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Perfect.
You guys crack me up.
They are usually pretty funny and I hope Virgina manages to hook up with him. Perhaps this is just the first episode.
“Hook up”?
In the friendly or biblical sense? If you’re talking about Virginia, you better be clear about that.
Ahh, the nasty rumormongering rears it’s ugly head at 3:36. Surprised it took that long.
Personally I couldn’t care less who Virginia “hooks up” with, any more than I care who Bonnie or Jeff “hooks up” with. Unless it impacts their job performance, it’s a non-issue to me.
Except in the sense that the more mud is slung at someone (instead of meaningful commentary) the more I tend to sympathize with them and the more I wonder what the mudslingers are trying to distract me from.
Since the Reasonable Anonymous has already responded to the sexist dumbfuckery posted at 3:36, I’ll let it stand. But so-called progressives need to stop with their panty politics. It is beneath you. Only a truly weak mind struggles to find a real reason to criticize Virgina Bass.
lol
Hi Heraldo,
THANK YOU, for your post at 353.
Keep up the good work.
Dear Voter,
I was very sorry to hear about the passing of your beloved _______________. When his/her absentee ballot shows up, remember _______________ was Hooked on Bass!
HumboldTurtle- We need you on our committee! That was funny in a morbid sense. More free publicity from the Birthday card campaign. Sweet! Stay tuned for other out of the box stuff. But I am sure Heraldo will keep you in the loop. (You people were about three months late on this subject. We have sent out many hundreds of B-Day cards.)
Mr. Softball, please consider adding the Humboldt Herald to your mailing list. We love us some developer-funded propaganda.
Smarmy in your arrogance, huh?
It’s only Richard Marks. He’s one of
them.
How could anyone possible criticize Virginia? Usually
when someone is criticized they have done something.
So, my question is what has Virginia done for this
community?
Did someone criticize Virginia?
A vote for Virginia would be going Bass Ackwards.
I don’t think anyone is being critical of her, just her campaign tactics.
This is really funny! Maybe these guys could spice up Virginia’s campaign…for real. Speaking of campaign tactics, I received Bonnie’s latest flyer in the mail today and felt it was a little weak – and I’m a fan.
Funny cartoon. But what are Bonnie’s tactics?? Name recognition alone? Hooked on Bass? Shit, just gaff me and pull me in the boat!
Bonnie has done an amazing amount for the county, in addition to keeping it solvent, something her opponents sadly cannot say about their stewardship of the city of Eureka. Let’s see if Jeff and Virginia have the temerity to (continue to) not fully fund police and fire services in the latest round of budget cuts to their city.
One thing Bonnie isn’t so good at is blowing her own horn, so please allow me to do so in her stead. Someone asked above: What are Bonnie’s tactics? In two words: Her Accomplishments. What follows is a sheet she tucked into my door jamb (she was walking her precincts) that outline ten of her biggies:
Why Re-elect Bonnie Neely?
Ten Accomplishments
1) Library While other counties were curtailing or eliminating public libraries, Bonnie took the lead in raising funds for the Humboldt County Library, securing more than $9 million from the state and helping raise another $1 million from the private sector. The result was the Main Branch Library, overlooking our majestic harbor. To ensure its proper care and maintenance she also helped to found the Humboldt Library Foundation, which has donated over $600,000 to keep libraries open in Humboldt County.
2) Seniors Bonnie helped create (with Patty Berg) the exemplary system of senior services in Eureka, including the Senior Center, the new Alzheimers Center (state-of-the-art) and the Adult Day Health Program, key to allowing Eureka seniors to stay independent and in their own homes as they grow older. In 1989, she received an Achievement Award presented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in recognition of her work on behalf of the elderly.
3) Festivals Bonnie co-founded the Redwood Coast Jazz Festival and Blues by the Bay, which today are among the most respected and successful small festivals in the nation. Under her stewardship on the Music Festival board, these annual events brought approximately $3.25 million/year into the local economy. Festival proceeds in excess $350,000 have been awarded to local senior programs and youth activities, including purchasing musical instruments for elementary schools. The Jazz Festival is 20 years old this year.
