Everything Southern Humboldt and more
It was brought to my attention by email from a Dillingham supporter. Regardless of my leanings, I am an equal-opportunity events notice poster and when I am sent a candidate’s event information I will post without a negative comment in the O.P.
The event will begin at the Romano Gabriel Sculpture Garden at 315 2nd St, in Eureka on April 7 starting at 12:30.
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Sohum Parlance II 
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April 7, 2022 at 3:58 pm
Anonymous
The kickoff event included a strong endorsement from Mark Lovelace.
Maybe this was already common knowledge, at least among local politicos, but it was news to me, and at least a bit of a surprise.
Taken together with the Madrone and Wilson’s votes to censure Paz Dominguez, Lovelace’s endorsement of Dillingham seems to go against the grain of the “progressives vs good ol’ boys” narrative.
https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2022/apr/7/cheryl-dillingham-officially-announces-bid-auditor/
April 7, 2022 at 5:30 pm
Jon Yalcinkaya
Lovelace now works for Weed Inc. I think with the upcoming *knocks wood* flip of the BOS we are going to have to figure out a new way to frame our choices in County and local elections. Good Ole Boys (often locals) vs liberal/progressive (often transplants or HSU-affiliated) isn’t going to cut it anymore, at least not in the 3rd and 4th.
April 7, 2022 at 6:48 pm
Anonymous
So in just a few short years, Lovelace has been transformed from beloved progressive supervisor / environmental champion to “Weed, Inc” bête noire?
Wow, quite a ride!
Anyway, I should have known better — obviously No True Progressive could possibly oppose Paz Dominguez, as the mere act of doing so would instantly render them non-progressive.
Thus any endoresement of Dillingham by a well known progressive doesn’t count as such, because it means they aren’t one.
Voila, Epistemic Closure achieved!
April 8, 2022 at 4:51 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
‘So in just a few short years, Lovelace has been transformed from beloved progressive supervisor / environmental champion to “Weed, Inc” bête noire?“
Nope, he did it in a day bringing, imo, his entire tenure on the Board (wrt Weed Inc) in question. This (my comment above) is not about Karen, it is about Mark. I know it’s difficult for you to understand given you have your angle (and presumably your candidate) and are ready to pounce.
Mark was a the stalwart Supervisor on the Board during the general plan update. He was one liberal against four pro development, anti regulation votes. But given he decided to go to work for the one industry that has both substantial political power and the capacity to do irreparable harm to Humboldt’s environment and community, for me, it calls into question our local political power structure.
Who do we have who is committed to defending the local environment instead of our local economy and is willing to be antagonistic to the industry that dangles jobs and tax revenue in front of the BOS regulators who have ultimate (local) power over our shared Humboldt commons?* That’s the question going forward, imo, once the BOS (🤞🏻) is flipped.
And case in point I found it noteworthy that after the BOS gave Weed Inc. a 85% tax break Wilson, the next week said he favored a lower reduction. He didn’t make the case at the time under pressure from both Rex Bohn, the united and coordinated public comment showing by Weed Inc and Bass’ 3rd vote. I feel like he heard from his constituents and had to do what he could to save face when we needed him to make the case during the prior session. (Madrone fairly consistently lobbied for a 50% tax break.)
*I do feel compelled to have to mention another prominent local political figure who flipped – Natalynne DeLapp who once worked for a local environmental group and now is probably the most prominent lobbyist for Weed Inc., or as she would like to spin it, for Humboldt’s farmers.
As far as Karen goes, yes I’m unabashedly pro-Karen. Like Eric I’ll freely admit I’m biased. I’m biased b/c of who she is as a person and an activist but also, as a full time County employee, I know she is right and is fighting a good fight of being an independent actor in an organization that desperately needs one.
April 8, 2022 at 5:16 am
humboldturtle
I worked with Lovelace on a community group opposing a development at one time. His way of operating, his “modus operandi”, was sneaky, two-faced and self-serving. In short, a sell-out. He is most assuredly one of the trolls at LOCO. KPD is on to something, and this group of self-dealers wants here to stop it real, real bad.
