UPDATE: Here’s the Times-Standard report on Leonard’s announcement.
[Press release from Eureka City Councilman Jeff Leonard]
Eureka City Council member Jeff Leonard will announce his intention to run for the Humboldt County 4th District Supervisor seat in 2010. A pro-business Democrat, Jeff Leonard has served on the Eureka City Council since 2002.
“Twenty-four years is long enough – now is the time for change,” Leonard stated, referring to incumbent Supervisor Bonnie Neely who is about to finish her sixth term in office. “Bonnie has had a fine career, but twenty-four years is long enough. The time has come for new ideas and new energy on the Board of Supervisors.”
Leonard was elected to represent the Eureka’s 3rd ward in 2002 and re-elected in 2006 as the result of successful grass-roots campaigns. Term limits prevent council members from serving for more than two terms – a total of eight years. Humboldt County Supervisors can run over and over again, accumulating political power and influence along the way after 6 terms.
“I’ve proven that I get things done, work hard, and I always advocate for a better Eureka,” Leonard stated. As a city council member, Jeff Leonard has advocated for renewable energy, public safety, and downtown businesses. Last year, he successfully rebuilt Hammond Park with a grant from California Volunteers, and this summer, construction of the Eureka Skate Park will be completed.
“Eurekans need an advocate on the Board of Supervisors,” stated Leonard. “Eureka is the county seat. Eurekans deserve a representative that will fight to protect our community.”
[See the invitation here.]
Does a “better Eureka” include 60-foot cell towers in residential neighborhoods, Jeff?
Only if they’ve been properly and legally permitted. Is that not the case here?
As a long time democrat I will support Jeff before I will support Bonnie (been there forever and just changed parties) Neely.
I may not agree with Jeff on everything, but at least he has prinicples and doesn’t change his position based upon what will keep him in office for 24 years like the ol bon bon does.
I agree – time for a change.
The answer to that quite-complicated question is contained in the numerous threads that Heraldo has posted in the past. Searching “cell tower” should get you to all of them.
Jeff, you are to be commended for your work on the skate park and the Kaboom playground. But you have shown poor judgment on critical issues that involve quality of life issues in Eureka, namely assisting Verizon in just about every way you could to put a cell tower in our residential neighborhood (would you have done this if it had been across the street from your house?) as well as your vote to kill the Master Plan for the Balloon Tract back in ’05, to help a single very wealthy local developer.
For these reasons I oppose your supervisorial candidacy.
Will you be actively supporting a candidate or just penciling in your pick?
“Does a “better Eureka” include 60-foot cell towers in residential neighborhoods, Jeff?”.
Looks like they pretty much have that cell tower on Harris Street up and going. Looks fine to me.
Neal you have shown major ignorance regarding legal issues. Your misrepresentation of the Council and Planning Commission’s decisions continues. Jeff has shown he makes informed decisions compared to your assumptions, lies, and half truths. You have/had no legal concept of the tower issue that was legally advertised, noticed, and approved.
What kind of an idiot would support or not support a condidate for County Supervisor because of a vote on one little cell phone tower ?
The important thing is that Queen Bonnie is deposed. Twenty four years in one office is absurd.
Fred ranks the Verizon tower just behind the Eiffel Tower in terms of aesthetics
When a candidate does a stellar job, the longer they serve, the better! So far, all of the recent anti-Bonnie blogs have yet to mention one “questionable” vote, focusing instead on her “years of service”. The other comments are entirely personal.
Since Bonnie’s election success is largely his platform, will Leonard promise at the outset that he will serve only one or two terms…no matter what??
WARNING: A fundamental purpose of this event is to capture ON CAMERA any and all well-known community members for Leonard’s first, glossy fliers.
Hide from the camera’s Linda & Larry!
As if a cell phone tower is the most important thing in the county. Jesus christ.
“the tower issue was legally advertised, noticed and approved.”
Right. Except more than half of the recipients signed legal affadavits saying they didn’t get any notice.
A small problem for you.
High Finance, ikinread, et. al.:
A cell tower becomes an important quality of life issue if it is completely visually inappropriate to the neighborhood and it can be seen from one’s home. Especially so if you live across the street from it, or worse, it blocks the morning sun from striking your stoop.
If you cannot understand this, then there is probably no productive discussion to be had.
Keep your name in front of the folks Latt. You were wrong, that’s fact. Your issue is dead, but you just keep pounding it. You where and are the problem. Now you are taking shots at someone who has done something to help the community, how very big of you.
Taking shots? I acknowledged Jeff’s principle deeds. But I have problems with critical judgment calls of his. That seems to really upset you.
What I anxious to see is who was stupid enough to show up at the Vance and support a candidate as weak as Leonard.
I hear Arkley couldn’t come, but he is sending his wallet.