4) Jobs Bonnie saved nearly 200 jobs by helping to develop a precedent-setting agreement between the county, the state, and commercial operators, providing for the continuation of gravel extraction on the Mad River.
5) Jobs Bonnie testified before a Congressional subcommittee to ensure Humboldt County received mitigation monies for the loss of Headwaters Forest from the local economy. As a result, $23 million in Federal and State funding is available in the Headwaters Fund that is helping to grow Humboldt County businesses and jobs.
6) Taxes After a local court imposed county welfare general relief payments that were the sixth-highest in California, Bonnie took the lead in a successful appeal of the ruling, saving county taxpayers $600,000.
7) Step Up Again tapping into state funds, Bonnie worked to create employment opportunities for Humboldt County youth through the Step Up program. This program provided work experience and summer jobs for participants. This program went on to receive a merit award from the California Association of Counties.
8) Budget Under Bonnie’s stewardship, the county budget is one of the few in California which has not had to impose staff layoffs or across-the-board cuts to all departments. In contrast, the City of Eureka budget under the stewardship of her challengers faces a $4.35 million budget deficit this year alone, and in recent years has had to freeze or eliminate vacant police and fire positions.
9) Statewide Respect In 1988, she was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian to the California Coastal Commission where she served for five years. In 1994, she was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson to the California Board of Forestry and served as Vice-Chair. In 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Bonnie to the California Coastal Commission, where she has served as chairperson, and recently (December, 2009) re-elected by her peers to serve a second term as chair.
10) CR Ag Program The CalTrans Alton Interchange and Mad River Bridge construction projects now underway consumed a fair amount of prime farmland. As an offset, Bonnie helped to negotiate a deal in which CalTrans donated $2 million to permanently endow CR’s struggling agriculture program, which trains young farmers.
The flyer that came in the mail did not list all those accomplishments – that was my point. Maybe there have been others that have and I’ve missed them. I just glanced at the material I received today and my thought was that she could have highlighted much more.
11) Bonnie Neely is on the Dell Arte board, I think she is actually the chair.
12) As Chair of the Coastal Commission, she has a helluva lot more experience on state law that affects Humboldt County than Bass or Leonard. Until we become part of Oregon, that matters.
In response to Just sayin’ says, every so-called accomplishment you listed for Neely is what is to be expected for someone that has been on the Board of Supervisors for almost 24 years. That is what she has been paid a hefty salary to do. Virginia Bass was elected to the City Council and Mayor at a time when she was running a locally-owned family business and having a son serving our County in Iraq. No matter what one may think of our involvement in the war, she is a mother that raised a son and saw him go off to war. Her strengh and character through that and running her own accomplishment while serving as an elected official with compensation that isn’t worth mentioning are real accomplishments in my world.
Bonnie Neely merely did what she is paid to do. And she was paid handsomely.
…and the City of Eureka is in what kind of shape now? And what happened to the family restaurant while Bonnie was doing what she has been paid to do all these years?
Let’s be friends. Go BON-BON!
So “Bonnie Neely merely did what she is paid to do.” Isn’t that what you ask of all your employees?
So now give us one good reason why you want to replace that experienced employee and replace her with someone who’s resume consists of running a locally owned business until it died and having a son who joined the military.
I don’t get it.
“only the truly weak mind struggles to finds a real reason to criticize Virgina Bass”
No actually Hearldo I have documentation and hell of a lot of reasons to criticize this pathetic excuse of a Major. Virgina only wants to climb the political ladder and she will do whatever it takes. Believe me when the time is appropriate the truth will come out.
Well, you certainly wouldn’t want to be inappropriate.
Obviously I misread your comment. Let me clarify. I have countless reasons why she is not fit for office.
Bonnie’s list of accomplishments is formidable. Its breadth illustrates the degree to which she is networked in with the roster of elected officials in Humboldt and beyond. She is, has been, and will continue to bring home the bacon to Humboldt. Not only is she the best person for the job, we clearly can’t afford to lose her and the experience she brings to the table.