April 8, 2022 at 5:28 am
Anonymous
What exactly is it that Mark Lovelace is doing for “Weed, Inc.” that is so objectionable? Is he somehow helping them break or skirt the law?
It’s a sincere question — I haven’t followed his career since he left the Board of Supervisors, and am genuinely surprised to find that he is now “on the outs” with at least some part of the local “progressive” political world.
As far as Paz Dominguez, unlike you, I don’t have a strong personal or political connection to her, and was originally inclined to believe that at least a good deal of the criticism of her performance really was a simple matter of conservative vs progressive poltiical maneuvering.
However, as time has passed and her office continues to miss deadlines and appear paralyzed by drama and poor communication, while at the same time her excuses and accusatory rhetoric have continued to grow more strident while the evidence she offers to justify them remains paltry, I have grown more skeptical that the criticisms of her performance mostly about progressive vs conservative or insider vs outsider dynamics.
My original comment relates to the latter, noting that some prominent individiuals — namely Madrone, Wilson and Lovelace — who (I think) most rank-and-file self-described “progressives” in Humboldt would consider progressive allies, do not appear impressed with Paz Dominguez’s performance either.
Your response seems to boil down to, if they don’t support Paz Dominguez, it’s becuase they’re not real “progressives” anymore. In Lovelace’s case, due to some (unspecified) corruption by “Weed, Inc” and in the case of Wilson and Madrone, for reasons not yet articulated even as vaguely as the criticisms of Lovelace.
Seems like a bit of a “No True Scotsman” dynamic. Progressives aren’t supporting her? Then they can’t be progressives: Problem solved.
April 8, 2022 at 5:38 am
Anonymous
More concisely, I kind of thought the battle lines for this election on this were going to fall pretty much along “good ol’ boys” / conservatives vs “reformers” / progressives lines — which is how it appeared, at least from the outside — to be stacking up for quite a while — and I’m genuinely surprised that this doesn’t seem to be the case, at least not entirely.
I find this interesting and wonder if it’s a significant development and if so how it may impact the outcome of the election.
April 8, 2022 at 5:44 am
humboldturtle
Labels are just labels. The framing of this race is Accountability v. Corruption. My own accountant, who was also my mother’s accountant, is about as conservative as they come – I mean, a real conservative, not some bullshit Republican version. He and others acquainted with KPD have told me the same thing: she is competent and being scapegoated for trying to do her job the way it is supposed to be done. Add to this the CAO and our POS BOS needing to cover up God Only Knows What, and it does not bring out my older-life progressivism; it brings out the warrior reformer of my younger days. You can write your bullshit about has-been politicians and your gobbledy-gook theories, but Good v. Evil is still a factor in this world. Oh, did I say go fuck yourself?
April 8, 2022 at 6:20 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
“What exactly is it that Mark Lovelace is doing for “Weed, Inc.” that is so objectionable? Is he somehow helping them break or skirt the law?”
A) I don’t know anon. B) Of course not.
My information is based on a short interview where he mentioned his employer in passing. I don’t even know the name of the employer but to the best of my recollection it was involved with Weed Inc,
Outside of my interest in regulating Weed Inc which I’ve written about on here since Summer 2013, for me anon this is about capitalism, our extreme society and something we don’t have any means of regulating – the revolving door from access to government to any industry that pays a premium to understand that access.
I don’t question that Karen is willing to take the difficult path to do what she thinks is right, even if I might not agree with her at all times. With Mark’s post government career I do now question who he was given the little information I have about his current career.
And btw I think we also have to be cognizant that we don’t have a public interest media that covers post-public office accountablity. Public perception wrt ethics and influence doesn’t matter after the last day behind the dais, and that a huge problem for both our community and our society at large.
“Your response seems to boil down to, if they don’t support Paz Dominguez, it’s becuase they’re not real “progressives” anymore.”
