Assembly candidates simply prepping for November

ELECTION 2010
BY SALLY MORRIS THE TRINITY JOURNAL

In the upcoming June 8 primary election, voters in

Californiaʼs 1st Assembly District that includes all of Trinity County have two choices for
candidates who will ultimately face off in Novemberʼs general election. The primary also
allows for possible writein candidates to join the race.

Democratic incumbent Wesley Chesbro, D-North Coast, is seeking election to a second

term representing the district that includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity, Mendocino and
Lake counties and part of Sonoma County.

The Assembly has term limits of three two-year terms and Chesbro was elected in 2008
to replace Patty Berg when she was termed out.

Prior to that, Chesbro served eight years (two full terms) in the California Senate
representing the North Coast District 2. His career in public service began at age 22
when he was elected to the Arcata City Council where he served six years. That was
followed by 10 years on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors.

Chesbro founded the Eureka areaʼs first recycling center in 1971 and the Northcoast
Environmental Center. He was also a founding member of the California Integrated
Waste Management Board he served on for eight years.

He has been married for 26 years and has two sons.

Republican challenger Karen Brooks of Bayside is a 30-year resident of Humboldt

County who said it took her seven years to work her way through college, “but I
graduated without owing a dime.”

Her career has been focused on business administration and consulting in the private
sector. Sheʼs waited tables, worked in retail and was hired in 1987 as marketing director
of Eurekaʼs Bayshore Mall. She was assistant manager during the mallʼs second phase
of expansion.
In 1999, she left the mall and started BIG — Brooks Idea Group where she consults on
a variety of projects and programs involving business administration, public relations
and marketing.

She has been married for 24 years, has two sons, and said she is a parttime resident of
Trinity County, enjoying part ownership in a houseboat on Trinity Lake as well as
backpacking and horseback riding in the Trinity Alps.

Brooks officially launched her campaign on April 15 at a tax day rally in Eureka held by
the Humboldt County Tea Party Patriots group she is a former spokesperson for.

She said she is running on a platform to reduce the size and scope of government while
creating an environment that encourages private sector jobs and supports private
property rights, education and sustainable use of natural resources.

Brooks described the 1st Assembly District as a vastly rural region with a
resourcebased economy “that has been strangled” by too many burdensome
environmental regulations.

“I need to get to Sacramento to balance our environmental needs with our employment
needs. I believe both can win, but right now weʼre in a downward spiral. The 1st District
is first in unemployment, first in schools closing and first in families moving away,” she
said.

An advocate of smaller government, Brooks believes the way to grow the economy “is
through small business, not big government. Government needs to get out of the way.
We need more business people in our local governments working for us in Sacramento
and Iʼm a scrapper. I will fight for our district to be heard.”

Chesbro said his priority is to protect the small, rural communities in his district “during
these tough budget times” and his philosophy about the best way to campaign for office
“is to do my job and make sure that Trinity County and the rest of the region I represent
donʼt get rolled over in the stateʼs budget crisis. My motto is ʻfirst district first.ʼ”

To that end, he worked to obtain carve-outs last year from state payment deferrals for
counties with fewer than 40,000 people and vowed to do so again this year.

He also fought off the governorʼs proposal to cut funding for rural sheriffʼs departments
that he said “is vital for Trinity County and will be an ongoing battle.”

He is currently fighting to maintain Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for small rural

hospitals like Trinity while larger hospitals in the urban areas are being reduced.

Chesbro said he is working to ensure that any statewide measures requiring the
development of renewable energy sources guard Trinity County from potential costs by
taking into account its unique circumstances associated with the power it derives from
Trinity Dam.
He is opposed to the state water bond measure coming up on the November ballot that
he believes will guarantee more water being delivered from the north to the south.

“All rivers in Northern California are at risk, but especially the Trinity since it is the only
one that already has the plumbing in place,” he said, adding that flows in the Trinity and
Klamath rivers “are very much in danger and protecting them will be a battle for the rest
of our lives.”

Regarding environmental regulations his opponent calls burdensome, Chesbro said, “I

am certainly in favor of helping small business, but sacrificing our environment is not the
way to do that. Having a pristine region is what draws people to settle here and bring
business to the area.”

Absentee ballots on the way

Voters wishing to vote by mail in Californiaʼs June 8 gubernatorial primary rather than go
to the polls on Election Day have a month left to apply for a mail-in ballot.

There are three ways to apply. Those wanting to permanently vote absentee can sign
up to do so on their voter registration form. Sample ballots due to be mailed out this
week also contain a vote-by-mail application on the back page to fill out and send in, or
applicants may fill out the necessary form in person at the elections office in the county
Courthouse.

The last day to apply for a vote–by-mail ballot for the June 8 election is Tuesday, June
1.

Absentee ballots can either be mailed into the county elections office or turned in by
hand on Election Day. All ballots must be received by the elections office by the time
polls close on Election Day or they wonʼt be counted.

— Sally Morris