<html><head><style type='text/css'>p { margin: 0; }</style></head><body><div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000'><div><br></div><div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><font face="Arial" size="3">Dear Editor:</font><div><br><style>p { margin: 0; }</style><div><font face="Arial" size="3" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Recently, I got into a rather ugly email exchange with a county </font><font face="Arial" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">official</font><font face="Arial" size="3" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">. We seemed to disagree on a basis premise. We disagreed that c</font><font face="Arial" size="3">ontested elections for County Treasurer and County Auditor -- at lease once in a while -- is a good thing, a healthy thing for the government and its people. I said yes. This public </font><font face="Arial">official</font><font face="Arial" size="3"> wasn't so sure.</font><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But such is the nature of a democracy, correct? Contested elections. Debates. Public discourse. At least, that's what I was taught in grade school civics class. I was taught that no job in public office is a lifetime appointment...not even t</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">he jobs of County Treasurer and County Auditor.</span><div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><br></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;">Indeed, we should encourage contested elections, if for no other reason than to have a public debate about the issues that most concern us.</span><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial;"><br></div><div><font face="Arial">For the occasional citizen, highly committed to run for public office, and with the time and money to run for office, it is healthy for county government to run against any incumbent, including Treasurer or Auditor.</font><br><div><div><div><div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial" size="3"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial" size="3">For most other citizens, it is healthy for county government to be informed, to bring critical thinking to the issues of the day, to form well-reasoned opinions,</font><font face="Arial"> and to be public and outspoken about their opinions. </font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">And be outspoken! Be outspoken in op-ed pieces at newspapers, at public affairs shows on the radio</font><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, </span><font face="Arial" style="font-size: 12pt;">at community television in Ukiah and on the Coast, at the bi-monthly Board of Supervisor meetings, at the monthly meetings of the Retirement Board, at the quarterly Treasury Pool meetings, which have finally opened up to the public, and </font><span style="font-size: 12pt;">at the various other, often obscure board and commission</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">meetings throughout the county, which have always been open to the public but which are rarely well-attend, i.e., Local Area Formation Commision (LAFCo), Mendocino Council of Governments (MCOG), school districts, water districts, the college district, and other special districts.</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And what of my opinions? </span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is what I believe: I am adamant in my belief that </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">socially responsible investing is a good thing</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. I am equally adamant that </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">public banking is a good thing</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. And I am adamant that </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">a county-wide moratorium on robo-foreclosures is a good thing.</i></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">Some may disagree with those beliefs, but would they disagree that a public discussion on these issues and other issues of public finance is a good thing?</font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">Bear in mind, disagreement with public officials is not a public referendum on them. They shouldn't take disagreement personally. Public comments are almost always motivated to make our beloved Mendocino County a better place to live, work, and raise our kids. </font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">Years ago, I, among other critics of county government, weighed in on our undocumented Teeter debt...very little was disclosed, and even less was documented, not even a promissory note of Teeter debt.</font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">I also weighed in on the undisclosed and improper diversions of county contributions from the pension system, and on the abuses of our excess earnings policy...to the detriment of county workers and taxpayers, alike.</font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">Much has changed, of course. Things got better. But there's still more work to do. I'll explain. </font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">We are a poor, rural county, with no population growth and no tax revenue growth. Our underground economy -- the engine of our economy -- is collapsing as neighboring states decriminalize marijuana, and, hence, the wholesale price of that commodity is falling like any other commodity where there is an over-supply. Our poverty is real. We live in a county where one out of every two residents is eligible for Food Stamps, and one out of every four or five residents are Medi-Cal recipients. </font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">The health of our county suffers as a result of this poverty. There is a direct link between our county's poor finances and our county's poor health, particularly mental health, and drug and alcohol abuse. </font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">At the April 23 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, we heard that the rate of substantiated child abuse or neglect here in Mendocino County is 19.1 kids per 1,000. This is twice the State of California average of 9.0 kids per 1,000. We heard that during the last year alone, five kids have been either killed or seriously hurt while "in the system" at County Health and Human Services. </font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">Indeed, it is my guess that in the closed session of the </font>April 23 meeting of the <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Board of Supervisors that the Board settled at least one of those cases quietly out of court. </span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial">What remains "unsettled"? </font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What remains unsettled is the direct link between our county's poor finances and our county's poor health, particularly mental health, and drug and alcohol abuse.</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><font face="Arial"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial"><font size="3">Hence, we need responsible, committed, </font><font size="3">civic-minded people to run in what would be otherwise uncontested elections. </font></font></div><div><font face="Arial"><font size="3"><br></font></font></div><div><font face="Arial"><font size="3">Run to stimulate public debate. Run to bring the obscure workings of government into the light of day. </font></font></div><div><font face="Arial"><font size="3"><br></font></font></div><div><font face="Arial"><font size="3">Run to help relieve the poverty and suffering of Mendocino County through </font></font><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">right-sizing government, containing rapidly escalating county pension and health costs, public banking (a county-owned bank), sustainable economic development, transparency</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> and accountability in financial disclosure, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;">socially responsible investing,</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">a moratorium</span><font face="Arial" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> on robo-foreclosures, and the realignment of state and federal resources to the county, particularly in the areas of law enforcement, corrections, probation, drug and alcohol treatment, child protective services, and other key health and human services. </font></div><div><font face="Arial" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">I pray these candidates come forward.</font></div><div><font face="Arial" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><br></font></div><div><font face="Arial" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">John Sakowicz</font></div><div><font face="Arial" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Ukiah</font></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><br></div></div><div><br></div><style><!--
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