I have to agree Humred
Latt seems to be thirsting for an opportunity where non exists.
What you’ll learn Neal, if you aspire to public office is that your personal and political objectives may have to take a back seat to the best interests of the greater good.
This simplistic, morally outraged screed will only play to a small audience.
When you bring some reason instead of angst to the able….maybe someone will take you seriously.
Not today….but someday
Dog
That’s real poetic and all, but it implies that the neighbors never had a case to begin with. The votes on the City Council and Planning Commission that carried the neighborhood all the way up to the end don’t reflect that. Larry Glass, Linda Atkins, Ron Kuhnel and Pam Service, council members and commissioners all, would probably respectfully disagree with your framing of the issue.
What is at issue is how a council member represents the interests of the voters who elected them. Frank Jager understands this intimately. Jeff doesn’t, which is why I don’t support him.
It’s rather interesting that you seem to prefer making me the issue here, rather than Jeff. Who’s running for Supervisor?
Neal writes, “A cell tower becomes an important quality of life issue if it is completely visually inappropriate to the neighborhood and it can be seen from one’s home.”.
You’ll have to explain to me why that “tower” is inappropriate. As I said earlier, I drove by there the other day (as I often do) and it looks like the “tower” is up and running. I don’t find the appearance at all inappropriate.
The notification issue is a red herring, at this point. Everyone has long since been notified.
I can’t help but wonder how you’d feel if this was a free wi-fi project run by the city, county, or state government?
Party at the Vance, huh? Arkley can join up after several stiff ones at Kates-
Neal is, as usual, trying to make it about him and it seems we’re letting him. I will stoop to feed his enormous ego for a moment:
It’s funny that criticism is rampant when someone wealthy and “powerful” (say someone who dares to succeed in business) sees things from his or her own perspective and believes he is right and asserts that. Someone who comes, seemingly, from more modest means (say an organic farmer) having a narrow viewpoint makes him righteous and noble?
Neal, only you can be right, right?
Jesus, Neal ! Run for office already, but just please shut up about the cell phone tower. !
Besides, I would love to vote against you.
Neal, you are the issue because you are such
an ass hole..
Better yet Neal, why dont you run for City Council
or Supervisor. Lets see if the people would
elect you and then lets see if your really have
any balls and can deal with difficult issues.
forget Neal,
Jeff is far from the sharpest tack in the box, why does that a qualify him to be Supervisor?
really, have you watched him on the council?
can’t we cut this guy loose from public service…
A tack? I would describe Jeff as a prick at best
I’m interested to know what Jeff’s accomplishments are to date…8 years on the city council and let’s see, there’s the skate park–oh yeah, not done; there’s the death of the Balloon Track master plan; what else? I’m seriously asking. I’ve heard he is pro-trails but not sure how he has managed to move that agenda forward in his time on the city council.
His Smart Voter page http://www.smartvoter.org/2006/11/07/ca/hm/vote/leonard_j/ lists his top priorities as:
* Positive Growth – a growing economy creates more jobs, provides funding for public safety resources, and will help reinvigorate our schools.
* Safe Community – new leadership in the police department will expand neighborhood policing efforts and make our city safer for everyone.
* Renewable Energy – we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by supporting the proposed wind, wave, and biomass power park in Fairhaven.
Absolutely right Big al
But, yet again Neal missed the point entirely.
I was trying to be helpful, not hostile but Neal has yet to understand the difference.
We all are neighbors Neal, just some of us are more neighborly than others.
You really should understand that.
Your defining issue has just fizzled. Where do you propose to go from here. It is about you. You have made it about you. So what now?
Arf
“* Renewable Energy – we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by supporting the proposed wind, wave, and biomass power park in Fairhaven.”
Fairhaven is Arkley owned. Seems like you could support this anywhere. Why favor Arkely’s investment property?
I noticed that Larry Glass’s Smart Voter page says one of his top priorities is Fair and Open Government, which his position on this cell tower epitomizes. Sure it may have been t4echnically legal, but fair and open it was not. As has been the City of Eureka’s M.O.
The story of how Leonard killed the Balloon Track master plan grant was a prime example of that. See the Journal’s coverage, Blown Off Course: http://www.northcoastjournal.com/110404/cover1104.html
funny how so many anonymous posters have turned this thread into an attack on Neal Latt – one of the few who used his name.
Doesn’t say a lot for Jeff Leonard does it? Seems like a red herring to me.
First the Balloon Track and now Fairhaven? Seems that Arkley could really use a guy like this on the Coastal Commission.
Fred-High Finance-Dog, you dumb ass, You still don’t get it, you don’t piss on your neighbors and then expect their vote! BTW Arkley is not supporting Jeff he’s backing Virginia. I guess he meant it when he screamed Jeff was worthless at Hurricane Kate’s. Well I guess that one thing in Jeff’s favor.
