Chris Crawford RIP
A champion for conservative causes and candidates in Humboldt County has died following a brief battle with liver cancer.
Chris Crawford passed away on March 26th. A funeral is planned for April 5th memorial is planned for 5:00pm Monday April 11th at the Arkley Center.
Crawford served as president of Justice Served, a court management alliance.
He was an outspoken opponent of Measure T, a 2006 voter-approved initiative that banned outside corporate contributions to Humboldt County elections, but was later struck down in court. More recently he helped lead the charge for Measure N, which paved the way for a zoning change on Eureka’s blighted Balloon Track property in support of property owner Rob Arkley’s Marina Center project.
Crawford served as a past Chairman of the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce. He was a regular writer for the Times-Standard‘s Tech Beat column.
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This is sad news. I had no idea. My heart goes out to his family. Mr. Crawford was a great advocate for his community. Very sad.
I am in shock. Chris was a true democrat- equally kind and respectful to all. Our prayers are with the famliy.
I can’t agree with you, Andrew B., anyone who opposed measure T and supported measure N was, arguably, not a “great advocate for his community”. My sympathies to his family but there are many of us in the community who cannot laud his advocacy and allegiances.
While Chris’ politics and mine couldn’t have been further apart, on a social level he was always charming and kind. He believed what he believed and worked hard for it. If everyone did that, the world would undoubtedly be a better place.
Sylvia: You didn’t have to always agree with Chris Crawford’s politics or his positions on the issues to acknowledge he cared passionately about his community. Please respect him for that.
Chris was also a driving force behind reviving the Redwood Technology Consortium. He served on the board, was board president. After leaving the board he continued great service to RTC by managing the Tech Beat series in the Times-Standard and other local publications. Chris was vital in helping us get that last strand of fiber completed in our region. I am deeply saddened by his passing.
Hey Heraldo, where is the “like” button?
Should have known there would be some of Sylvia’s ilk here, what a shame!!!
Whether you agreed with his positions or not, he walked the walk, working for the causes he believed in, not hiding his identity, taking the flak that came his way with good humor and grace.
I knew Chris to be a caring, compassionate individual. He will be missed.
And since when should harpies from Westhaven decide who is worthy to be regarded as a community advocate in Eureka? Some confuse “community” with lock-step ideology.
What PJ said. I know that Chris leaves behind colleagues with politics across the spectrum who held him in the highest regard. He was a doer and a builder and did his best to make this a better world according to his lights. I hope young conservatives can look at his example and learn that you don’t have to be a hater to be a principled advocate for your position.
Very sad news. I echo PJ’s comments at 9:48; the world would be a better place if there were more people who brought Chris Crawford’s public spiritedness to bear.
If you will question another person’s commitment to his or her community because of a differing vision for the community… you should spend some time in contemplation. We’re all on the same team. Issues are issues. People are people. If you haven’t stood shoulder-to-shoulder with people of starkly different political viewpoints, you should get out a little more often.
Sorry, it’s a lot like questioning someone’s patriotism.
A neighbor is gone. Sad.
I had the good fortune of meeting Chris at a mutual friends’ house. Naturally the discussion turned to local politics where we disagreed on just about everything. In retrospect he ended up being mostly right and I mostly wrong that evening. More importantly, I left the discussion with a great respect for the man and his beliefs.
While I disagreed with Chris on many subjects he cared deeply about his community and truly felt he was doing right by it. You’ve got to respect that. He will be missed.
The following was culled from Chris’ strictly business blog about court management. From what I read today, he rarely strayed from his blog’s focus.
Is homelessness a hopeless cause?
The world is run by those who show up
I expect there’s a lot that the man’s detractors don’t know about him.
Chris was unique combination of intelligence, compassion, professionalism and hilarious irreverence — a lovely man in so many ways. He left a lot of loving friends and admirers.
Wow. This is shocking. He was a fun guy to talk local politics with. My heart goes out to his family.
Mr. Crawford brought much to our community with his intelligence, worldly talents, technological skills, and advocacy. Many owe much to him.
Chris was a great person. Honest, thoughtful and kind. I am in complete shock and will mis him dearly.
I’m so sad to hear of Chris’ passing.
Chris and I had numerous discussions over the years on a wide range of topics including broadband infrastructure, homelessness, economics, campaign finance reform and the Federalist Papers. While we may have had disagreements on some of these issues, we also found much agreement.
He seemed to truly enjoy an exchange of ideas and differing opinions on an intellectual level. I never doubted his passion or commitment to his community.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
This is a sad day. Chris dedicated himself to improving Eureka.
At first I thought it was only about preparing to run for office again but I found out differently. After losing his one race he only wanted to make Eureka a better place.
Chris was a good person and fun to discuss economics/politics with. He will be missed by many regardless of the political differences.
RIP CC.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
Like many ahead of me have already expressed, Chris and I did not agree on everything, but we did agree on much. He was always professional, intelligent, and courteous. I will miss him a lot. We have lost someone valuable in our community.
My sincere condolences to his family.
RIP Chris. You were a good man.
Chris and I were also on opposite sides of most things, but this dialogue shows that everyone truly cares deeply about this community and the loss of any piece of the community is a tragedy. We should all keep this feeling in mind in our future discussions.
My regards, and thoughts, are with Chris and his family.
I met Chris through the RTC when I was just getting my business started, and I was immediately struck by what a dynamic but personable guy he was. Like many here have already said, we didn’t actually agree on much, but it was impossible not to respect and hold him in high regard because when you got right down to it, he was a good guy. I wish there were more like him on both sides of the fence, people who are capable of holding distinctly differing positions yet still able to see the humanity in one another.