Meanwhile, for all their talk about jobs, Virginia and Jeff have presided over a net LOSS of jobs in Eureka throughout their cumulative terms of office. O & M Industries, Trinity Diesel, and all the other vacant addresses on Jacobs Ave. are a testament to their collective absence of vision and lack of ability to create an industrial park to accomodate the growth of these two and the numberous other industrial businesses to Arcata. They should hang their heads in shame!
Those jobs left Bonnie’s district, too.
You can’t possibly be serious when you say the City Council is a more influential position to bring jobs INTO THE AREA than the full time paid Supervisor position. Or do you really think that? With all Bonnie’s influence, experience and connections, this county continues to lose legal, private sector, for profit, living wage jobs. She has had ample opportunity to make it happen. She has not.
Pretty much every example you raise of bringing home the bacon involves moving taxpayer funds from one Governmental entity to another. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like more of that State and Federal bacon for Humboldt County.
But the real issue in this county is that our local economy has never taken realistic steps to replace the industrial, goods exporting/cash importing jobs that were lost in the timber and fishing industry.
Until this happens, and it hasn’t happened during the 24 years on Bonnie’s watch, including the last 8 when venture capital for large projects like ports and railroads was easier to acquire than at any time in the last two generations.
Which is why Bass’ past campaign promises about jobs was horse pucky.
Does not compute.
Exactly.
Does not compute. Par time job vs. full time very well paid job = no job creation.
It’s the Tompkins Hill Blues…
Heraldo: Bonnie took $10,000 from one developer in Southern California. Our 460′s seem to be lacking these huge “local developer” funding you refer to. We have hundreds of local families and businesses in the 4th District donating to our campaign. Bonnie has only a few people from the 4th District donating. Why is that? Bonnie has a record of being an impediment on local job growth and has hurt local businesses by her actions as County Supervisor.
At least agree with those facts.
She will be done June 8th. 24 years is long enough. This was not meant to be a lifetime position.
Sour grapes by a two-time loser.
Richard Marks is predicting Virginia takes all on June 8th?
Richard, can you please put together a list of Virginia’s accomplishments? And given these accomplishments, how would they translate given the job of Supervisor?
Please respond, I’ve been waiting for such a response from someone, anyone for some time. Given that you are her campaign manager, you may be our best opportunity!
Please Richard?
“Bonnie has a record of being an impediment on local job growth and has hurt local businesses by her actions as County Supervisor.”
As Richard would say… someone is drinking the Kool Aid.
Heraldo: Damn Straight! I will do all in my power to not let this go past June. I have softball leagues and tournaments to run!
Ester: I am sure you are familiar with Virginia’s many community service accomplishments, planting trees to keep Eureka Beautiful, helping Betty Chinn with meals and clothes, helped the Discovery Museum, raised record amounts for Relay for Life, currently a member and past president of the Henderson Center Kiwanis Club, cleaning up the streets and a portions of Highway 101, bowling in “Bowl for Kids Sake”, ringing bells for the Salvation Army at Christmas time, etc. Ester, it would be hard to find someone who is as well connected to a community as Virginia.
Virginia has a laundry list of accomplishments while in office as councilperson and mayor that she refuses to let me claim as her own. She feels all gains that the “team” has made should not be exploited as “her” projects singularly. While Jeff claims the skateboard project, I can’t even get Virginia to go public with the Cooper Gulch Frisbee Golf course that brings many thousands of participants from all over the county, that was her idea that she put into action!
Bonnie is great at taking credit for everything “good” in the county, and no “blame” for anything bad. It is a pattern I have seen for the last 20 some odd years. While Bonnie was the perfect conservative Republican representative on the Board.
The list of accomplishments that Bonnie has taken credit for should be upseting to the thousands of volunteers who are involved in the “projects” Bonnie takes credit for. I can go down line item by line item and tell you who were the other people who should be credited. Even her top supporters should come forward with that.
There you go. Public and not anonymous.
Ester: Watch how many attack this answer but won’t be identified. Much hate. We are the true local grass roots campaign that is not hiring out of county “staff” to run our campaign. Bonnie is.
