Recall Supervisor Hopkins Petition

FYI, this is being submitted on Monday for the first step to recall Supervisor HopkinsIf you wish to participate or be involved, on Nextdoor.
We need a dedicated Bulletin Board for removing Hopkins
And we need a website for the same.
Any help appreciated
Thanks,
Stuart Kiehl
Wright Area Action Group

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NOTICE OF INTENT
Recall Supervisor Hopkins.
She must be removed because she has failed in her primary job: Public Safety in her jurisdiction.
As the highest elected County official, with first responsibility to her constituents, for months she has allowed an encampment with no toilet facilities to create a public cesspool.
She has not stopped, but permitted this County declared “Emergency”, creating health and safety hazards to the community and a nearby elementary school, enabling up to 214 people to defecate and urinate along the JRTrail, creating an open sewer
Part of the City and County solution is “improve the conditions on the trail, protect the well being of the occupants” including "needle disposal bins”
Hopkins has placed the “well being” of the people defecating, urinating and shooting up in her jurisdiction over the “well being” of her constituents.
We do not want any official support of the encampment. We want it removed. Now.
Because of this dereliction of responsibility to the neighborhood, we now have an “Emergency", and the priority is for The Occupation, not our community.
“Why do they have more rights than us?”
Hopkins is the boss, her jurisdiction, her watch, her failure. Recall Hopkins.”

Mr. Kiehl,

Is your dislike of the trail folks because you have real estate affected the encampment?

Supervisor Hopkins is working to remove the encampment from the trail and she will do it when they have a place to relocate the encampment.

Juna

Seriously? Lynda is probably the smartest, hardest working supervisor. She may not be perfect but let's be realistic....nobody knows how to solve the homeless problem and the housing problem and the pension underfunding problem and the massive Roundup problem and the water table problem.... Recalling her is really in nobody's interest.

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Posted in reply to the post by Stuart:

FYI, this is being submitted on Monday for the first step to recall Supervisor Hopkins...

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Posted in reply to the post by Stuart:

Recall Supervisor Hopkins.
She must be removed because she has failed in her primary job: Public Safety in her jurisdiction.
I believe her primary job is to represent ALL of her constituents.
As the highest elected County official (one of five who comprise a board of supervisors) with first responsibility to ALL of her constituents, for months she (while upholding the law as handed down by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals) has "allowed" an encampment with no toilet facilities to create a public cesspool.

She has not stopped (single-handedly) but permitted this County declared “Emergency”, creating health and safety hazards to the community and a nearby elementary school, enabling UP TO 214 people (inaccurate sensationalistic hyperbole) to defecate and urinate along the JRTrail (separated by a sound wall from said community and 100m+ of community between the wall and the road between JRT and the school) creating an open sewer.

Part of the City and County solution is “improve the conditions on the trail, protect the well being of the occupants” including "needle disposal bins”Hopkins has placed the “well being” of the people defecating, urinating and shooting up in her jurisdiction over the “well being” of her constituents.
(Since you're incapable and unwilling to offer solutions, you're simply part of the problem.)
We do not want any official support of the encampment. We want it removed. Now. (Other than you and perhaps 50 other neighbors, who do you describe as "We"?)
Because of this dereliction of responsibility to the "neighborhood" (a minute group of self-centered self-absorbed NIMBYs), we now have an “Emergency", and the priority is for The Occupation, not our community.
(So which is it, the "neighborhood" or the "community"?)
“Why do they have more rights than us?”
(Why don't you spend a week living with them and find out just how easy they have it. )
Hopkins is a good public servant who has reached out, even to a self-absorbed NIMBY who thinks of nothing but enriching himself, her watch, her failure. Recall Hopkins.”

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Well, if you want to slander Hopkins, go ahead, but I'm pretty certain you'll regret it. You'll wind up with another Capt. Underpants, wasting taxpayer money to sleep around and get a lawyer paid for by the constituents...

I wish there was a thumbs down button that had teeth because this post would get it.

