Columns

Is it ever a good time to have to be looking for a job? Definitely not. Especially right now, when unemployment is at its lowest in eight years, since before the Great Recession.

Last week’s editorial (“Scrambled eggs and picket lines.” The Windsor Times Feb. 4, 2016) attacked the county budget process, stating that discussions are held outside of the public view and void of citizen input. It ended by asserting, “This is not how county government should work.”

Last week county workers and SEIU 1021 union reps picketed, protested and scrambled the State of Sonoma County Breakfast where 500 county government and business leaders gathered for a promised upbeat message about a strong and growing local economy.

Lots of the presidential election talk these days is about “Reagan’s America.” The GOP candidates all claim to be from there and they speak of it like it’s some kind of magical Camelot or a Lake Wobegon where all the men are natural-born citizens, all the women are against abortion and all the children are exactly average.

This is a multiple choice quiz about our economy and the state of our nation. It includes lots of contradictory information and torturous logic. If that sounds like an impossible test, don’t worry, all the correct answers will be printed below.

Cold and wet winter days in Sonoma County always flush out news accounts of flooding, fallen trees and dangerous driving conditions. And then there are the stories and reminders of people who are homeless, facing bone-chilling nights on the street, hoping for a cot at an emergency shelter or at least a hot meal or two the next day.

Welcome to the new year of 2016. We’re sure it will be as full of news as all the recent years have been, if not more so. This new year will include a pivotal national election and many continuing discussions over local land use, winery expansions, housing costs, local health care changes, county supervisorial and city hall elections and more.

First off, Happy New Year! I hope you were able to enjoy some well-deserved time with loved ones over the holidays.

There are many possible labels we could put on the time capsule for the year 2015, but one undeniable title would be “A Very Violent Year.” This is not because of a few highly profiled terrorist attacks. It is because of the mass killings we did to ourselves, a total of 353  multiple-victim shootings that left 12,223 dead people across our bloody urban, small town and rural landscape. This total included 62 attacks on schools, supposedly the safest places in our society.

As a first year County Supervisor, I often tell people that “I am so full of purpose I might pop.” I love my job … and I don’t take a bit of it for granted. Some people ask me how I deal with the negative aspects of being a local elected official - the accusations, the blame and the demands to fix everything under the sun. I usually respond that the good, and the opportunity to do more good, is what drives me through the difficulty. At this level of government, I can truly work with you all to shape the future of our community. What an awesome responsiblity and opportunity. As we reach the end of 2015, I wanted to share some thoughts on what has been a non-stop thrill ride of a year.