You’re quite a spinner MV,bet you’re a Glass/Neeley/Latt group huger. Poor Jeff using that reason thing just can’t join in your game.
I drove by the new cell tower today.
BUTT UGLY!!
The neighbors have my condolences.
The efforts exerted on behalf of this community are noble and deeply appreciated. The whiners in this blog have, obviously, never worked hard to advocate for anything, or anyone, or else they would admire those who do.
yeah me, Hank Sims, and Jeff Leonard’s Smart Voter page, what spin! and yes I am one big group “huger”–see you soon Larry/Bonnie/Neal for that group huge!
With Bonnie Neely switching parties, she will get the support of the Democratic Party. Leonard doesn’t stand a chance.
“Rule #1 of politics:
When your candidate is weak, divert attention away from them.”
Free hugs, anyone?
I’ve been in my job 24 years. I don’t have anyone asking me to leave because of my longevity. Institutional knowledge is important. Term limits is good if it gets rid of people I happen to disagree with. On the other hand our state is in pretty poor shape. A lot of people would agree that our Legislature has contributed greatly to this mess. I don’t always agree with Bonnie but her service has largely been admirable.
From a political junkie’s view, Leonard in the race is great news. Always interesting to see the Emperor in his new clothes.
“…Especially so if you live across the street from it, or worse, it blocks the morning sun from striking your stoop.”
You must get up awfully late in the day….for the western shadows of the cell tower to block your morning sun. Spin, Neal, Spin.
Apparently Virginia was there at the Vance. Was she there to watch Jeff make a fool of himself? I drove by this morning to see if he was still talking but I guess he finally ran out of words by sunrise. It will be interesting to watch him run, but is hard to take someone who has performed so poorly as a councilperson seriously.
Yeah, leave Neal alone! Not one of you poking jabs have identified yourselves and Mr. Latt has been totally transparent. You are pretty spineless to hide behind your cloak of anonymity.
That being said, Jeff has a huge uphill battle. Bonnie will be hard to beat.
finally agree with ballboy/ Latt is transparent/ sorry MV all your group hugs can’t change that/ rotflmao!
Wow Neal, right out of the Sol Lewinsky playbook. What did MV or Reinvent wheel loan it to you.
Bonnie is a political animal. Office is like dope to her. She understood what she had to do to stay in, and did what it took. Yes years ago, she did many very good things for North Coast. That was years ago, now is now.
Samoa, Neal has been anything but transparent. Using his name was in the hopes of political capital, nothing else.
Thank God Jeff is smart enough to captain his own campaign!
Here’s hopin’ he does!
Reading the blogs this morning one would think a ghost walked over your graves.
Interesting how that ass of a prick, Leonard, has won two elections without one single “glossy” flier, isn’t it? (FYFI, all of our hand-outs and fliers are done on recycled paper by copy machines)
We have always been out-spent and out-gunned, endorsement wise, and still that “simpleton whose brain doesn’t go to the top floor” manages to win elections.
Guess that’s what is so frustrating to you sycophants of polarizing wedge issues and political posturing. All the complaints sound like sour grapes to me maybe even fear. Keep it up, it’s working in our favor.
The voters (you know those who actually decide elections)know the difference between sincerity and pandering. Pretty transparent stuff and when they see a guy work hard to get something done it’s impressive to them.
When they see a guy make a difficult decision because he believes it is the right one not the popular one is also impressive.
Finally, when they see that same guy at every Eureka function and most neighborhood meetings it becomes even more impressive.
Hence, 150+ show up for a “surprising announcement” on a Friday night at 5:30.
So keep pounding away from your mom’s basement. We like being the underdog. Our motto: we don’t care what you say about us, just be sure to spell the name correctly.
Thanks, in advance, for your continued co-operation.
Do you blog from your mama’s basement, too?
Samoa,
We are well aware Bonnie will be hard to beat…..maybe even impossible.
Success or defeat, one thing for sure, elections and politics won’t define Jeff. He will just keep on keeping on as you have apparently done.
There’s a lot to be said for being comfortable in your own skin, isn’t there?
Barb, has Jeff always ran to hide underneath his mama’s skirts?
nO1….Never fear, Jeff has always captained his own campaigns and he will continue to do so.
Let’s get into some Jeff history here:
Does anyone who went to primary school with him remember him getting his butt kicked a lot growing up? Between the short stature and the annoying whine, it just seems like he might have been a bully magnet.
The answer to this question could help flesh out some of his psychological history.
Just wondering.
anonymous 12:47
Gee, “I’m thinkin’” you might be Chris Kerrigan what with your slaughtering of English grammar and all.