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Posted in reply to the post by Stuart:

NOTICE OF INTENT
Recall Supervisor Hopkins....

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Has it occurred to you that this encampment is within the City of Santa Rosa?

While constituents in this area have Lynda as their Supervisor, she does not make policy for the city fathers who have moved this camp from one section of the county to another for over 5 years. Homeless Hill, 3rd Street Underpass, Roseland Village, and now the Rodota trail. It’s not new, and most of these folks are from Santa Rosa...and have been chronically homeless for years. Where is your work to hold the City responsible? Why blame the 5th District Supervisor for a national epidemic taking place within city limits. BTW, she is not the boss of the city officials!

Lynda has led efforts to address this crisis, but is stymied by a court injunction that requires appropriate ”housing” for the campers...also, the county just voted to invest $11 million as a result of Lynda’s efforts.

You’re not only mean spirited and not part of any solution, but you lack compassion, humanity, intelligence and awareness.

Fortunately, most voters in the 5th district know how fortunate they are to have such a hard working and intelligent person at the helm. NOT her failure. Period.

Thank you Ann for your intelligent and informative reply. Hope S. and others thinking along his lines will read it and learn that Sup. Hopkins is not to blame for this situation. Lilith Rogers

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Posted in reply to the post by Ann Onimus:

Has it occurred to you that this encampment is within the City of Santa Rosa?

While constituents in this area have Lynda as their Supervisor, she does not make policy for the city fathers who have moved this camp from one section of the county to another for over 5 years. Homeless Hill, 3rd Street Underpass, Roseland Village, and now the Rodota trail. It’s not new, and most of these folks are from Santa Rosa...and have been chronically homeless for years. Where is your work to hold the City responsible? Why blame the 5th District Supervisor for a national epidemic taking place within city limits. BTW, she is not the boss of the city officials!

Lynda has led efforts to address this crisis, but is stymied by a court injunction that requires appropriate ”housing” for the campers...also, the county just voted to invest $11 million as a result of Lynda’s efforts.

You’re not only mean spirited and not part of any solution, but you lack compassion, humanity, intelligence and awareness.

Fortunately, most voters in the 5th district know how fortunate they are to have such a hard working and intelligent person at the helm. NOT her failure. Period.

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Surely Stuart is feeling concerned and possibly angry, as are many of us, at the situation that Santa Rosa (and thousands of other municipalities across the Country) is having to deal with. Homelessness will more than likely get worse, before it gets resolved. There are so many issues that must be addressed. Moving them is just a temporary bandaid - albeit, an important and necessary one!

But Stuart, blaming Lynda Hopkins is, how can I say this in a nice way... just wrong! I had to laugh when I first saw your post. Recalling our best Supervisor? Are you on FB at all? Please go an read her posts and responses from her constituents. And if you really care about what happens to those that are unfortunate and have to live in a homeless encampment like JR Trail, then join the The Joe Rodota Trail Community Project Group on FB and see how you can help.

Who was it that said, "If you're not part of the Solution, then you're part of the problem"?

Happy New Year!:wink:

Not surprised by the reaction, including outright lies, until finally presenting the FACTS to Barry, the Moderator, and he removed the slander with made up quotes attributed to me when I never even said, wrote or thought those things. He simply said they have been now removed.
Without making any mention of the complete fabrications written on this forum about things I never said.

Now, I am getting personal attacks by someone who does not even know me, "You’re not only mean spirited and not part of any solution, but you lack compassion, humanity, intelligence and awareness."

The utter lies and vehemence of personal attacks here because I am permitted in this society to try express my opinions
In this case, I have started a Recall of a popular figure on this board. I was asked to permit her on the RECALL HOPKINS thread on Nextdoor and I said absolutely! Be polite be courteous, DO NOT LIE, as happened on this forum and not called out. Welcome new ideas, just be civil.

