Page 30 - Sonoma County Gazette - August 2017

Grassroots Governance: need for community empowerment
I was attending a birthday party the other day when I met a friend and supporter of my opponent in the last election. He was, by his own admission, shocked to see that I was a caring, decent, compassionate human being. (In
the moment we met, I was a mom attempting to prevent my daughters from demolishing the French fry tray.) He and I joked about the fact that I didn’t, as he’d initially suspected, come equipped with devil’s horns, cloven hoofs, and a forked tail.
Mr. Uribe created the three-panel mural to honor 13-year-old Andy Lopez, the Santa Rosa teen who was shot to death in 2013 by Deputy Erick Gelhaus who thought that the toy BB-gun that the boy was carrying was a real AK-47 assault ri e.
“It’s crazy,” I told him. “In today’s world, no one believes that two good people could possibly run in an election against each other. So they demonized us both.”
Following the event on June 2, which would have been Andy’s 17th birthday, a number of family friends told Mr.Uribe that the Lopez family felt strongly that an image of a deputy with a child on one of the panels was hurtful and inappropriate and that they were very uncomfortable with it. Mr. Uribe agreed to further discussion.
This man actually apologized for the things he’d thought about me. (I assured him thought-crimes weren’t illegal... yet.)
An oddly sweet moment at a birthday party demonstrated everything that
is wrong – and everything that could be right – about local politics. And it caused me to think back to the ugliness of the 2016 campaign: the race for West County Supervisor, as well as the national election. It’s about time, locally and nationally, that we hit the reset button on politics. Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, Independent: all of the parties ght bitterly, both among their own and against one another. Our country lacks a clear national majority. One might say that only party with a clear majority in the United States is POPOV. No, I’m not describing some new Russian insurgency. I’m talking about the Party Of Pissed O Voters.
When the group met again, Mr. Uribe heard the sentiments of Sujey Lopez, Andy’s mother, by means of a letter that she had
New Mural Panel Dedicated to Andy Lopez
ArtStart Creative Director and mural artist Mario Uribe has announced that a revision to the Andy Lopez mural originally unveiled on June 2nd has been completed. The amended segment will be dedicated
on Friday, August 4 at 5:30pm, Roseland Village Neighborhood Center, 779 Sebastopol Rd, Santa Rosa.
By Evelina Molina
How has POPOV gained so much power? Why are we all so disgusted with government? In my opinion, campaigning has gotten too expensive, and government has become too insular. This has led to ugly, hard-fought campaigns, and communities – especially in rural areas – that feel as though they’re on the outside looking in. Democracy is not meant to be a spectator sport. It’s participatory. Yet few people feel empowered to participate in government at a local, state, or federal level.
written to him. Others present described the still agonizingly painful situation for both the family and the entire community, which has been systematically marginalized and otherwise ignored by Sheri ’ Steve Freitas ever since Andy’s death. Last year the Sheri promoted Gelhaus, stating that he “represents the Sheri ’s O ce well.”
It’s easy to talk about what’s wrong with politics. But I’m not here to complain, and I’m not even here to work within a broken system. I’m here to x the system... or more speci cally, to reinvent the system. I want to create a new, better, more participatory government.
Mr. Uribe immediately agreed that an image suggested by Ms. Lopez would be ideal to replace the problematic one. “This change that we’re making ful lls the original objective of the mural much better than before, which is to bring a small sense of justice to a tragic event that will never be justi ed. I hope it will help to heal the family and the community.” The entire community is warmly invited to attend the re-dedication.
That reinvented system starts with grassroots governance. The way I see it, my job as Supervisor is not to tell you what to do. My job is to empower you to determine the future of your own community. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I can pull miracles out of thin air – that suddenly Sonoma County roads will be smoothly paved in gold; that homelessness will end by December; that rents will decrease fty percent by next Friday. Those are not realistic goals. But what I can do is work with you to address failing infrastructure, homelessness, and an escalating cost of living.
included representatives from the impacted Districts in the area (Guerneville Parks and Rec, Monte Rio Rec and Parks, as well as Russian River and Monte Rio Fire).
Unlike the RASAD process back in 2007, press will be allowed to attend these meetings. Ultimately, the task force’s recommendation will come before the Board of Supervisors for public consideration.
I’m lucky to serve on a Board of Supervisors that believes in citizen empowerment. My colleagues are receptive to changing the way we interact with unincorporated communities. And I’m excited to announce that on July 18, the Board approved a framework for the creation of Municipal Advisory Councils (MACs). These “MACs” will enable rural communities to have a greater voice and role in local government. Importantly, the County will be looking for a way to fund sta to support the work of these Councils. We felt that the sta we hire to support the Councils should not be County sta , but rather individuals hired from the local communities.
Convening a task force to spend public dollars is certainly unusual in Sonoma County.
I look forward to working with the Russian River and Coastal communities to nd an appropriate form of local self-governance. There are a suite of options, from a Municipal Advisory Council, to a Citizens Advisory Committee, to Community Improvement District, Community Services District, or Enhanced Infrastructure District, among others.
Usually, the County undertakes a standard Request for Proposals
process. But I’m excited to convene – and empower – a group of fteen
partners representing the diversity of perspectives I’ve been hearing from to collaboratively decide how to spend this new money. Since it’s public money, there are naturally some guidelines and basic parameters. But there is wisdom, compassion, and an irrepressible spirit contained within our rural communities, and these communities have told me that they want more control over what gets done by the County. So let’s create a more collaborative form of governance and engage in shared decision-making from here on out.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Ideas? As always, you can reach me at lynda. hopkins@sonoma-county.org.
In the Fall, I will be holding informational town hall meetings on the topic. And in the meantime, I’ve convened a citizens task force to address the ongoing homelessness crisis in the lower Russian River. This group will ultimately come up with a recommendation for how to spend the money allocated for this crisis during budget hearings. I’ve included representatives from all of the citizens groups who have been advocating on the issue since I took o ce. I’ve also
At the end of the day, if you disagree with a decision I’ve made, it’s my
job to hear you out. And I know there will be times when we’ll disagree. But instead of me making decisions from the County Complex in Santa Rosa and you expressing frustration after the fact, I’d rather we work together. I’m a human being, just like you. I’m a Sonoma County resident, just like you. I’m a parent, like many of you. I’m a farmer, like some of you. I love and cherish the Russian River and the Coast, as I hope all of you do. My point is: you and I are no di erent, except for one thing... I’m pretty sure I have the best boss in the world. My boss is the West County community. I’m here to work for you. And more importantly, I’m here to work with you.
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