That’s your take on what I’m saying, my distain for Lovelace, admittedly perhaps unfair given limited information, is based on the little I know about his post-BOS career and what it tells me about his priorities. To be fair he has every right to do what he likes to do and/or what is best for his family, but in candidates we need people to understand what ales us and for me it’s the powers of the private sector to influence our interest in our shared commons. (He also has every right to support his candidate for A/C.)
As an aside here is the same issue that just came up on my Twitter feed. The subject of the influence of money over power before, during and after public service is a major difference in the Biden/Clinton wing of our party and the Sanders/Warren wing.
April 8, 2022 at 6:33 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
As an aside, I just realized that character *does* have a great deal to do with whom I support for office, it’s just not what we usually talk about when evaluating character.
April 8, 2022 at 6:37 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
And just to make it clear. It’s not about Lovelace or any former public office holder using their influence to break or skirt laws but using that influence to change laws and/or prevent better ones against the broader, and often unpopular, broad public interest.
April 8, 2022 at 6:51 am
Mitch
Indeed, character does matter. And character is sprinkled across the entire political spectrum, where it even served to prevent some Republicans from falling down the trump rabbit hole to fascism.
April 8, 2022 at 8:01 am
Henchman Of Justice
Taken together with the Madrone and Wilson’s votes to censure Paz Dominguez, Lovelace’s endorsement of Dillingham seems to go against the grain of the “progressives vs good ol’ boys” narrative. ~ Jon
that makes zero understanding…opposite makes more sense…
The only point on the censure vote is twofold:
A) The BOS is privy to information the outside world knows not of… yet, if ever…
B) the vote is likely a step in the process for future litigation liability protection…Supes turning a blind eye to a complaint(s) is not a good look to be fair…
Taking a personnel matter and painting it partisan is absolutely irresponsible and not indicitive of the real goings on… that certain individuals ONLY are banging heads…
The information that has come out can be partially spun at this time, while other information (like Paz only getting a copy of redacted complaint, her video and Lost Coast claim of getting an unredacted complaint copy) is “eye-opening”…
Wait for State Report to be “let out the starting gate”…
Until then, personal experience indicates that what Paz experiences is not uncommon with local government employees… and the Supes reasons for voting the way they did individually, welp…let them explain it personally or forever be queued as not being transparent on personnel matters…
April 8, 2022 at 8:11 am
Henchman Of Justice
Jon, admirable admission of guilt as a voter…👍
You just realized what millions upon millions of voters are so chicken-shit to admit…they casted a bad vote…
…it is what happens when voters are too lazy to research far and wide a candidates character,
and the lack of empathy for innocent candidates who are defamed and slandered by media, political and social organizations on the attack…
…often because a preferred outsider/insider snake is running…
April 8, 2022 at 8:21 am
Henchman Of Justice
…and lest not forget “appraisals” in the accounting data… talk about “fudging math”…
April 8, 2022 at 4:04 pm
Anonymous
So Jon, basically it sounds like you have no idea what Lovelace is doing, whether it’s constructive or destructive to “our interest in our shared commons,” but you decided to go ahead and make a really negative judgement, based on virtually no information.
Which is your prerogative, of course. And I hold no brief for Lovelace, other that to note that he always seemed like a sincere believer in the things he stood for when he served on the Board of Supervisors, and so I would be a bit surprised if his current work was a matter of “selling out.” But I would have to know more about what he actually does for his clients in the cannabis industry, which is information you obviously don’t have.
In any event. none of this really addresses the point I was raising, which is that it seems like the A/C race may not really be lining up as “good ol’ boys” / conservative vs “reformers” / progressive lines, at least not to the extent that it has long been portrayed as by Paz Dominguez’s supporters…including, if I am not mistaken, yourself.
Unless, again, folks like Lovelace, Madrone and Wilson are now widely considered to be on the “good ol’ boys” / conservative side of things. Which I would find very surprising, to say the least.
If so, then I’m not sure who the “bona fide progressives” are supposed to be anymore, other than supposedly Paz Dominguez and her close supporters.