Now to The Main Event: The recall of Hopkins has officially started.
The Occupation is in her jurisdiction
She is the top elected official
She has allowed this to grow to the official "emergency" it now is
She should work for her constituents, not collaborate about staging of events. Yes, open the emails
She has not done her job, She either can't or won't

The questions she has refused to answer, pls ask her to respond to the people paying her $200K/yr
-What is the distance from where you live to the nearest homeless encampment?
-How many people are at that location?
-How many will you, Supervisor, permit on your property with your family ? Will your have a "needle disposable bin" above the reach of your kids? How long will you permit the"occupants" to pee and poop and shoot up in the bushes? Six months like you permitted in our neighborhood

https://www.waccobb.net/forums/wacco..._12-28-23a.png

-Or, if not on your property, how far away is ok? Forty feet like many in our area? Or closer, the folks who had to use garden hoses to douse the explosion this week?

There WILL be a next fire, god forbid, I have had very personal experiences, but if the next one starts at The Occupation its name will be The Hopkins Fire, as the fire dept is being called out on a near daily basis to the Occupation the top elected official has not been able to do anything about.
The RECALL HOPKINS has started officially. She has failed and can't do the job.
Photo from explosion at The Occupation this week, fyi

I understand the frustration and anger. The situation is unpleasant, smelly, and dangerous, among many other things. It's also a false dichotomy to draw between the encampment "occupants" and "constituents." Don't lose sight of the humanity of all of us. You may not realize how fragile your livelihood and other elements of your life really are, and how easy it would be for any single one of us to end up on the street. You may think you would do it with grace, sobriety, good hygiene, and good manners. Chances are you'd find that the environmental and life stressors would make it challenging for you to keep up every good habit and behavior you have when you get to go home to heat, a comfortable bed, your own kitchen and shower, and every other comfort we're afforded when we have a home.

Placing all the responsibility on Supervisor Hopkins is a gross oversimplification. She takes great care to look for consensus and treat all the community members with respect. And I, in turn, have great respect for her for that reason.

Forestvaros: that was a wonderful reply. Please know there are many of us who share your thoughts. There are also many of us who have given quite a bit of our time, money, open-heartedness and even opened our homes to families who do not have them. It's such a complex situation, and it's SO easy to inflame emotions... Ideally we can all try to take a portion of responsibility for our fellow human beings without heavy judgement. It ain't easy :wink: but it can be done. And in our current climate of such intense rancor and divisiveness, it's absolutely *necessary*. ~David

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Posted in reply to the post by forestvaros:

I understand the frustration and anger. The situation is unpleasant, smelly, and dangerous, among many other things. It's also a false dichotomy to draw between the encampment "occupants" and "constituents." Don't lose sight of the humanity of all of us. You may not realize how fragile your livelihood and other elements of your life really are, and how easy it would be for any single one of us to end up on the street. You may think you would do it with grace, sobriety, good hygiene, and good manners. Chances are you'd find that the environmental and life stressors would make it challenging for you to keep up every good habit and behavior you have when you get to go home to heat, a comfortable bed, your own kitchen and shower, and every other comfort we're afforded when we have a home.

Placing all the responsibility on Supervisor Hopkins is a gross oversimplification. She takes great care to look for consensus and treat all the community members with respect. And I, in turn, have great respect for her for that reason.

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Recall effort targets Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, citing Santa Rosa homeless camp
TYLER SILVY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT January 4, 2020, 5:35PM

Frustration over a large unsanctioned homeless camp in west Santa Rosa is fueling a nascent recall effort against first-term Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who is set to defend her seat in the March primary even while fending off the potential recall campaign.

Stuart Kiehl, a Santa Rosa resident who lives near the Joe Rodota Trail homeless camp, filed a notice of intent to recall Hopkins on Thursday with the Registrar of Voters, launching a process fraught with hurdles and one that has been successful in Sonoma County only twice — both times in 1976, when voters recalled liberal, conservation- minded supervisors Charles Hinkle and Bill Kortum.

“I have been ... pushing
for creative solutions”

Kiehl, a charter boat operator and political newcomer, will center his recall effort on the encampment. In his notice, he calls it a “public cesspool” and says Hopkins has allowed it to fester in her district.