“Has always ran” is like fingernails on a blackboard.
Hard to respond to the gallactically stupid.
However, to answer your question, Jeff doesn’t even know I blog, and if he read what I post, he might sit me down for a “Sunday come to Jesus meeting” starting out with “What are you thinking?????”
You just don’t know “Yo Mama” if you don’t understand why I occasionally read this stuff and respond.
It has nothing to do with hiding, BTW. If it did, why would I post under my own name, which you apparently don’t have the courage to do.
My humble advice to you is: next time you gather the courage to post another “anonymous” cheap shot, you might want to use the spelling and grammar check.
LOL
I have to applaud Neal for his efforts to protect the neighborhood from the evils of the cell tower.
I just want to know where Neal was a year ago, when the drillers were here digging monitoring wells in the street, when the monitors were here testing ground water and where he was when the drillers came back to dig more wells?
Where was Neal when they installed the machine in the alley off of Grotto, to pump chemicals into the ground?
Where was Neal when property values fell because of environmental contamination?
It seems that Neal only cares about the morning sun on his front stoop, not what is underground.
Check it out Neal and let us know where you are:http://rb-case-1nhu630.com/
You can come and stand my front stoop if you want morning sun.
Barb is proof of the adage that good grammar and critical thinking are sometimes not related.
Barbara:
Jeff came within 30 votes of being a one-and-done city councilman 2-1/2 years ago. If the weather had been better on election day 2006 or if the Democrats had done a better job of focusing on mail ballots, we wouldn’t be having this conversation
Ron Kuhnel beat Jeff in votes cast at the polls on election day and in late-arriving absentee ballots
Let me assure you that the Democratic Central Committee, which will not be endorsing Jeff, learned about the importance of early voting by mail from the 2006 election.
Barb said “FYFI, all of our hand-outs and fliers are done on recycled paper by copy machines)”.
I seem to remember a full four page color insert in the Eureka Reporter a couple days before the last election.
12:53
Your speculation about Jeff leads me to believe YOUR psychological history might be more interesting.
I know you will be relieved to hear Jeff was very popular with his peers and teachers.
You are apparently hung up on his height, but I assure you Jeff isn’t and neither are those who actually know him.
Some of this stuff is so grade school it makes me laugh.
Are you actually old enough to vote?
ROFL
Note to Barb:
Your furious retorts in defense of your son are creating the perception that he is too weak, or perhaps afraid to, defend himself.
Did it occur to you that attacking the author of any perceived criticism of him, however justified, may be doing more harm than good?
What happened to Auntie Em Barb?
Bull Moose,
Weather?…you really think the weather kept only Ron’s voters from going to the polls??? Now that’s funny!!
BTW, Jeff picked up a net gain of 4 votes during the recount. The difference was 32 votes. Sounds like a mandate to me!!;)
There have been lots of close votes over the years. La Valley beat Arkley by very few, can’t quite remember what it was something like 22 wasn’t it?
Virginia beat La Valley by 60 some votes. That race also had more votes cast than Kuhnel/ Leonard. For some reason the Kuhnel/Leonard race had the most under-votes.
Anyway, that was then and this is now. The bottom line is Jeff has been able to prevail even though he didn’t have the money or the power behind him.
Linda Atkins did the same thing. What do you suppose it all means? You can talk stats and numbers all you want, but the real unknown is what will strike the voter’s fancy.
Let the games begin!!
Avar!
Dude, I am not “furiously retorting”, just having a little fun on a grey day.
Barb-Going to need about $50,000 for effective campaign against 3 others. How much did the last Eureka race cost? And please let Jeff know that “Eureka being the big dog” with needs of representation in the county is good and all, but Samoa, Finntown and Fairhaven are in the district also.
By the way, St Bernard’s girls just beat Ferndale 6-2 for the NCS championship. I am about to go watch the boys play Tomales for the baseball crown!
You can talk to Jeff about representation.
I can tell you we collected $19,326 (with no fund raiser just lots of individual donors) the last time out and spent 17,000 and change.
150+ showed up last night which was a pleasant surprise. Who knows what that means in terms of money.
Are you still running? You said three others so I assumed you were the third.
The more the merrier we say!! I believe Virginia is announcing next month.
Sounds like you are having a great day watching local sports!! Pretty exciting about Ferndale.
:)
Didn’t the E-R give Leonard a “sweet” deal for their full color flyer inserts last time ’round?
AVER, Barb is a nice person and uses her real name . It’s fun to answer back when you know the truth! Here’s to good sportsmanship and a good race. By the way, Barb are you still taking photos of sports teams?
Barb, you’re wrong about the weather. It’s difficult to get local voters out on the best day! Pre-Obama elections typically saw only half the potential voters registered, and only half of the registered voters actually vote! You are also wrong about Linda Atkins, she shared a $60,000+ war-chest, unfortunately, more will be required in a supervisor race.