Is supporting Paz Dominguez and her crusade against the Humboldt Deep State now the key litmus test for being considered a True Progessive in Humboldt?
April 8, 2022 at 5:33 pm
Anonymous
Wow, I missed this, from Humboldt Turtle earlier…
“I worked with Lovelace on a community group opposing a development at one time. His way of operating, his “modus operandi”, was sneaky, two-faced and self-serving. In short, a sell-out. He is most assuredly one of the trolls at LOCO. KPD is on to something, and this group of self-dealers wants here to stop it real, real bad.
and this…
“The framing of this race is Accountability v. Corruption…she is competent and being scapegoated for trying to do her job the way it is supposed to be done. Add to this the CAO and our POS BOS needing to cover up God Only Knows What…You can write your bullshit about has-been politicians and your gobbledy-gook theories, but Good v. Evil is still a factor in this world. Oh, did I say go fuck yourself?”
Wow. So, Loovelace is a “sneaky, two-faced,” “self-serving” “sellout;” this is about “Good vs Evil” in the form of (unspecified, of course) “corruption” by the entire “piece of shit” Board of Supervisors, including Wilson and Madrone, covering up “God Only Knows What.”
I was half-joking before about the “Humboldt Deep State” thing, but this rhetoric really does fit that description.
Maximalist rhetoric about the depth of alleged wrongdoing and the breadth and insidiousness of the alleged conspiracy engaged in it, backed by no actual facts supporting either dimension.
All that would be needed to go full Trumper would be some chants of “lock them up!” directed at the “POS BOS” for their (unspecified) “crimes.”
April 9, 2022 at 4:00 am
humboldturtle
Again with the attempts to frame this election as something it is not. Lovelace served eight years on the board and now he wants to get rid of the Auditor/Controller who is looking back at his work product. This election is about a competent auditor being slammed for trying to do her job right.
April 9, 2022 at 5:26 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
No HOJ I didn’t cast a bad vote. If I live in the 3rd I still would have voted for Lovelace over the alternative. That’s the bit that I guess it’s difficult for many to really get, and it’s not just yourself. Choices are limited, usually coming down to just 2 for any office and as PA points out Lovelace served, all things considered, nobly and well. If we had 2 more Lovelaces on the board, the guiding principles of the GPU and the GPU itself, would not have been mangled, in the name of democracy (yet to serve special interests), to incentivize the private sector to protecting resources instead of simply holding that as the role of our government.
If the government isn’t charged with protecting our resources, even when on land that is privately owned, who exactly is?
And I’m sure Lovelace is now doing a similar decent (& well paid) job helping to guide and create a legal landscape for Weed Inc.
But Weed Inc.’s interests are not mine and nor do they represent the interests or priorities of the overwhelming majority of Humboldt residents except as local government revenue providers and job creators. I’m touched that many growers want to do the right thing, kudos to them, but they are not entitled to make money while figuring out if the industry *as a whole, as a type with full understanding how capitalism works* is sustainable in our dry, vulnerable, isolated hills.
And yes, I’m disappointed in Lovelace and yes it is based on very little information but it is also informed with a deep understanding of how our system works. “Sell out” is a word we used to use as teenagers to describe that moment that our favorite band commercialized their unique sound. It was usually inevitable based either on onerous record label contracts or greed. Perhaps not a phrase I’d use but it definitely describes the nature of the revolving door for government insider to the most cash-rich, or growth-heavy industry. In Humboldt’s case Weed Inc. is the equivalent of Wall Street and it sure sounds to me, based on his employer, like Lovelace used his expertise gained as Supervisor to support Weed Inc. in whatever their goals are rather than fighting or working for the rest of us.
But PA your 5:38 yesterday is exactly right. That’s what I’m saying too. In this election (and imo going forward) it isn’t the Good Ole boys vs liberals/progressives.