“Hopkins is the boss; her jurisdiction, her watch, her failure,” the recall notice reads, in part.

Once served with the notice, which also must run in a legal advertisement, Hopkins will have the opportunity to issue a response, which must be printed together with any petitions circulated for signatures.

Hopkins lamented the cost to taxpayers for such an effort. Deva Proto, the county’s registrar of voters, said a recall election, should it come to that, would cost $250,000 to $400,000.

Hopkins also lamented being singled out for alleged inaction on the camp, pointing to her efforts to fix the growing crisis. In late December, the Board of Supervisors approved nearly $12 million to support short- and long-term shelter and housing options in the works for camp residents.

“I have been the person sticking my neck out there in terms of pushing for creative solutions,” Hopkins said. “I think sometimes when you stick out your neck, it ends up on the chopping block.”

To succeed, Kiehl will need to gather about 8,200 signatures from registered voters within Hopkins’ mostly rural, west county district in just 160 days. The effort would be difficult with volunteers alone, and Kiehl gave no indication he has an organized base of volunteers.

Hiring signature gatherers can run between $4 and $10 per signature, according to Ballotpedia, meaning the effort would need to raise tens of thousands of dollars. Kiehl, who runs a charter boat service out of the San Francisco Bay, has no track record of raising that kind of money.

Hopkins’ paid political consultant, Rob Muelrath, dismissed the recall effort as ill-conceived and misguided.

“Clearly, the person putting up the recall has not been doing their homework,” Muelrath said. “One, there’s an election in March. The second issue that people need to really be aware of is Lynda Hopkins has been one of the strongest leaders in finding solutions.”

The recall process would need to begin before July, as no recall effort can begin within six months of the start of a supervisor’s term, Proto said. And if it doesn’t happen by then, there’s a 90-day grace period beginning Jan. 1, 2021, further putting off any potential recall of Hopkins.

“There would be no way to recall someone before the March election,” Proto said. “That would not work within the legal timelines.”

Continues here

Reposted from Lynda Hopkins' Facebook page by Barry :waccosun:

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In 2020, I didn’t think *I* was the one who was going to be impeached... er, “recalled.”
But recall paperwork has been filed against me.

Is it because I was caught in a scandal? Because I don’t respond to constituent concerns? Because I vote against the interests of the public? Because I was breaking the law?
Nope, nope, nope, and nope.

It seems that a handful of people are starting a recall because, in the three years I’ve been in office, I have failed to single-handedly turn back decades of failed policies at the federal, state, and local level. Namely, I haven’t managed to eliminate homelessness in Sonoma County. And this failure is extremely evident in the encampment that is currently sprawled along the Joe Rodota Trail.

I’m struggling not to see this recall effort through a lens of sexism because I spent nearly an hour on the phone with the recall instigator, Mr. Stuart Kiehl, on Friday night. He accused me of being “weak.” He explained to me that politics is about “fistfights” and that I might not be “cut out” for fistfights. He told me I’ve let the City of Santa Rosa “walk all over me,” and that I’m allowing the Santa Rosa Police to “walk all over me.” He then launched into a Greco-Roman history lesson on the Spartans and the Trojans. (Or was it a lesson on college football mascots? Same difference, I guess.)

According to this worldview, I need to be a man and beat the crap out of other men to solve homelessness. Evidently I should be wielding spears, swords, or javelins on a regular basis, and there should probably be some sort of wall that I can batter through with a hard, long, cylindrical object. (Which begs the question: Is it socially acceptable to don a leotard and vault over the wall instead?)

But I digress. When I attempted to explain to Mr. Kiehl the work that I have put into addressing the Joe Rodota Trail, he interrupted me a half dozen times. When I asked him if he wanted to be part of a solution, he ignored me and went back to complaining about the encampment that I “created.”