This is very sad news. My condolences to his friends and family.
I am heartened to see that many of the people posting comments on this thread — people who may have disagreed strongly with Mr. Crawford about one issue or another — can nonetheless recognize the basic decency of the man and the sincerity of his beliefs, and can respect him for devoting countless hours to serve the community that he obviously loved.
My hope is that perhaps we can learn to recognize these things in our fellow Humboldtians while they are still among the living, and that all sides could maybe ease up a bit on the demonizing of those who happen to be on the opposing side of one issue or the other. I suspect Mr. Crawford would approve of that.
Chris was truthful, honest, well spoken and loved this community. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
Wow, only just heard. I’m stunned. I had no idea. Here was me feeling guilty about not having responded to Chris’s call last month for the next round of Tech Beat commitments. All of us on the tech end of the business community owe him at the very least a commitment to churn out one or two articles before the end of the year. He certainly successfully got me out of my comfort zone more than once, for which I am eternally grateful. Like others here, I often didn’t agree with his politics, but he was a good and decent man, and that counts for a lot these days. I hope he goes on to create a stir in the next life – he will be missed in this one.
PS – There’s a few other feisty souls on the other side I know he’ll be arguing with already!
Chris was a good man and a friend…he will be
missed.
As is evident here, he left an undelible mark on so many; and inspires me to strive to do the same. I can only hope for an accomplishment such as this to count on one hand when my time here is done.
Thank you Chris, for your inspiration that continues to live; and love to those who will never forget you; for all of whom you were.
I’m not a bit sad. He was menace and did no end of harm.
What a pathetic attempt to sabotage a lovely memorial. You are pathetic, and although I feel a slight twinge of sadness for the lack of your soul, I do not feel sorry for you. Good luck to you, Nobody. You’re going to need it.
God Bless.
I was never introduced to Chris, but we saw each other at our neighborhood bakery (Vellutini’s) several times. Always sad to lose a neighbor.
Agree with him or not, you gotta respect his commitment to civic causes and bettering his community. I aspire to giving back to the community in the same spirit in which he sought to make a difference. He was a real leader.
I don’t know who the coward is hiding behind the “nobody” alias, but I think s/he might want to remember that what goes around, comes around. And that a memorial is no place for vitriol.
Chris Crawford had a keen sense of humor. I loved shooting the bull with him at different events throughout Humboldt County. He was truly a hip individual and a loving person. I will miss him.
Oh man! I had no idea he was sick. He was a warm person and yes, he did have a great deal of passion for the community. He also had a great sense of humor and was one of the few local conservatives willing to promote/defend his views on my radio show. I’ll miss him.
This thread wouldn’t have been complete without a few pot shots. Chris enjoyed the blogs but didn’t take them too seriously. When I dropped my local blog he sent a cartoon card with a dog saying to another, “I had my own blog for a while, but I decided to go back to pointless, incessant barking.”
“…Chris loved this community and was passionate about developing the economy and furthering the technology infrastructure of the region. He was one of the most eloquent off-the-cuff speakers I knew,” (Bob) Morse wrote. “And he loved to speak his mind…”
“… Access Humboldt Executive Director Sean McLaughlin knew Crawford through the consortium and said Crawford’s death was “a real loss for the community. He was always ready to challenge assumptions to advance our collective knowledge…his valuable experience and deep knowledge helped to bridge discussions across the public and private sectors. We often disagreed, but I always valued his perspective…”
More on Chris’ life and times by Donna Tam in today’s Times-Standard,
“Community Mourns Death of Activist, Businessman Chris Crawford”
To note: “In lieu of flowers, his wife is asking that donations be made in Chris Crawford’s name to the local office of the American Cancer Society, 2942 F St., Eureka, 95501, or to any charity.”
The family is holding a memorial service at the Arkley Center on April 11 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Link text
For those knowing Chris or missing this, here
is his notice of passing and obituary in the Times-Standard.
My condolences to Chris’ family and friends.
Mr. Crawford certainly contributed to the public debate on the role of government in our lives. I met Chris when he was the one conservative who was willing to serve on a panel discussion about corporate fraud that was hosted by the Alliance for Ethical Business , in our early efforts to defeat the Maxxam Corporation funded attempt to recall District Attorney Paul Gallegos. He allowed us to provide true balance in that discussion and contributed to a spirited debate.
Richard, you might want to add that he ended up being right according to the California Supreme Court.
Perhaps, he was a nice guy on a personal level, and for that his family and friends have my condolences.
Howver, his public statments showed him to be an ardent advocate for the priviledges of few at the expense of the many. In that sense, his voice will not be missed by me.
Jim Nelson’s comment at Talking Tech:
“Look, it’s like this…” [fill in the blank with your favorite Crawfordism]
“It was in the middle of the fiber optic wars of the early 2000s during a monumental conflict between two behemoth bureaucracies: Caltrans and the phone company. The reality was that, because of the conflict, Humboldt was one of only three counties in California that did not yet have high-speed Internet communications. Given the stubbornness of the key players, the prospects did not look so good for any kind of speedy solution.
Chris Crawford was at the table with other community representatives and the power players in the dispute. It was all about who paid what to complete a 21-mile trench along Highway 101…”
More of the article by Mr. Foster and Mr. Hockaday, a nice memorial to Mr. Crawford/a>, was published in the Times-Standard today.
or also found here, too.