However, what you haven’t admitted to in this thread is Paz Dominguez’ opponent has all or most of the Good Ole Boys on their side including, from the looks of the LoCO video, Bohn, Bass and Newman. What Dillingham may not have is many of the anti-tax anti-government populist (ie voting) right. We’ll see because with liberals like Lovelace (and I’m guessing yourself and Wilson but not Madrone) voting for Dillingham, not to mention 3 years of bad press egged on by a County establishment that is set in its ways, Paz Dominguez will need help outside our usual left/liberal alliance.
April 9, 2022 at 5:28 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
Hear hear Turtle.
April 9, 2022 at 5:41 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
“Is supporting Paz Dominguez and her crusade against the Humboldt Deep State now the key litmus test for being considered a True Progessive in Humboldt?”
You tied yourself in knots to get to this question and you used capital letters for the left/liberal alliance so you likely know the answer, but the answer is of course no. There is no purity test, but Paz Dominguez is serving the County well and making sure she gets re-elected and her department is adequately staffed benefits our County.
April 9, 2022 at 5:52 am
Anonymous
Again with the vague accusations of corruption, without any evidence to back them up.
Lovelace endorses Paz Dominguez’s opponent, so it must be because she’s “on to something” related to “his work product.”
But what is she “on to?” Well, “God only knows.” But surely there must be something!
It couldn’t possibly be that Lovelace just thinks she’s doing a lousy job and thinks her opponent would do a better job.
April 9, 2022 at 6:10 am
Anonymous
“But PA your 5:38 yesterday is exactly right. That’s what I’m saying too. In this election (and imo going forward) it isn’t the Good Ole boys vs liberals/progressives.”
And that’s all I was getting at with my origninal comment upthread.
I found it interesting because up until very recently, Good Ole Boys / conservativs vs reformers / progressives is how it’s most frequently been framed by Paz Dominguez’s supporters, and to a large extent still is.
But recently hat seems to have changed a bit, at least among Paz Dominguez’s closest / most vociferous supporters, to a broader conceptualization of a near-universal “Deep State” web corruption, artiiculated most colorfully by Paz Dominguez superfan Thomas Edrington in his remarkable Facebook rant, and specifically applied here to Mark Lovelace by Humboldt Turtle.
In this new framing, ALL Paz Dominguez’s opponents, now including Mark Lovelace, are broad-brushed as part of a conspiracy seeking her outster in order to cover up their alleged (and always unspecified) acts of corruption.
April 9, 2022 at 6:18 am
humboldturtle
I have never met Karen Paz Dominguez. I have met the others, and am for her re-election 100%. PA, my guess is I have met you, too. GFY.
April 9, 2022 at 6:22 am
Anonymous
In case anyone hasn’t seen it, here’s Edrington’s Facebook screed, which is…really something.
Once upon a time, I did a lot of political things. I built up a certain set of skills and knowledge that amounted to a range of weaponry on the battlefield of ideas from siegebreaking artillery to a poisoned king’s chalice. I put them away, because I didn’t like the person they made me when I wielded them.
I erased myself for a while from society, lived a while as a cannabis outlaw, and then retired to Humboldt County for peaceful, quiet life on a farm.
Life is what happens when you’re making other plans. Eventually I was asked to dust off those old political tools in service of cannabis legalization. I did. I dug into this County’s guts with a few other geniuses and we moved the needle 10 years in 6 months. I was given (and sometimes extracted) assurances that the County could and would act as good partners to my friends, colleagues, and honored elders willing to engage with them in good faith. When the job was done, I set aside the weapons once again and set about supporting my community and found family through the transition into a regulated cannabis market.
We’ve seen the history written before our eyes. Through incompetence and malfeasance the County has done irreparable damage to our cannabis farmers. They failed to honor their promises to me, to you, and to our neighbors. In doing so, they made all the work I had done a lie. They had made a liar out of me.
I’m an Eagle Scout. I take that pretty goddamn personally. Since then I’ve been watching. Mapping social networks. Monitoring anomalous datapoints in County finance and policy. Last year I began an onslought of public records requests, and had to pull teeth from the CAO’s office to get them to even begin to process them. They knew what I was fishing for.
I wasn’t the only one fishing. While I was just casting lines from the shore I spotted a lady in the middle of the water, who knew where all the fish were.