I can list so many things that created this encampment. I am one of them; we ALL are one of them. But one person did not create this encampment and one person cannot uncreate it. We all created the encampment, for decades, as we allowed our mental healthcare system to unravel before our eyes, as we let for-profit healthcare companies dole out opioids like candy while they cut back services on the other hand and let vulnerable people slip through the cracks. We all let this happen by failing to address the skyrocketing cost of living, the inadequate retirement support, and the disintegrating societal and family structures that leave people isolated and alone in crisis. The same disintegrating social structures that lead some people to attack and dehumanize others, to treat them no better than dogs. (Actually, we probably treat dogs better. Pet care is a $75B industry in the US, which exceeds funding earmarked for homelessness.)

Look: I get it. I get that people are angry. I get that people are afraid. I get that the current situation is flat-out unacceptable to everyone: to those in the camp, those who live by the camp, and those who want to use the trail.

I actually AGREE with anger. We SHOULD be angry about the Joe Rodota Trail. That anger means we are still human and still alive and still understand right from wrong. That anger and frustration can propel us towards solutions. I’m angry too, and I’m channeling my anger into goal-oriented effort.

But you know what? I’m also sad. I’m sad because rather than build solutions with me, a handful of people just want to burn everything down. I’m sad at the failure of civil discourse. I’m sad that a 73-year-old man comes at me with sexist insults and macho metaphors. There is way too much alpha male posturing in politics. There is way too much aggression and fighting and bluster. We need less of these things, not more.

I’m sad that the world isn’t a better, kinder, more humane place. But guess what? That won’t stop me from trying to make my corner of the world better, kinder, and more humane. Personally, I’m putting down the sword and picking up my knitting. Working together with advocates, neighbors, service providers, and the homeless residents themselves towards solutions — YES, WE CAN.

So: stay tuned, folks. We have already done things to galvanize government action: we declared an emergency. We allocated $12M to address the crisis. We’ve been out surveying county-owned properties with the idea of opening up an alternative place to camp... not 6 months from now, not 3 months from now, but as soon as TWO WEEKS from now. I am planning a public town hall for next weekend so we can explain our plans and answer questions. (Stay tuned for that info, too.) I’ve been working for months on this and I’m excited to announce everything we’ve been working on.

You've really got a thing against the homeless.

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Posted in reply to the post by Press Democrat:

Kiehl has never run a recall or any other political campaign, although he participated in the Wright Area Action Group, a neighborhood organization that rallied against Sam Jones Hall, a nearly 200-bed homeless shelter near the Joe Rodota Trail that was built in 2005, is owned by the city of Santa Rosa and is run by Catholic Charities.

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Posted in reply to the post by Farmer Lynda:

... Mr. Stuart Kiehl, on Friday night. ... accused me of being “weak.” He explained to me that politics is about “fistfights” and that I might not be “cut out” for fistfights. He told me I’ve let the City of Santa Rosa “walk all over me,” and that I’m allowing the Santa Rosa Police to “walk all over me.” He then launched into a Greco-Roman history lesson on the Spartans and the Trojans. (Or was it a lesson on college football mascots? Same difference, I guess.)

According to this worldview, I need to be a man and beat the crap out of other men to solve homelessness. ....

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and yet, like we're seeing from other factions in politics these days, the one calling out for a demonstration of strength is the one whining about being attacked and worried about being victimized by the "Occupiers". Stuart, you still haven't pointed out the heinous defamations you suffered on this site.
Spouting off on sites like this just to work out your anger is one thing; this is just the interweb. But when you actively work to disrupt the career of one of our most helpful politicians, increasing the difficulty of finding any solutions to the problem you purportedly care bout, you've become destructive to the community yourself. Fortunately, I think the overall effect of your efforts, and the publicity they've received in the PD, is going to be that Hopkins will have her work recognized and she will gain support.

Stuart Kiehl has been accused of not doing his homework re. the trail situation. I disagree. To him, his homework consists of rereading his own emails over and over, kinda like the teacher making you stay after school and writing, "I'm mad as hell..." 1000 times.

