Editorial

As our cold, wet winter continues, we feel blessed to be out of the six year drought, but also bruised by the damage and harm caused by our recent flood waters. As those Russian River waters climbed, we as a community responded to those in need; once again showing that Northern Sonoma County is a community of compassion, care and action.

When the new Healdsburg City Council reconvenes on January 3, 2017, there will be one vacant seat. In the wake of the 2016 election, councilmember Eric Ziedrich tendered his resignation, effective December 31, due to the rejection of Measure R by Healdsburg voters.

The solution to the county’s pension problem is simple, it’s just not easy to implement. Implementation will require political courage, a commodity often in short supply. The fact there is a serious problem with the county’s pension cost was acknowledged by the Board of Supervisors in 2011.

Measure R, Healdsburg’s voter-defeated housing plan, has left city leaders and attuned citizens scratching their heads and wondering why it lost and what will come next, if anything, to address a severe local housing crisis.

Two years ago, I was elected to a third term on the Healdsburg City Council by 2,276 citizens. Housing was certainly one of the most critical concerns of our citizenry. Given my educational and professional background, I was confident that I had much to offer in an effort to develop some solutions.

We haven’t changed our opinion about efforts to remove fluoride from Healdsburg municipal water.

As a member of Healdsburg’s Community Housing Committee, I had the honor of getting to know many community members. It was striking to me that people who already had secure housing themselves were so invested in finding solutions for other people to live in Healdsburg. The pluralism of ideas shared inside committee meetings and on the streets amongst neighbors has been inspiring.

In 1988, I made my first visit to Healdsburg. Six months later, my first job out of college included Healdsburg. I was hooked. The town reminded me of my valley community: a dusty working town with a Sunsweet dehydrator, several lumber mills, a river and lots of families. There was a diversity of culture with a common goal of making our community great.