When Karen Paz Dominguez used her 3 minutes of public time on her lunch break as a county staffer to raise a red flag from the Auditor Controller’s office, and then had the audacity to run to fix it, I knew there was going to be a much better way to catch fish. All I had to do was watch her, and they’d all come to bite. Why waste worms?
Shockingly, she was elected. An honest politician won the race. I love it when I’m wrong. But I also loved that it if I was going to be fishing for corruption, she would be both bait and sonar as AC. I never had to approach her, and if I had it’d have spooked the fish. But every shot she’s taken from every lazy, corrupt, or incompetent county department has been a data point. I spent years watching her in the water, keeping my shadow on land, and crafting myself a great big fucking net.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, they all fell right into the net. At her report on the controversial unclosed books, KPD announced that the books remained closed because she wouldn’t certify under penalty of perjury that a laundry list of financial mismanagement had been reconciled. Honest politicians, ladies and gentlemen! The system doesn’t even know what to do with them anymore. One by one the fish lined up to pile under my net.
During her presentation I had planned to call in for public comment. As she listed their sins, I got my keys, intending to drive down to the goddamn courthouse and look them in the eyes so they could see the rage. And then when she got to the parts about gouging cannabis farmers at the planning department and failing to COUNT THEIR GODDAMN TAX MONEY, SO NOW THAT THEY’VE BEEN SUED FOR ILLEGALLY OVERTAXING THEY CAN’T COMPLY WITH THE COURT ORDERED REFUND I GOT TOO MAD TO FUCKING DRIVE.
okay. deep breaths. goosefrabba.
And then those fucking amateurs asked her the question, in chambers, on record, in public, live and webcast. The question you *absolutely do not ask in public* when you’re trying to minimize and discredit getting called out unless you’re a complete rube.
“Do you have documented evidence of any of this?”
“Yes. All of it.” I’d watched KPD enough by then to know she doesn’t bluff. Like, not as a choice. She’s physically incapable of not reflexively blurting out the truth. It’s painful to watch sometimes. This time, it made me laugh like a maniac. Instead of a public comment, I pulled the net. As soon as it was asked and answered in chambers, it was public record, and up for grabs.
By the time she had finished saying, “I could just post it all to the County AC’s website” I had logged into the public request system with the following:
“This request is for the aggregation of documents referenced by Karen Paz Dominguez during the Humboldt County Supervisors’ Meeting on 3/1/2022, Agenda Item 22-155. Specifically, all documents concerning fiscal discrepancies within departments, and properly redacted whistleblower statements.”
After the autoresponse confirmed receipt, I sent a followup message:
“As a note, given the County’s auto-response, I’d like to very clearly specify that I’d like this handled as exclusively by the Auditor Controller’s office as is possible within process. This especially includes redaction of potential whistleblower personal information, given the nature of the documents referenced.”
You see, I knew by the creak of every chair in the room on the video feed that none of those fucking grifters wanted any of those documents made public. That chorus of chair squeaks was every sphincter in the room puckering and told me that they were going to throw everything they could at her to try to keep that information from coming out, especially since it’s an election year and if they stalled long enough they could install a stooge and put everything back underwater.
I watched and waited for the data bomb to drop while they did everything I predicted they’d try, media smears, ad hominem attacks, and bureaucratic sabotage. I expected high school lunch room level politics and they didn’t surprise me one bit.
So, then it was time to approach KPD. In every photograph where she had a drink, she had a Coke. So I dropped off a case of it (the good stuff in the curved bottles, not the high fructose crap, cuz I’m classy) with a note thanking her for all the time filling records requests, and that the public supported her. Because she’ll end up reading this, don’t worry. Those cost $24.50, well below the limit for a reportable gift to an elected official.
A few days later, I called the ACs office to arrange a meeting regarding PRA 22-194. On March 10th, KPD made time for me to come and look at the first in a pile of documents that made my eyes pop. She explained how much there was, and the first hints of what some of it meant for 5 hours over deep fried oreos. At 1am I left her office on fire with rage.