I'd likely be just as angry if I were living beside the trail and waiting for something to happen. But recalling a Supervisor because she hasn't gone in with a flamethrower doesn't really seem productive. I urge a massive resistance to his petition, along with instant emergency action by city & county & NGO's to address the crisis.

For a start, can someone fund porta-potties at the encampment to address the piss & shit factor? Mr. Kiehl and I both have our own ceramic facilities, but others are not so blest. That's a small start, but at least it might address the claim of defecations on his doorstep.

-Conrad

I very much doubt he will get the 8,200 signatures he needs. But in the meantime, it is distracting you from the work you need to do, distracting all of us from what really needs to be done and wasting time and money.

I always appreciate your reasonable voice on this forum, Conrad. I believe the city has already authorized the placement of 11 porta-potties on the JRT along with a couple of other amenities/necessities, including a regular safety patrol. If they aren't there already, they will be shortly.

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Posted in reply to the post by theindependenteye:

...For a start, can someone fund porta-potties at the encampment to address the piss & shit factor? ...

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The Hopkins personal attacks on me border on unhinged, she called me unexpectedly at night and was upset that I wouldn't offer her "support," now she is desperate and writing weird letters with inaccurate statements about what I actually said, flaming the personal attacks on me, deflecting from her failure and our Occupation.

Divert, Lie, Attack

...and not protecting us and allowed the "Emergency"

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Ms Hopkins,

Let’s deal with truth here please.

I am being vilified because I had the audacity to hold my elected official, you, accountable and responsible for:

• -public masturbation
• -public nudity
• -6 months of people defecating in the bushes
• -6 months of people urinating in the bushes
• -6 months of dogs crapping and peeing along the trail
• -dealing drugs
• -shooting up with needles
• -creating a rat infestation, and Press Democrat word, possible “plague”. PD gave this article on front page priority over a possible real war! Rats, plague.
• -near daily Fire Dept calls to The Occupation
• -documented explosions
• -lowered property values
• -theft and vandalism
• -and making the trail become a Danger Zone

This IS in your jurisdiction. WE are paying you $200K a year for a very basic government function anywhere: Protect your constituents

You have failed miserably

Not only did you not stop this Invasion, you permitted it to grow where it now is an officially declared “Emergency”

So, what are you now doing about it?
Divert, lie and attack, which you did in your personal attack and diatribe.

But we are here, not for your lies and deflection, but for the situation you as the chief elected local official has enabled and permitted to start to destroy our neighborhood.

Our community now has, thanks to you and your City and County colleagues:

• “...disposable needle bins". If you are providing that would it not seem like a good guess that there are a bunch of needles around?
  
• “private security service” We taxpayers are paying for the “occupants” to have private security? From whom? This is insane!
• “protect the well being of the occupants”

etc

WHAT ABOUT THE “WELL BEING” OF THE COMMUNITY???

These are not just official words and acts, these are our taxpayer dollars you are spending to protect the well being of The Invaders over the people that live here, mind their own business, don’t cause problems who just want to live a normal life and we can’t anymore. Because our leader, you, permitted this to grow to an “Emergency"

“Why do they have more rights than us?” asked by one from our community

So, what to do?

Look for our representative. We find her talking and blaming and attacking, but avoiding her responsibility as captain of the ship

She whines that she works hard but can’t get stuff done.

I said she was weak and incompetent because of her blaming others and not getting it done.

Great offense taken, her calling me a sexist, and Zane calling me a misogynist, whom I have never talked to.

I asked Hopkins on what basis I was a sexist and she replied “because you said I was incompetent”

My answer “ well, you are”

This is sexist? I don’t give a hoot about your gender and you are screaming about me, and not the real issue:

YOU HAVE LET US DOWN, YOU HAVE ALLOWED CHAOS AND DANGER, not just in our neighborhood, but the entire region.

This is “ Wine Country?”

You lie about the interruptions in our conversation, and at one point asked “are you there?” And I said, “ I am listening”

Your personal attacks, not true, a diversion to rally the troops to attack me personally on your word, and not accepting responsibility and accountability of command.

Nor the potential Inferno or Infestation you are enabling.

