County Supervisor Holds Community Meeting
Sonoma County 5th District Supervisor Efren Carrillo is hosting a “Community Gathering” at the Bodega Bay Fire Station on Wednesday, August 18th.
The meeting starts at 5:30pm with a “meet and greet,” followed by comments from Carrillo between 6:00 – 6:20.
Then the floor will be open for questions and/or comments from the public.
Intended as a means of bringing up issues that are unique to Bodega Bay and the surrounding communities, it is to be an informal meeting.
Carrillo, in his second year as Supervisor, is assigned to a specific duty for 2010, that of heading Health and Human Services.
These responsibilities include the Russian River Watershed Association, Tourism Advertising Committee, and Joint Roseland Subcommittee.
The 5th District is the biggest district in the County.
It includes the coast from Sea Ranch to Jenner to Bodega Bay; the rural communities of Bodega, Graton, Occidental, Forestville, Monte Rio, Guerneville, and Sebastopol; and the suburban/urban towns of Rohnert Park and the Roseland section of Santa Rosa where Carrillo was raised.
In 2008, there were approximately 45,000 registered voters in the district.
Incumbent Mike Reilly had stepped down after 12 years as supervisor.
Running against seven other candidates on the June ballot, Carrillo was only 27 years old.
Although he spoke of being in favor of preserving the environment, there were concerns that his interests might not reflect the needs and wants of the huge rural area he would head.
Quoting from a statement he made at the time, he said, “I am labeled as the kid, but I hope to bring a fresh perspective and to be a unifying force on health care, affordable housing, and gang issues.” (Article dated May 20, 2008 in the Press Democrat, reporter Bleys W. Rose)
In a run-off with Rue Furch in the November election, he won by only a small margin. Votes were 50.7% for him and 49.3% for her.
Furch, 62 at the time, ran on a platform based on being a staunch advocate of environmental issues.
At this Community Meeting in Bodega Bay, perhaps one issue that could be addressed is one that has been around for years; that of dividing up the unwieldy 5th district.
To better represent the rural areas of the true West Sonoma County, where preservation of the environment and protection of farming and ranching interests remain top concerns, another district could be formed that would better serve those in the 101 corridor of Roseland and Rohnert Park, both of which continue to grow at very fast rates and are daily faced with the issues Carrillo spoke of: health care, affordable housing, and gang issues.
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Efren Carillo is qualified to discuss gang issues. He is Hispanic. Gangs are a cultural phenomenon in cultures that are based on extended families. Most Caucasians in the USA live in nuclear families.
With all due respect, the reason for the geography of the current districts is that West County alone doesn’t have the population to be a separate district. All districts must have close to the same population, by law and to maintain equal representation. Redistricting, which must occur when 2010 Census results come in, is NOT easy.
Also, I can’t imagine a greater incentive for legislative gridlock than SIX districts with the possibility of tie votes on critical issues. So maybe there should be SEVEN districts, and we could pay salary and benefits for TWO more supervisors. Good luck with that.
Dear Bear, Hopefully we will really get our actual census results this time, as it has been 20 years here in Bodega Bay and the sign still reads 950 population. But you may have a point about a gridlock with 6 instead of 5 supervisors!
Bear has it right. Each district must be population balanced within a few percentage points…that’s the law. This stems from the one person one vote concept fundamenetal to our political system. With the 2010 census the Sup. districts (and all State Assembly and Senate districts as well as House Congressional districts) will be adjusted once the results are finalized.
The last major geographical change to sup districts occurred in the late 1970′s when the entire coast was put into the 5th district. Prior to that the Sonoma coast was split between the 4th and 5th Districts. From the Marin Co. line to the Russian River was 5th Dist and Jenner to Mendo Co. line was 4th Dist. This was changed to give continuity to the task of implementing the Coastal Act. Ever since the eentire Sonoma coast has been in the 5th Dist recognizing the coast as a community of interest.
All boards of supervisorsd and city councils in California have an uneven number of members so that decisions can be made. This is also true in all other legislative houses where there is an uneven number or a tie breaker (ie US Senate…Vice President breaks a tie. House of Reps + 435 members by district by population).
As to the Hispanic;Gang;Family comment…what can one say? A more careful reading of history and/or current events leads to a more informed conclusion.
Thank you, Eric (previous 5th District Supervisor)for the full explanation of how the districts are formed.
I chose not to answer the person who made the comments about Hispanics, nuclear families, etc. because the article made no mention of these and I felt he needed to re-read the article.