Too bad about the personal attacks, there’s not much to discuss when everyone withholds the real ammo for the election.
Jeff Leonard has painfully few accomplishments at city hall and a horrendous voting record that will be fascinating to finally see him forced to defend in public.
These are challenging times and Bonnie Neely knows how to get things done for our county, PLUS, she’s pleasant and respectful!
Neal Latt — I was hoping you were sincere and not just another radical liar!
I just drove by 2839 D Street and you can’t even see the church cell tower from your home.
You are 2 1/2 blocks away from the cell tower.
There is no sun that is blocked from your front porch by the cell tower.
If you are worrying about cell towers in residential
neighborhoods check out the AT&T building on 1818 F Street (x street – Wabash). It’s loaded with huge communications equipment on the roof (all in plain sight) in a residential neighborhood.
Are you protesting for those neighbors too? Or just being another NIMBY?
Neal — your 15 minutes of fame are over.
Deal with it. Or put your name in the hat for City Council.
Only this time we fight fire with fire.
Rob Arkley: developer = bad
Neal Latt: developer = bad
Maybe you and your buddy Richard Salzman can try another smear campaign based on lies, untruths and cheating — but that won’t work any more.
Tell you what — go get some bumpers stickers made that say, “Run, Neal, Run” and I’ll put some on the front of my car.
Otherwise please shut the hell up.
Reinventing the Wheel, what has Bonnie Neely done?
You’re the classic reason people don’t post under their names Obvious, GFY.
I, like Jeff Leonard, supported the construction of the cell tower. But boy! Now that it is up and visible, it sure is an ugly piece of work.
And surely the skate park, if it is ever completed, won’t be that ugly. (But is the City still ignoring the question of skate park insurance costs?)
Oh, wait…
Insult Jeff Leonard = Good blogging entry
Insult Neal Latt = Bad blogging entry
I see now.
High Finance said in part: “The important thing is that Queen Bonnie is deposed. Twenty four years in one office is absurd.”
My reply: Hey! You are calling our system of representative democracy absurd! What a fool you are! A fool or a traitor!
THE PEOPLE voted for Bonnie. Don’t be surprised if they do it again.
RESPECT the PEOPLE’s CHOICE.
You’re a f*****g weenie ass****e Obvious. You post someone’s ADDRESS that posts under their own name and tell them you drove by to what, intimidate them into not posting? You’re nothing but a chickens**it worthless piece of crap. Again, GFY.
HumRed isn’t as well-read as he might like us to think he is.
The world-famous community organizer he names as “Sol Lewinski” was in fact “Saul Alinsky.”
Alinsky wrote several books including “Reveille for Radicals” and “Rules for Radicals.”
NPR once described Alinsky’s life work this way: “Alinsky is credited with developing a new approach to politics, using tactics that allowed ordinary people — the poor and disenfranchised — to fight city hall effectively.”
Both the ever-popular Hillary Clinton and President Obama have acknowledged a debt to Saul Alinsky in helping them understand how to translate the power of regular people into political power capable of achieving goals for those people.
Even if someone disagrees with the political philosphies of Alinsky, Clinton, and/or Obama, common courtesy dictates that one spell the names of the parties correctly.
If HumRed wishes to suggest he is familiar with the works of Saul Alinsky, perhaps spelling Alinsky’s
name correctly would help us believe HumRed had actually read the books Alinsky wrote – rather than merely having heard them spoken over the radio from the lips of Rush Limbaugh or Michael Medved or Michael Savage or others of their ilk.
I remember the thing I liked least during Jeff’s last campaign was his mean-spirited, foul-mouthed mother. And here she is again!
Barb-150 people turning out for a campaign kick off is way impressive. Nearly $20,000 raised last city council race with no fundraiser is equally eye-opening. I won’t announce one way or another until I talk to my past committee and see if they are willing to go down that road. Plus, I may have to relocate for employment purposes. (Not many jobs around here if you haven’t noticed.)
St. Bernard’s Boy’s Baseball team beat Tomales 15-1. Andrew Ayres threw a 3 hitter and gave up 1 unearned run. It was cold out there. I was going to watch one more game tonight at the Babe Ruth park, but I think I will stay home.
I heard the interview with Jeff last night. Whether intentionally or not, he made it sound like the only reason he was running was because people kept asking what he was going to do when he termed out and he wanted something to say in response. He really needs to work on the “Why I’m running” question. At least, since we’re a year out, no one will remember by the time it comes to a vote.
While Jeff had a good turnout and all, and I don’t doubt he will be able to raise some money, Jeff is not one of the “big dogs” politically, never was, never will be. Bonnie is a “big dog” and the race will hinge on whether there is another one in the race or not.