If this had been the dry season, this could have been another disaster

And you are attacking me?

WE live it. You don’t.

• how far away are your children from a homeless encampment?
• how many people at that encampment?
• how many will you permit near your property? 40 feet? 400’? 1000’? a quarter mile?
• how many random people from The Occupation will you take in your neighborhood and that of your vocal supporters?

Since you’ve refused to answer these questions, the answer if obvious. You want to keep your community safe. As do we. But YOU have allowed ours to become The Occupation

Not your community.

OURS

YOU are the NIMBY.

How many homeless will you accept, how close?

Take your share. Yes or no?

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Posted in reply to the post by Stuart:

The Hopkins personal attacks on me border on unhinged,

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man, Stuart, let it go. Are you posting here expecting sympathy or support for your point of view? You're just confirming the criticisms you're getting.

Try reading your post with the eyes of someone who doesn't have preconceived ideas about this situation. You keep referring to how awful it is for you, referring to the people on the trails as the "Occupation" and the "Invasion", never giving even lip service to providing them help, and harping over and over about how you're being attacked, let down, and defamed.

Your position of holding elected officials accountable is actually extremely popular, and before you threw some of the Occupier's detritus in the punchbowl there were more ideas being offered and it looked to me like progress was being made. This is a huge distraction and makes it look like the county's job is defense of the privileged rather than solving the problem of the homeless. One's the side effect, the other's the major issue at hand.

(podfish) Agreed. Stuart, you've made your points many times. If your intention is to try & get a recall, then perhaps you should just focus your energy on that rather than inflaming more. You've got a very long road ahead of you, Lynda has HUGE support in the County & most of us feel she is doing an outstanding job in a very difficult situation.

There is NO easy solution here, and while your anger is understandable, your attacks on the people trying to live on the trail is not helping anything or anyone. We are ALL human beings and deserve respect, kindness, understanding and help--whether you agree with them, or even understand how any of them got there. There are 100s of human stories out there, the same as you and I. If possible, please try and just remember that. ~David~

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Posted in reply to the post by podfish:

man, Stuart, let it go. Are you posting here expecting sympathy or support for your point of view? You're just confirming the criticisms you're getting....

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Stuart,

If I saw you with the petition I would take it and rip it into pieces and throw them in your face. Your wrongheadedness on this has been amazing, beyond the pale. I hope you do not get the needed signatures for this scheme to go a step further.

Woke up last night with this understanding about you, Stuart, and your scheme: It is positively Trumpian!

One thing I don’t see here is discussion of the purpose and actual use of the trail. Trails are part of parks and rec and serve a crucial role in moving people safely from point A to point B. In the case of Joe Rodota Trail, Sam Jones residents down through the years have used the trail (I was a resident in 2011) to reach downtown services safely. St Vincent dePaul’s kitchen, health clinics, Morgan Street Catholic Charities, Senior and disabled services are easily reached when starting at Fulton entrance. The Sonoma County Job Links off Sebastopol is also quickly and conveniently reached from the trail.

Many homeless folk passing through have cleverly used bikes with awesome trailers to haul personal items completely from one end of the trail to the other in search of a resting place well off the trail. Additionally car free people of all ages and backgrounds have been able to safely access schools, work, doctor’s offices, shopping (Stony Point and more) using Rodota. Community Bikes is close to Fulton and very reachable by trail. Transit for out of town trips is an easy ride or walk from anywhere along the trail.

I am not in Hopkins district but as a non car owner who still and forever will use the trail to reach needed places I would sign the petition if I lived in her district. I hope the trail is liberated in six months and restored to its intended purpose.

Taxpayers are going to be furious if we're asked to spend money to recall one of the best supervisors. Nobody doubts Stuart is righteously angry about the filth near his home, but the ad hominem attacks on Lynda are a total turnoff to most people and all Stuart is going to accomplish is a backlash against him. Lynda is a smart, decent, hardworking person. Try to work with her instead of trashing her. You'll get a better result than going medieval.