Eureka Reporter - 08/23/2006
Local Solutions Announces Endorsements for Eureka City Council,
Mayoral Elections
by Rebecca S. Bender
Progressive local political action committee Local Solutions announced
its endorsements in the Eureka City Council race Wednesday, throwing
its weight behind candidates Larry Glass, Ron Kuhnel, Nan Abrams and
incumbent Peter La Vallee for the 1st, 3rd and 5th Ward council seats
and the mayoral seat, respectively.
“Their election will bring a new era of political leadership to
Eureka at a time when vision and innovative thinking are required to
take us forward in a rapidly changing world,” Local Solutions
board member Dennis Huber stated in a news release.
The group extended invitations to all of the Eureka candidates, although
not all accepted, Huber said. Interviews were held Monday and Tuesday.
“I welcome the endorsement from an organization I share a lot
of values with,” Kuhnel said Wednesday afternoon. “Generally,
on a lot of issues, we’re on the same page.”
The group’s support of social justice issues and equality
for all resonate the most strongly for him, he said.
La Vallee had little comment, but expressed appreciation for the
backing. His campaign manager, Andrew Bird, noted, “I think Local Solutions’ endorsement
acknowledges Peter for his work on the environment,” especially
his role in rejecting Calpine’s proposal for a liquefied natural
gas facility.
Glass has been an outspoken critic of Security National’s proposed
Marina Center project on the Balloon Track through his role as spokesperson
for Citizens for Real Economic Growth, and was also a vocal supporter
of Measure T, the recently approved ordinance restricting nonlocal corporations’ contributions
to Humboldt County elections.
But in a prepared statement, he said he believed that Local Solutions
was supporting him for his stand on public safety issues.
“People need to feel safe in their homes and on the streets,” he
stated. “Citizens, rich or poor, need to feel like the city
is responding to their concerns.”
Abrams could not be reached by press time.
There was little surprise attendant on Wednesday’s announcement
from either side of the endorsement pool.
“It seems that these (endorsed) candidates were already running
on a Local Solutions platform,” 1st Ward incumbent Councilmember
Mary Beth Wolford observed. The invitation to meet with the group
had come on very short notice, she said, and the outcome appeared
to her to be already established.
“I do plan to attend debates that are nonpartisan in nature and
present my platform,” she added. “I want to be independent
and represent my own viewpoints.”
Jeff Leonard, the 3rd Ward incumbent, had previously declined the
group’s
overtures on Aug. 15, when the invitations first went out.
In an open letter to Local Solutions board member Patrick Riggs,
he stated, “I ran a successful, low-cost, grass-roots campaign
four years ago... (and) I will pursue the same grass-roots approach
in my re-election bid.”
As a nonpartisan, independent council member, he stated, he had never
sought or accepted endorsements.
“In my opinion, if I accepted your endorsement, I would make City
Hall seem less accessible to many members of our community who do not
share your views,” Leonard wrote.
Councilmember Virginia Bass, who’s aiming for the mayor’s
seat in November, was in Hawaii on her honeymoon when the interviews
were being held, she said. However, she added simply, “My not
being endorsed by them is not a surprise.”
Incumbent 5th Ward representative Mike Jones could not be reached by
press time.
Outspoken 1st Ward contender Tish Wilburn acknowledged that the
Local Solutions board members were “very nice” and that they’d
sat down together and “just shot the bull.”
“But did I expect them to endorse me?” she asked. “About
the same time hell freezes over.”
Wilburn, who identifies as a Libertarian, said that her responses
to the board’s questions on, for example, gay marriage, could be summarized
simply: “It’s not a government function; butt out.”
Mayoral candidate Jerry Droz, whose vocal appearance at La Vallee’s
candidacy announcement on Aug. 11 brought Eureka police officers
to the scene, denied that any of the candidates had, in fact, met
with Local Solutions.
“I never went in there, I never talked to them, nor do I have
any intention of doing so,” he said. “And no one else has
gone in there. They’re judging an opinion on air.”
He added, “Just because they’ve endorsed La Vallee does
not mean that he’s going to be suitable to do a good job.”
Local Solutions’ most recent campaigns included the re-election
of Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos and the passage
of Measure T in the June primary election, to which effort the group
donated $1,000 to the Humboldt Coalition for Community Rights and
more than $500 worth of nonmonetary contributions.
The group has interviewed all eight Arcata City Council candidates and
will be announcing endorsements for that race later this week, Huber
said.
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