This is NOT a race that can be won on the cheap going door to door. It will be vicious and mean spirited from the get go and without the resources to respond in kind, Jeff and the other mutts will be road kill. Jeff can have all the confidence in the world but without cold, hard cash, it isn’t a contest but a slaughter.
And all of the above reasons applies to Richard Marks as well though I do hope he runs since all the effort he’s put into the HCDCC shouldn’t go to waste.
A lot of this is mean spirited, and Jeff’s mom is really a hoot rushing in to defend her son.
But the truth is Jeff is a very weak candidate. He has accomplished very little on the council unless you count how long you can talk and say nothing as something positive.
The Hammond Park and Skate Park efforts for which he so neatly takes credit were mostly accomplished by others.
It is hard to take him seriously as a candidate and I cannot imagine where he can raise the money for a credible race, which in spite of the comments by his mom he will need a great of to compete.
what a lot of bullsh*t. I have only seen good behavior from Jeff’s family and bad behavior happening on this blog. Low and classless stuff here. I can see why the people involved check out and choose to ignore it.
Neil is a stand up guy. He is very well liked in our neighborhood and in this town. We would be very grateful if he would run for council.
Mr. Obvious (DT), it seems you are desperately trying to steer this away from Jeff, who after dropping his press release on Heraldo, still has yet to log on and provide some concrete answers to the very pertinent questions posed to him above. P.S. Jeff, your mom doesn’t count! Some things really should come from your own mouth, especially when there’s this many folks paying attention.
In regard to my comments about the cell tower, indeed, it can be seen very clearly from my front door. Too bad you didn’t come up and knock to see for yourself. We could have visited together, and maybe had some hot chocolate or something. As it was being built last week, I got emails and phone calls from some very distressed neighbors who had participated in the struggle. These folks DO live directly across the street from the tower, and one lives, yes, in the new western shadow of it, where the morning sun used to strike her stoop. It no longer does.
Would you feel differently in such a situation? Please be honest.
Isn’t it illegal for the taxpayer funded Eureka Main Street to be sponsoring a political candidate this way? Or maybe the Vance lobby is available to anyone of any political persuasion to use as a launching pad? Please let me know. The yeast is red.
Reinventing @ 4:32pm,
More recently, the coroner issue. That was a Bonnie flip-flop based solely on “The Vote” for “Political” re-election purposes. Any person with honesty will admit that.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
Here’s a video of Jeff’s *surprise* announcement.
Wow, there were a lot of people there!
What are the odds that the recent public Arkley / Leonard catfight was completely staged just to give Jeffie some creds as to not being an Arkley puppet?Arkley is smart enough and Leonard is dumb enough to try.
I think Arkley is still pulling the strings don’t you?
The Vance is owned by Kurt Kramer and all you need is his permission, the city has nothing to do with it.
Humboldt Politico is right, mostly.
It would not be the first time Charlotte of Main Street was actively campaigning for council and mayor candidates. Wasn’t she on Mary Beth Walford’s campaign committee and didn’t they run her campaign out of the Main Street office until someone called them on it? Don’t kid your self just like her friend Rob, Charlotte will be backing Virginia Bass not Barbra’s kid.
humboldturtle, I spilled my coffee and fell out of my chair.
Thank you!
Listen, shocking as it may seem to many posting comments here, the occasional, maybe rare candidate throws his or her hat in the ring because they truly want to serve, not because they have been flattered by a controlling force to do so, not because they are in the pocket of the powerful, but because they feel compelled to serve.
We have rightfully become cynical, we have become jaded. I fight with those instincts too. I see lots of back room meetings between MANY in this community, left and right and I fear those in the pockets of either side. Chris Kerrigan in the pocket of Bonnie Neeley? (Or was it in the car of CCP?)
Yes, the wealthy and powerful try to influence but I’ve seen plenty of money flowing through those involved in the HCDCC (local bastardization of my beloved party) with windbags and liars like Richard Salzman and his posse to support crappy candidate who are chosen to be mouthpieces.
It seems to me you poke at those that can’t be owned by your side as much as you poke at those who are owned by the other. Maybe Jeff Leonard is getting so much of your attention because you are mystified that he isn’t owned by either. That is exactly the kind of candidate this cynic is looking for.
Loved that video Humboldturtle…..now I’m upset that I missed out. LOL. Fun times at the Herald.
Thank you for the tidbit Henchman 8:32. The first of its kind on the blogs! It’s not enough to make a pancake with, but if flip flops become an issue, Leonard’s going to have real trouble here.
Obviously, all the players are keeping their cards close to their chests.
And wisely so.
In response to 1:21′s comment:
“Barb is proof of the old adage that good grammar is not always compatible with critical thinking”
What?? Calling the poster, “gallactically stupid” wasn’t critical enough for you?