Mike: You are guzzling the Kool Aid! Let’s go guzzle a brew sometime soon and talk about it.
Fact: Virginia and Jeff have records of being impediments on local job growth during their tenures. There has been a net loss of jobs, including the (I believe) nine industrial concerns that have abandoned Eureka for Arcata during their tenures. Much as you’d like to run away from this fact, Richard and Ken, it is, for you, “an inconvenient truth.”
Meanwhile, Bonnie has been creating or saving jobs in the county. It must really kill you that she took the lead in the negotiations a while back to preserve the Mad River gravel extraction ops (200 jobs there) after the state declared, gravel extraction is over.
Here’s a question for you, Richard: why has the new owner of the pulp mill donated his space for Bonnie to use as her campaign headquarters, and not to Virginia, who, after all, used to work there only a couple of years back? Might it be because Bob Simpson has realized that Bonnie (and not Virginia) has the capacity to actually GET THINGS DONE? That she is the “go-to” person to get things done in the county?
That must really kill you.
It does not compute. Harvey Harper abandoned Bonnie because she was too Liberal. Bonnie has always been sort of a free-thinking liberal libertarian. Conservative? No. That’s being used here the way conservatives use “liberal”.
I think Just Sayin’ just knocked Richard Marks to the mat.
Glad to see that the creation of the “Community Assistance Unit” (which was later re-named “Code Enfocement Unit”) is no longer being listed as one of Bonnie’s proudest accomplishments. Given what an out-of-control clusterfuck the Code Enforcement Unit turned out to be, no one should be holding it up as any kind of positive accomplishment.
“Why has the new owner of the pulp mill donated his space for Bonnie to use as her campaign headquarters, and not to Virginia…”
Simple answer.
Bob Simpson is Bonnie’s boy.
I’m waiting for Heraldo to do one of those articles on how Bonnie took $6,000 of in-kind office and phone use from Simpson this election cycle.
Come June 9, the first call Simpson makes is to the new Fourth District Supervisor.
Bonnie’s number will be lost faster than psycho ex-lover.
Still waiting to see a Top Ten Accomplishments / Top Ten Reasons to Vote for Virginia Bass. Been waiting for that for weeks now. Maybe 10 is more than they can muster? How about at least 5 accomplishments?
If you can’t come up with at least 5 accomplishments or other specific reasons, then maybe Bass should just withdraw from the race. “You hate Bonnie and I’m not Bonnie” will only take you so far.
Virginia’s #1 Accomplishment:
(drumroll, please)
“I bowled in Bowl For Kids’ Sake.”
The fact of the matter is that the majority of Eureka’s traditional manufacturing job locations are located in the Coastal Zone, which was where the barges and railroads are. So everytime a business tries to open up in that zone they they have to overcome hurdles at the city and Coastal level. If Humboldt county seriously wants to create manufacturing jobs, they should explore old sawmill sites outside of Eureka and away from the bay, like the old Eel River Sawmill site, and the old Blue Lake Forest Product sites. (I say old sawmill sites because they already have heavy industrial type zoning.)
But no one tries to come up with anything even in those sites, because the overall tenor of this county is against business of all sorts.
If someone is starting up a business from scratch, they are going to go where the best deal is for them, because the hardest part is usually getting enough capital together and hanging on to it to pay bills as the business gets on its feet.
But this county is paralyzed when it comes to saying YES to decent, responsible, business proposals. It takes so long that a person with a good idea can watch their financing fall apart while trying to get all the different agency approvals, use permits, coastal permits, zone changes etc to get to the point where they are actually making widgets. So they give up, and look in other counties for a place to put their idea in action.
Bonnie may have the ability to get things done, but I think that after 24 years on the job, she has become a victim of institutional capture. Instead of responsibly advocating for the private sector job creator, who ultimately creates the jobs and pays the bills for the entire public contraption, she advocates from the perspective of nonprofit grant funded job stiflers, who by and large made some money somewhere else and moved here to a depressed economy where they get more bang for their buck.
Lets face it, she has been running the board for years, and no board chairman worth their salt is going to bring items up for a vote unless they know ahead of time that they have the votes lined up. I respect her for that, I just disagree with the ideology that drives her process.
