Do No Harm

It appears we all made it through another week which is no insignificant accomplishment in these perilous, unsettled times.

It's impossible not to recognize the seemingly institutional dysfunction in the governing process of this county. Too many elected officials and “public servants” go out of their way to create problems when their main goal and purpose is to solve problems. Most people don't have lofty expectations of their elected representatives. Most would settle for an adaptation of the Physician's Oath, “First, do no harm.” This whole Chemise Cubbison affair is unseemly and fraught with underhanded “payback” politics. It's a shameful episode in this county's history. I fear it's going to be an expensive history lesson for the taxpayers, also.

Speaking of the Cubbison imbroglio, here are excerpts from a letter by Karen Lee, of Ukiah, who succinctly captures the core of this rotten apple.

“…In her duties as Auditor/Controller, Ms. Cubbison has questioned the DA, Mr. Eyster, in his allocation of funds. This is her job. To me, it looks like Mr. Eyster is retaliating and slandering Ms. Cubbison and her reputation for questioning his actions. It is her job to question funding allocations in every department in our county, including the DA’s office. He has stated that Ms. Cubbison is a ‘pain in the ass.’ This is one thing that Mr. Eyster is correct about. It is Ms. Cubbison’s job to be ‘a pain in the ass.’ The Board of Supervisors has taken a wrongful action against Ms. Cubbison. They decided to fire her without pay before they even talked to her or notified her they were considering this action. This is not only a huge mistake, but is likely illegal. If I understand the government codes correctly, the BOS has no right to fire an elected official unless that person has been convicted of a felony. (See Title 1, Division 4, Section 4, 1770 (h)). Ms. Cubbison has never been convicted of any wrong doing, let alone a felony. If the BOS had done their research, they would have discovered this. The applicable state government codes were read to the BOS meeting by Jim Shields. The BOS has no excuse! Chamise Cubbison hasn’t had her day in court, yet. If and when she does, all of the facts will come out. Until that day comes, Ms. Cubbison should be reinstated in her job and should get all of her pay, including the funds for the time she was prematurely dismissed.”

Last week’s BOS meeting dealt with, in one way or another, the ongoing fiscal mess with no resolution presently in sight other than fairly drastic measures are looming on the near horizon. Supervisors Haschak and Gjerde have been working towards some of the right steps needed to be taken to begin solving the problem but have little or no support from the other three Supes, who are content to jawbone it incessantly.

* * *

Jim Wood Is A Good Man.

You know how politicians are always proclaiming that they do this or that for “family reasons,” well, regardless of what anybody may think of Assemblyman Jim Wood, he‘s earned my admiration. 

Last week, Wood announced that he will not seek reelection in 2024, which would have been for his sixth and final term in the Assembly. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind, including this mind, that he was on auto pilot cruising to another win had he chosen to seek that sixth term.

But in two short sentences, Wood gave the best speech of his time in office when he explained the reason he was stepping down: “Many in public office say they are leaving for personal or family reasons, but that is very real for me. My mother has been in declining health and now requires an increasingly higher level of care and I want to be a meaningful part of that.”

Back in the day, the highest accolade people could bestow on someone was “he’s a good man.”

Jim Wood is a good man, and a very good son whose mother passed on some very strong love and solid values to her son.

* * *

Following Wood’s surprise news, Mendocino County 5th District Supervisor Ted Williams sprung his own surprise by declaring he intends to run for Wood’s seat. 

Williams announcement drew similar comments of disbelief from many county residents, as in “He’s what? You’ve got to be kidding!”

“Today I filed as a candidate for California Assembly District 2,” Williams posted on his Facebook page Monday, Nov. 13. “I decided to run because our rural northern communities need a stronger voice in California. The data shows we are being left behind and I want to talk about how we can turn that around.”

My only comment is, any and all candidates with just half their wits about them, should ask Williams to explain his assessment that during his tenure on the Board of Supervisors the county is, in his word, “insolvent.” 

* * *

Laytonville Armed Robbery BOLO

Last Thursday, Nov. 9, an Officer Safety Bulletin was issued for two vehicles occupied by four armed men who allegedly robbed/invaded a property in the northern Laytonville area. Social media sites garbled up the incident with bogus info, something they all excel at.

Actually, those dudes were “pot soldiers” from the robbery site who were chasing the actual pot robbers, and all of them were being BOLO-ed by the actual cops. 

Now that’s a lot of activity and resources being expended by both the crooks and the cops over a crop that’s come a cropper. 

The same general area of this most recent caper encompasses the site of the Jeffrey Settler pot grow murder 7 years ago. It’s an area located about five miles north of Laytonville and five or six miles west of Highway 101. It’s also the same area where the Louis Bagliere gang did a home invasion that stretched over several days during September of 2020. 

Truly amazing that people are still conspiring, ripping, and killing over a plant that’s not worth that much any more. But it seems to still be worth more than your life. 

(Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer’s editor and publisher, observer@pacific.net, the long-time district manager of the Laytonville County Water District, and is also chairman of the Laytonville Area Municipal Advisory Council. Listen to his radio program “This and That” every Saturday at 12 noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org)