;)
Puffer:
The Vance Hotel lobby is available to anyone who calls Kurt Kramer and asks to use it.
We chose the Vance because it was centrally located and people could drop by after work. The thought was anyone attending our event could go to dinner afterward at one of the local old town restaurants.
As far as I know Char McDonald wasn’t in the least involved and did not attend.
I think I would know since I am on the committee, but don’t let the facts get in the way of all that whistling in the dark stuff going on here.
I think Maude in the middle has it just about right.
Jeff is not in anyone’s pocket which is why some are critical of him. Others, like him/her find that a good thing.
As I said before, let the games begin. As for the prediction of “nastiness”, it won’t be coming from us.
It never has and it never will.
nOpe,
Boy, you sure have an active imagination. That “recent cat fight” as you erroneously called it, occurred last October or November.
Jeff never mentioned it to me, I read about it on this blog because someone called and told me about it.
So much speculation by the peanut gallery. Why not just pick up the phone and ask Jeff about the “staging theory”?
….Oh, right..that would take all the fun out of the courage it takes to anonymously post a lie to cyberspace and see if it flies, huh?
Since Barb is “on the committee”, sounds like there’s already expenditures and contributions. I’m Looking forward to checking if/and how much Mr. Kramer lists his “in-kind” donation for the use of the Vance.
If it were donated, I’m sure Jeff will file his required committee formation reports with the FPPC ASAP, right?
Barb, how much did your 4-page full color inserts cost in the E-R?
7:18
As far as I know, Mr. Kramer does not charge anyone for the use of the Vance Hotel lobby, so I doubt that will an “in-kind” donation.
At least that is what I was told.
I am sure the donation of beer and wine will have an “in kind” donation value.
You can be assured all filing will be done honestly and on time just as we have done in the past.
Re 7:18 -
Don’t be anal.
Jeff will report it when it comes time – quarterly, if I’m not mistaken – but it is not cash money but an in-kind donation and in-kind donations never got anyone elected to anything. Say what you will about Jeff, there has never been any hint he has been anything but exactingly honest in his campaign reporting. So, slander him all you want, but find a new horse to flog cause this one won’t run.
7:23
I believe the insert was around $1,800. It was done on cheaper paper than ER used for their regular edition and was not considered a 4 page spread.
BTW, that insert only went to Eureka voters, not Cutten, Myrtletowne or any other part of the county.
I didn’t handle that transaction, so I might be low-balling the actual amount, but as I said before, that’s my memory of the expenditure.
I do remember it was one of the most expensive things we did and very effective at the time.
Sounds like the ER cut Jeff quite a deal on the insert, but then that is no surprise considering its ownership at the time. I wonder how four pages becomes less than four pages?
Gosh Anon, your right. I forgot the exact name of the author of a book I read in the early 70′s, when I was in my early 20′s. I do remember the principles it taught but should have verified spelling of author. During that time it was required reading for those of us doing organizing in the anti-war movement. I first was shown it while we were doing actions in New York and read it in a church in Dayton, Ohio during a 3 day trip for a rally. I’m not sure but I believe Vietnam Vets against the War, and Youth Socialist Alliance where the two groups involved in that action. I never claimed to be a great expert on the Rules for Radicals, just remembered some of the principals. Your suggestions are far off base as I watch no TV and listen to music, mostly cd’s not talk radio. Good try at a shot though. Don’t address what is said , attack the speaker. Just like the attacks on Jeff and Virgina.
Hey Barb, why don’t you run instead?
I think you might make a better candidate than Jeff.
9:15
I don’t think we had a deal with anyone. Apparently, it was a brilliant move.
Lo these many years later you are still lamenting the insert?
Wow!! It was even more effective than we thought!!
:)
To me, the insert felt as though it was subsidized by a handshake deal from the E-R’s owner. Glad to hear that wasn’t the case.
Collusion between Rob Arkley, Balloon Track developer and Jeff Leonard, Balloon Track Master Plan killer?
Heavens no!
10:14
I believe the vote was 4-1 re: the balloon track master plan. So there must have been a lot of collusion going on. Seems everyone but Chris was aware the Arkelys had purchased the property.
Maybe he didn’t get the memo and maybe you don’t remember the facts clearly enough.
The city has never owned the balloon tract. Pacific railroad owned it and they sold it to Rob and Cherie Arkley.
For what benefit would you have spent 65K on a master plan going nowhere?
Oh, right, another “noble cause” wreathed in “principal” costing the city thousands of dollars and accomplishing nothing.
“…accomplishing nothing.”
Self-fulfilling prophecy alert!
A noble cause involving principles? Perish the thought!
