Family farmers say yes on Measure P
EDITOR: When Sonya Perrotti, owner of Coyote Family Farm in Penngrove, saw big signs lining nearby roads that read Farmers Say No on Measure P, she thought to herself, “Oh, do I?”
And she wasn’t alone. Farmer Caiti Hachmyer was taken aback to find the credibility of her beloved vocation used to oppose what she views as long-overdue, commonsense oversight of law enforcement. Farmers Vince and Jenny Trotter took to their tractor with a “Yes on Measure P” sign to counter all those going up around them that claimed to speak on their behalf. “Measure P will ensure that officers are held accountable to their actions,” said the Trotters. “Opponents of this measure are spreading a lot of misinformation.”
The list of farmers who support Measure P could feed much of this county: Laguna Farm, Singing Frogs Farm, Bernier Family Farm, Tierra Vegetable, Kibo Farms, Red H Farm, Full Bloom Flower Farm, Green Star Farm and Chiatri de Laguna Farm, to name a few — the last of which is run by Wendy Krupnick, president of the Sonoma County chapter of Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), which advocates on behalf of smaller-scale farms.
“As the local chapter of CAFF we hadn’t planned on weighing in on this ballot measure,” said Krupnick, “It just felt beyond the purview of an agricultural group. But when folks started inquiring with us last week, asking why farmers were so adamantly opposed to this measure, we felt the need to set the record straight. Firstly, no one can speak for all farmers. But I can tell you this: there are a lot of local food producers in Sonoma County, like me, who believe that when it comes to law enforcement, transparency and community participation matter.”
So, to clear up a few things:
Measure P does not cut any money from the Sheriff’s Office budget. Measure P does not cut safety or emergency services. Measure P will not increase response times to emergency calls, fires and disasters.
And last but certainly not least: all farmers are not opposed to Measure P.
Family farmers care deeply about the safety of everyone in our community. And the values behind Measure P are the same that you’ll find behind the booths at your local farmers market. So, on behalf of these farmers and the Sonoma County CAFF chapter, we invite you to join us in voting Yes on Measure P.
The Sonoma County Chapter of Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Measure BB
EDITOR: Measure BB privatizes our publicly-owned, community hospital. Yet, it will continue to be publicly funded by our annual $150 property tax far into the future. All together that comes to $3.5 million annually that St. Joseph, a Catholic, for-profit corporation will receive from our public property taxes.
By law, St. Joseph has to pay fair market value. The fair market value which was determined by a third-party to be $15 million is going to be paid $5 million to the hospital district which no longer has a hospital to run and $10 million as a kick back to St. Joseph to keep up and improve their new asset, the hospital. So, actually they are paying $5 million for it and before six months passes they will be reimbursed $3.5 million of that by way of our 2020-21 property tax. That leaves St. Joseph paying $1.5 million for a $15 million hospital, which includes the land, building and equipment. No wonder I keep getting endless flyers in support of Measure BB paid for by St. Joseph.
Measure BB is a rushed, bad deal put together by a financially inept hospital district and an opportunist St. Joseph. Certainly we can and should do better than this; even if it is true that the hospital district can’t seem to keep the finances afloat even with a $3.5 million annual infusion from the public. Perhaps, we should be looking for a different board of directors instead of selling off our hospital for pennies and continuing with a $3.5 million annual public infusion into a Catholic for-profit corporation.
Stephen Martin
Healdsburg