PRA 22-194 is a Book of Sins. I’ve been digging into it for days, and I’m only scraping the surface. It documents a public employee retirement account opened with fraudulent actuarial statement that cost the county millions, the County Administrator making unauthorized changes to the county’s books, unmonitored department bank accounts, cash mismanagement, and that’s just what I’ve been able to wrap my head around so far. It documents the Treasurer’s abject failure to follow even the most basic cash handling procedures when it comes *specifically* to cannabis farmers and their taxes, leading to thousands being stolen out of my community with no plan on how to return the money.
Folks, I cannot express my rage in words. Actions will have to suffice. I am once again taking up the old, bloodstained tools. I’m going to make them hurt. And I invite you to come with me.
This data is dense, far ranging, and difficult to contextualize. Please dig into it. Organize it. Find the connections. Add context and timelines. Send it to your friends. Tag a journalist you know, here or abroad. Tell your community. It’s citizen homework time. They fucked around with our money. They had the opportunity to work with and honest Auditor Controller as a colleague to get all this done and still save face. Now they get to find out.
There’s no saving face with me. There’s no working it out. There’s no getting along to get by. There’s no leverage, no threat, and no incentive they can bring to bear that will save them from me. I will root out every rotten department head, every lazy bureaucrat, and every elected official whose incompetence and malfeasance turned my advocacy for my community into a lie. No exceptions. No prisoners.
Full disclosure, I’m going to be donating, volunteering, and voting for KPD. I don’t speak for her, her office, or her campaign though. She’s way too nice to do what I’m going to do.
April 9, 2022 at 6:24 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
Agreed PA – but I never said he was corrupt. You don’t have to be corrupt to support a system which does not have a means to prevent us from valuing profit, and our own salary or prestige, over other interests.
Many people will vote with him (and Bass, Bohn & Newman), apparently including yourself. I’ve explained why, prior to you bringing up Lovelace’s endorsement as significant to you, why the credibility I give Lovelace changed dramatically. In short, like Pelosi, he is a capitalist in good standing. Given the high regard I had for him as a Supervisor this leaves me wondering who (or what) exactly in our society is responsible for minding the store of all those aspects of our society that don’t turn a profit.
Pelosi: “I have to say we (Democrats) are capitalists”
If we are, then the revolving door from government to industry isn’t a bug, it’s a feature and that is a deadly problem for Humboldt, our nation and the globe if *both* American parties believe this to be true.
April 9, 2022 at 6:25 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
(Agreement was with the 6:10 comment)
April 9, 2022 at 6:26 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
Sorry, agreement was with the 5:52.
April 9, 2022 at 6:44 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
Also agree with the 6:10. I don’t know who Edrington is but I don’t need to read past “cannabis outlaw” to know he also wont have credibility with me but I’ll take his vote for KPD (btw thankfully it will count exactly the same as Lovelace’s will). PA, you and I agree that if Paz Dominguez wins, in what I think must be considered an upset given the TS coverage over the past 3 years, it will be with a unique coalition of voters.
I think this makes sense because her goal is to bring transparency to government spending. Good governance lefties like me and right wing anti-tax anti government voters can agree on this, especially as the establishment County admin has it in for her.
I’m not part of that Lovelace conspiracy theory but I do think Lovelace is wrong as Bass and Bohn have been throughout this process. If they had supported giving her office the staff she needed for her higher value accounting of our budget, we wouldn’t have had half the headaches we’ve had over the past 3 years.
April 9, 2022 at 6:45 am
Anonymous
“Agreed PA – but I never said he was corrupt.”
To clarify, I was responding there to HumboldtTurtle’s comments, including:
“The framing of this race is Accountability v. Corruption…she is competent and being scapegoated for trying to do her job the way it is supposed to be done. Add to this the CAO and our POS BOS needing to cover up God Only Knows What.”
“Lovelace served eight years on the board and now he wants to get rid of the Auditor/Controller who is looking back at his work product.”
