she said, “I’m hoping that it’s also an educational opportunity because, at the end of the day, if we want to actually achieve equity in the work place and in political office, we have to normalize having children while in office, right?”

Hopkins also said she’s proved she can be a mother and a public official.

“So far people know that I can balance two young kids in the job, and I’m lucky that I have a big support system and definitely plan on utilizing that support system with the new baby,” she said

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or [email protected]. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.

I believe the question should not be "can she do it" but "should she do it". I realize that it's rarely a bright idea to take a position against a MOM but with the way the "first world" nations suck up the majority of the world's resources, it seems irresponsible to have more than two children. When I think of drought, traffic everywhere-all-the-time, too-many-people-not-enough-housing, rising pollution, and the receding natural world (not least of all in this county), I can only ask why??

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Posted in reply to the post by Barry:

I don't how anybody pulls off the job of being a County Supervisor in the first place, let alone as a mother of 2 young kids, and now being pregnant with a third! But if anybody can do it, Lynda can! ...

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I wonder if this is why they stopped farming :( But yay for more kids and for Lynda continuing to do the work she does.

My reply to this, as it is to the abortion issue, IS: Get your politics our of my uterus.

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Posted in reply to the post by deepresto:

I believe the question should not be "can she do it" but "should she do it". I realize that it's rarely a bright idea to take a position against a MOM but with the way the "first world" nations suck up the majority of the world's resources, it seems irresponsible to have more than two children. When I think of drought, traffic everywhere-all-the-time, too-many-people-not-enough-housing, rising pollution, and the receding natural world (not least of all in this county), I can only ask why??

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... they stopped farming ...

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Oh, I did not know that.

Lots of women hold down one or more jobs and raise one or more children, and many of them do not have 6-figure salaries, husbands, or an extensive support system, unlike Lynda Hopkins. Why her pregnancy should be such a big deal is beyond me.

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Posted in reply to the post by Barry:

I don't how anybody pulls off the job of being a County Supervisor in the first place, let alone as a mother of 2 young kids, and now being pregnant with a third! But if anybody can do it, Lynda can!

Whadya think?
Barry

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Posted in reply to the post by deepresto:

I believe the question should not be "can she do it" but "should she do it". I realize that it's rarely a bright idea to take a position against a MOM but with the way the "first world" nations suck up the majority of the world's resources, it seems irresponsible to have more than two children. When I think of drought, traffic everywhere-all-the-time, too-many-people-not-enough-housing, rising pollution, and the receding natural world (not least of all in this county), I can only ask why??

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I can not believe that anyone would say something like this in a public forum where a human being who represents us would have to read something so frankly rude.

WOMEN are incredible!!!! that's how!

It's kind of the year of the woman and Kudos to her! If she gets to the point she has to pull back, she'll make the right decisions. We are the CEOs of our families, can run companies, manage relationships, and cook dinner all at the same time.

I find it funny that anyone in Sebastopol is even asking the question if she can do it, lol unless you were just trying to stir up some convo.

You peeps are among the most progressive in the country. Don't disappoint me now.

A person who is capable of holding any political office has to have a thick enough skin to endure much worse comments than this. Your judgment of a person expressing his/her own opinion is not any better than theirs.

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Posted in reply to the post by Heidi M:

I can not believe that anyone would say something like this in a public forum where a human being who represents us would have to read something so frankly rude.

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Working women have babies every single day. Nothing to see here.

Overpopulation is the elephant in the living room of any discussion about environmental degradation, etc. Unfortunately, it's the key to nearly all the problems we are facing but somehow it's taboo to bring it up, except in the abstract and with an eye toward Third World countries. Given that the US consumes 20% (correct me if I'm wrong here) of the world's resources, it's hypocritical of us to pretend that we are not a (big) part of the problem.

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Posted in reply to the post by BEE KIND:

A person who is capable of holding any political office has to have a thick enough skin to endure much worse comments than this. Your judgment of a person expressing his/her own opinion is not any better than theirs.