The Headwaters Fund board of directors agreed that, in fact, researching the best public uses of the largest, open-space, public-zoned waterfront property remaining in Eureka was a worthwhile public service. Especially following the Wal-Mart fiasco. Even Jeff ran on a platform of limiting the size of national retailers in his first campaign.
Talk about a flip-flop!!
I agree that creating a Balloon Tract Master Plan would have been an important public-service if only the Eureka city council were not, historically, represented by a majority of beneficiaries of developer, Realtor, property manager, and broker, largess. These powerful interests see things quite differently and they’ve been having their way for generations.
“The Balloon Track master plan had died, but one question remained: Why had Leonard, along with two of his fellow council members, changed his mind before the Oct. 5 meeting, before the city had received the letter from Union Pacific? What had changed?
In an interview last week, Leonard explained. Sometime in September, he said, he became aware that the property was close to changing hands. And he became aware the buyer would be Rob Arkley , the multimillionaire owner of Eureka’s Security National Servicing Corp. who has, in recent years, taken a great interest in development in the city. And Leonard knew that Arkley wanted the Balloon Track master plan killed.
Reached at his office Monday, Arkley confirmed this. He spoke of the duplicity of local government spending $100,000 on a study at the same time it was asking voters to pass Measure L, a 1 percent sales tax increase. He reaffirmed his ideological commitment to private property rights, putting his position in the bluntest possible terms.
“If you’re me, do you really care what the city thinks?” he said. “I don’t want to have an alternate plan out there because it might not be what I want.”"
NCJ
And all this time I thought it was Rob telling Jeff how to vote, when apparently it was his mom. Sure fooled most of us.
Having waded through all these comments, several things become clear. 1. Barb L. is almost as nasty as folks say (but not quite). 2. The Apostolic Church obviously puts MONEY ahead of the interests and wishes of its neighbors. 3. Jeff L. obviously does the same, putting the interests of Verizon ahead of the citizens who actually LIVE in that neighborhood and actually own property there. 4. Jeff has demonstrated a record of putting the interests of money ahead of the people of Eureka (ie: his love for Arkley’s MONSTER by the Bay and his fawning over Verizon). 5. Neal, who has expressed absolutely NO interest in running for office, has been vilified for standing up with his neighbors to defend the legitimate interests of his community. That’s WRONG!
When the smoke clears, it is apparent that there is a group of individuals with no vision for Eureka beyond whatever MONEY they can milk out of it. Maybe some things never change.
Jeff may not be in it for the money but he pays homage to the BIG BOYS. Watching him pontificate at council meetings is a sight to behold. He should receive a bill for the people’s time he’s wasted. I dread having such a windbag with so little to say holding forth at the county level.
Is there any sanity out there anywhere anymore?
Pete,
We’ll all be “blown away” and shocked when, later this year, Neal declares he has been convinced by his neighborhood that he simply must run for office.
A page out of an old play book…make a controversy out of nothing to thrust a candidate in training on the unsuspecting. Surprise! We suspect already!
Who made you drink the kool-aid or did you mix it up yourself?
Every time someone refers to “drinking the kool-aid” it pays tribute to a monster named the Reverend Jim Jones and it damages the good name of a refreshing, tasty, and affordable beverage.
Historical note: The 900+ who perished at Jonestown drank Flavr-Aid. But it was Kool-Aid that took the fall.
Does Jeff Leonard support the idea of rolling back the Supes wages to a level that is affordable for a county our size? Say $50,000 or so? Isn’t that plenty pay for being a Supe?
have a peaceful day,
Bill
pete,
Thanks for weighing in on this discussion. Your sharpshooting has hit all the major bullet points. Excellent! Maude..get a grip. Neal is not the issue.
You know I was about to vote for Jeff Leonard until I saw these posts by Barb Leonard.
Pete you are like good ole Neal.. missing the legal point about Jeff’s decisions on the Verizon issue. Uhh sharpshooting? more like hand grenades.
Gosh, is not that what this blog is about in truth. Its propaganda, plain and simple. How many of the posters are just characters in the play. They only exist in the minds of H&H.
Wow!
Thank you Mike Buettner 2:26 for that ZINGER!
And thank you Pete; Citizens like Mr. Latt who have the courage and are willing to do the research and stand up to advocate passionately for their neighborhood, without compensation, have my vote for city council.
Please run Neal!
No shit they do, that’s what your vote is worth. The fact that his research was faulty does not matter to you. I notice you did not point out who is on the board of RREDEC board. This would give you a clue about their thoughts and actions. Remember the original Local Solutions website that stated “to put people with like visions on local boards “, well its here. Pete is just a new player, another kool-aid drinker.
LAY OFF THE KOOL-AID, FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT’S COLD, WET, AND TASTY ON A HOT SUMMER DAY! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!