Virginia is part of the problem, not the solution. She epitomizes everything that’s wrong about the corrupt, self-dealing, visionless administration of the city that has led Eureka to where it is now: broke, polluted, industrial jobs abandoning it for its far-thinking neighbor, always looking for the quick fix (Marina Center) or the next big score (bringing back the railroad, LNG, a container port), whatever the costs…
Bonnie gets my vote just for standing up to that machine and choosing a different way.
From the October 2006 NCJ on Virginia’s run for mayor.
“She said said that city needs “to adjust how we do business,” to welcome investment with open arms and to do everything in the city’s power to help retain Eureka businesses that are seeking to expand and grow. Economic expansion is one important key to solving the city’s most pressing problems, she said, and she vowed to clean up the city’s image in the business world.”
And almost 4 years later?
“Virginia has a laundry list of accomplishments while in office as councilperson and mayor that she refuses to let me claim as her own.”
“Bonnie has a record of being an impediment on local job growth and has hurt local businesses by her actions as County Supervisor.”
WTF Richard. Virgina won’t let you give any specific accomplishments of her own but will let you throw out unsubstantiated smears of her opponent?
That tells us a lot about Virgina’s character.
“laundry list of accomplishments”
Well, let’s see them.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
So, let’s see some of the items from that “laundry list”
Ken: you say Bonnie hasn’t responsibly advocated for jobs from the private sector?
Who do you think extracts gravel?
Your candidate Jeff has talked a big talk about getting Eureka an industrial park, but where rubber meets the road, he hasn’t done jack.
Neither has Virginia.
Folks, you are witnessing the Best of Heraldo here, where the “politically astute” (and politically clueless) grapple like sumo wrestlers. When the dust settles, only the facts remain.
Thanks, H!
In Heraldo’s War of Ideas, Richard appears to be armed only with a toothbrush.
Jeeze, Just! How many parks do you think the city needs? We have an event park, numerous playground parks and now a skate park but you want an industrial park?? I mean, WTF dude? Get your priorities straight. First you have to build the stuff that people would like if they had jobs here, THEN you focus on getting jobs. I haven’t quite figured out how you are supposed to pay for all those parks without jobs quite yet, but I will.
8:30, don’t you find the idea of a politician who won’t toot their own horn but willing to smear their opponent interesting? A whole new level of political tactic – dredges of gutter. What you’ve done in the past or plan to do in the future is irrelevant if you can effectively smear your opponent. Can people really be dumb enough for it to work?
Virginia’s candidacy (and everything she stands for) seems to me to be the last gasp of Good Ol’ Boy Eureka. If she snookers enough people into actually electing her, watch how fast their respect withers on the vine when they see her thin-ness of substance actually put to the test.
Like electing Sarah Palin president.
only got to this thread today out of boredom but just wanted to say “thank you” to heraldo for this:
“Only a truly weak mind struggles to find a real reason to criticize Virgina Bass.”
an absolutely priceless bulls eye!
richard,you’re sad.i’m sorry i wasted time and money on your last supervisorial campaign.glad now that it flopped.
I have to say, at this point I like all three of the candidates for different reasons. Bonnie is certainly the strongest politically, but not knocking the others out of the ballpark with her campaign to date, IMO. I want to be more convinced by Bonnie than I am so far.
saw Bass tonight at a cancer event for women.
THanks for the card, Bass. But Leonard built me a skate park for my birthday.
I did too. I like Virginia very much…and Bonnie, and Jeff. They’re all good people. But who is best for the job? I’m still not sure. But, I bet there are people here who would be willing to enlighten me.
Latest polls: Bonnie = 35% Virginia = 40% Jeff =25% Close.
Too bad Jeff didn’t drop out in time to be taken off the ballet, would have been a classy move.
I don’t know? If Jeff has an estimated 25% of the vote at this point, it justifies his staying in the race – I think? It does seem fairly close based on the spread posted by Anon 1:06 pm. Where do those numbers come from?
84.32% of all statistics are made up on the spot.