“KPD is on to something, and this group of self-dealers wants here to stop it real, real bad.”
I’m not sure how else one could possibly interpret this other than as an accusation (or to put it charitably, an insinuation-on-steroids) that Lovelace engaged in corrupt activities as a member of the Board of Supervisors, and that he has endorsed Paz Dominguez’s opponent in hopes that if she is defeated her successor will protect him by covering up his (and his colleague’s) corrupt acts.
April 9, 2022 at 6:58 am
humboldturtle
Jon, hear-hear back for “…I never said he was corrupt”.
Propaganda techniques deserve attention. Supporting accountability is the same thing as fighting corruption. Voters want Accountability over Corruption.
It is not the same thing as accusing someone of criminal behavior.
April 9, 2022 at 7:08 am
Anonymous
“Propaganda techniques deserve attention”
Indeed. And making vague accusations of corruption, “self-dealing,” and cover-up (without providing any evidence, of course), while stopping just short of directly accusing the individual(s) of specific crimes (which would require evidence) is a prime example of a particularly slimy propaganda technique.
April 9, 2022 at 7:14 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
I don’t agree with every accusation or statement Karen Paz Dominguez has said at supervisor meetings either, but it’s a matter in your case PA, along with the BOS, of missing the forest for the trees. I understand office politics writ large as I work at the County, office politics aside KPD is a force of nature and an incredible asset to our County.
April 9, 2022 at 7:31 am
Anonymous
I guess we’ll see whether the majority of voters agree that making a bunch of vague but sinister-sounding accusations of corruption and malfeasance but never actually backing them up with evidence, while at the same time failing to complete many of the basic functions of the office in a timely manner, constitute an “incredible asset to our county.”
April 9, 2022 at 7:44 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
Are you a Dillingham supporter/voter PA along with the most prominent members of the old boys? (And btw there is no indication that I know of yet that Wilson or Madrone have endorsed Dillingham.)
I mean you *could* just say it. And we *will* see but as we both know the voters don’t always make the right decision.
April 9, 2022 at 7:51 am
Eric Kirk
I do have word that the state controller report will be out shortly, and that it has been through four rewrites out of concern that it would impact the local election and is being held for yet one more lookover by Controller Yee herself.
April 9, 2022 at 7:53 am
Jon Yalcinkaya
I will add that I’m hopeful that they will in this case along with others like the 4th and 5th this June.
April 9, 2022 at 8:07 am
Anonymou
“There is no indication that I know of yet that Wilson or Madrone have endorsed Dillingham”
Well according to Eric, Madrone and Wilson voting to censure Paz Dominguez was “messaging to the voters.”
But yeah, I haven’t heard of any official endorsement from either of them. At this point I’d be at least a bit surprised if they endorsed Paz Dominguez. Wouldn’t be surprised if they just don’t endorse either.
I haven’t reached any conclusions yet about Dillingham, who only joined the race recently. So far I would say she appears competent and well-qualified.
She was previously he acting Auditor-Controller. It’s possible information will arise during the course of her campaign that would call her competence or integrity into question, based on her previous tenure.
So far though, all I’ve seen are the same kind of vague insinuations by Paz Dominguez supporters that Dillingham must be running in order to facilitate some kind of cover-up of (unspecified, as always) wrongdoing by…someone.
But as per usual from Paz Domonguez supporters, so far it’s just vague insinuations, nothing tangible enough that one could even try to confirm or debunk it.
April 9, 2022 at 8:15 am
Anonymous
“I do have word that the state controller report will be out shortly…”
I hope this is true…and I hope it provides some useful information.
“…and that it has been through four rewrites out of concern that it would impact the local election and is being held for yet one more lookover by Controller Yee herself.”
If that just means they’re making sure the report focuses on laying out the facts rather than offering editorial judgements, that would be good.
If it means they’re watering it down to make sure nobody on any side comes out looking too bad even if the facts point that way…that would not be good.
I guess we’ll see.
April 9, 2022 at 9:39 am
Mitch
God how much I hate politicians.