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Boonville
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Ukiah
Willits
Dan Hamburg on the Future
of Mendocino County
March 1, 2009 by William P. Meyers
Former Congressman Dan Hamburg let me know he would be in Point Arena on Wednesday, February 25, 2008. We met at the Coast Community Library. Joining us were Dan's wife Carrie, my wife Jan Edwards, and our friend Kenny Jowers.
Of course I wanted to know if Dan was really planning to run for a seat on the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. He said he intends to run, but is not ready to officially declare his candidacy at this point. The primary for the election is not until June 2010. Most people don't think about elections right after we have just had one, but if you are running for office, you need to make that decision early.
Dan was on the Board of Supervisors in the 1980's repesenting the Ukiah area. He now lives in the Fifth district, which represents the coast north to the town of Mendocino, and then inland almost all the way to Ukiah.
Dan was elected to Congress after winning the Democratic Party primary in 1992. In 1994 he was defeated when he sought re-election. That was the year of the great Republican surge, at a time when there was a much higher percentage of registered Republicans in this district.
I asked him why he wanted to return to political office after all the years away from it.
Dan pointed out that he has remained very active in a non-profit role. He worked to pass Measures G and H and on the campaign that opposed Measure B. He says he enjoys politics.
He is concerned about the governance of Mendocino County and its economy. He is known as a committed environmentalist, but believes some types of economic development in our county could be very positive. The economic development strategies currently being pursued in the county are flawed, he said.
Another motivation has been the repercussions in our county of the Patriot Act and other infringements on our civil liberties. Dan believes that the government of the county should not aid the Federal government when it is violating the rights of our citizens.
We talked about the problems of small scale businesses in the County. Kenny, who owns a gym and two pizza restaurants, explained how difficult it is to run a retail establishment in an area (the south Mendocino Coast) with very few people visiting during the winter months. Two other area restaurants have permanently closed this winter.
The role of marijuana in the local economy was discussed. Kenny acknowledged that the fall harvest season is a good time for local stores. People have cash and tend to spend it freely. The down side is that it is hard to compete with the marijuana growers for labor, plus the atmosphere of fear sometimes associated with illegal herb production.
We also talked about how important seniors are to the area's economy. We have a high proportion of residents who are retired. They are a mainstay of local markets. They also do a lot of volunteer work in the community.
Young people leaving the area because of the lack of good local jobs was specifically mentioned by Dan Hamburg as why he wants a different style of development in the county. One idea (brought up by Jan) was the need for a four-year college in Mendocino County. Colleges tend to create opportunities in there areas because of the availability of highly skilled graduates. It would keep education and tax dollars in the county and would help encourage local students to stay in school for a full college degree.
Dan was impressed by Coast Community Library. The library was built by volunteers and with funds raised in the community. It has wonderful lighting and is quite spacious for a town the size of Point Arena. The library was donated to the Mendocino County Library System so that it could make a wider variety of books available to our area.
Text of Measure B for June 2008 Mendocino County election ballot