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Uhh, actually, the elephant in the room is corporate destruction of the environment. There are some articles and blog posts going around the internet about how, for example, the thing about people reducing their waste of straws would have a much lower impact than corporations cleaning up their act. Think about leaks on gas pipelines as an example. What if they didn't leak all over the place? Then the companies wouldn't have to plan on such big pipelines, for one thing, and that extra gas could stay in the ground and there'd be less fracking, etc etc. (and yes, our demand also needs to decrease, too)

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Posted in reply to the post by wisewomn:

Overpopulation is the elephant in the living room of any discussion about environmental degradation, etc. ...

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Posted in reply to the post by karenm97:

...Think about leaks on gas pipelines as an example....

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Fracking releases a lot of natural gas which is just burned off, because it cannot be easily captured for use. Maybe you all already know this, but I put it out there, I find it interesting/important.

A gas flare burns between two oil pumps in North Dakota last year. The state lacks adequate infrastructure to capture and sell the natural gas that comes up with oil, so it is flared off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGqmwc4bGJY - video on fracking flares

I think you've got it backwards, Karen. The demand for gas/profit is what drives corporate destruction.

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Posted in reply to the post by karenm97:

...Think about leaks on gas pipelines as an example. What if they didn't leak all over the place? Then the companies wouldn't have to plan on such big pipelines, for one thing, and that extra gas could stay in the ground and there'd be less fracking, etc etc. (and yes, our demand also needs to decrease, too)

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Overpopulation is a much bigger problem in poor underdeveloped 3rd world countries and the poorest people in our country who are living on welfare. The best educated and most prosperous people usually don't have very many children. Especially working mothers with good jobs that pay well.

Actually one of the biggest corporate polluters is one that isn't talked about enough. That's factory farming and animal agriculture. If everyone changed their eating habits by eating only organic, GMO free plant based food, and stopped eating any animals or their products that they don't raise themselves, it would make a huge difference in our eco-system and our own health. There are some excellent documentary movies about this, that everyone can see online...FOOD INC, Cowspiracy, Earthlings, and the newest one just coming out is DOMINION.

My understanding of the demographic data is that women's access to economic choice, ie access to work and money, is the most important variable in birth rates. It's not about the standard of living, it's about structural misogyny. So for example rates have dropped dramatically in places like Latin America and india, not so much in places like Pakistan. This is why predictions for global population have been too high.

It's true that as income rises people eat more energy and resource intensive foods. So China has surpassed us in energy consumption.

I celebrate Lynda Hopkins choosing to have another child. Why judge a woman in the US? Our birth rate is slightly below replacement, population growth is driven by immigration.

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Posted in reply to the post by BEE KIND:

Overpopulation is a much bigger problem in poor underdeveloped 3rd world countries and the poorest people in our country who are living on welfare. The best educated and most prosperous people usually don't have very many children. Especially working mothers with good jobs that pay well.

Actually one of the biggest corporate polluters is one that isn't talked about enough. That's factory farming and animal agriculture. If everyone changed their eating habits by eating only organic, GMO free plant based food, and stopped eating any animals or their products that they don't raise themselves, it would make a huge difference in our eco-system and our own health. There are some excellent documentary movies about this, that everyone can see online...FOOD INC, Cowspiracy, Earthlings, and the newest one just coming out is DOMINION.

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Close to Home: Elected, working and pregnant
by LYNDA HOPKINS
Aug 19, 2019

There are some weird things about being an elected official. As all moms know, there are some weird things about being pregnant. But there’s an exceptional strangeness that arises when you find yourself in the unusual position of being a pregnant elected official.

Starting with: My pregnancy is news. And not just personal news — the pregnancy test you show to your husband, the excited announcement you make to the grandparents, the ultrasound photos you share with family and friends. Rather it’s an article in the local paper, a menial footnote of local history — the first supervisor to give birth while serving in office — and fodder for congratulations and questions around the community. I figured I’d offer up answers to some of the questions I’ve heard so far.

— Does this mean you won’t be seeking re-election?

Heck no. I love my job and will absolutely be running in 2020.

— Do you plan to take time off?

Assuming an uncomplicated birth, I plan to take three weeks (mostly) off after the baby is born. After that, in the early months — what I think of as the eat-poop-sleep-fuss stage — expect to see a lot of the baby in my office and out and about in west county.

— Isn’t it going to be hard, having a newborn and being a supervisor?

I’ve had two newborns so far, so I know what I’m getting myself into. ...

Continues here