Richard Johnson says,
Wendy Roberts is not a bad person. She is intellingent and articulate and has passionate interests.
But she is the local ruling class’s choice for fifth district supervisor.
She is an academic with business management experience, a professional consultant to non-profit groups and connections to private funding sources in the Bay Area. She has been a full time resident here for only 6 years.
The facts that Joe Louis and I cite here are availble to anyone who accesses her website and the county clerk’s online record of her campaign finance disclosure records.
In addition, I would offer the following.
Wendy Roberts’ campaign consultant is Delphi of Santa Rosa. Delphi President Herb Williams is a former member of Republican National Committee. Former clients include Sheriff Tom Allman, former California Assembly Republican candidate Margie Handley of Willits, and the City of Ukiah.
The Roberts email Joe Louis refers to below dated July 15, 2009 to the MC board of supervisors opposed an appeal against a zoning change on the Albion headlands that had been approved by the planning commission. The land is owned by Carol Smith.
In the email, Roberts asserted “the only apparent reason for this appeal is the familiar strategy of harassing land owners into not developing their property at all. The abuse of the appeals process discredits thoughtful environmentalists. It robs owners of their property rights and our county of needed tax revenue. It is all too common in Mendocino County and I do not believe it should be supported by your board.”
Obviously, the message was intended to signal her conservative base that she would vote to oppose appeals against and support such projects if elected, thereby establishing her property rights credentials.
Roberts’ donors include John Mayfield, North Coast Citizens for a Better Economy, MacCallum House, Larry Maillard, Bailey’s Inc. of Laytonville, logging equipment, California Real Estate PAC, Bonnie Carter, Paul and Barbara Clark, Barbara Rice, logger Mike Anderson, retired judge William Masterson, John H. Bower of Gualala, contractor Don Daniels and Pam Hudson Real Estate, and Gene Geisler of San Francisco.
Although she is now a registered Democrat, at one time she was Republican. She has advantages in the race of being a woman, being the Democrat, and being the Republican, whereas Dan Hamburg is the Green.
Joe Louis and I did not coordinate these messages, and neither of us is connected to the Hamburg campaign.
Please respond if you have additional information on Wendy Roberts. Thank you.
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LETTER TO EDITORS RE 5TH DISTRICT RACE
by Joe Louis Wildman
At Least Pray for a Hamburg Victory even if you wonít endorse
.
I hear too much from voters in the 5th district who are unhappy about the choice for County Supervisor ñ Dan Hamburg or Wendy Roberts.† But it would be foolish for anyone to sit this one out ñ or, worse ñ to vote†for Ms. Roberts just because there’s something about Dan thatís hard to get over.
Whatever else Wendy Roberts may be, she is first and foremost a guided missile aimed straight at the most basic environmental protections that make Mendocino County a great place to live.† She proudly represents herself as an enemy of planning rules that restrain developersí ambitions.† The most right-wing forces in Mendocino County have rallied enthusiastically to her cause and are showering her with campaign cash.† That is not because there’s just something about Dan thatís hard for them to get over.
Real estate development interests dominate among Ms. Roberts’ donors, including Paul & Barbara Clark ($500), Kelley Property Associates ($500), and the California Real Estate PAC out of Sacramento ($500), which says it gives money to candidates to “help promote the cause of housing and private property rights.”
Other donors for Wendy Roberts include the chairman emeritus of Mendocino County’s right-wing, John Mayfield ($500).† The current and former presidents of the Farm Bureau have given a total of $1,500.† Timber-industry supplier Bailey’s of Laytonville gave $1,000.† A front for big construction companies, “North Coast Citizens for a Better Economy,” gave $500.† Jared Carter, the former lawyer for Pacific Lumber and many developers, hosted a fund-raiser for Ms. Roberts.†
†
Of course these Republican interests support Ms. Roberts.† They are not confused about who she is or what she will do on the Board of Supervisors.† You shouldnít be confused either.†
Wendy Roberts earned this developer enthusiasm by her consistent and gratuitously nasty attacks on people who try to defend the Mendocino Coast.† When developers from Atherton tried to get County approval in 2009 to throw out the current zoning of the Albion Headlands and carve it up into four lots for mansions, closing a well-established public trail, the Albion Residents Association and the Sierra Club rose in opposition, supported by dozens of coastal residents.†
†
But Wendy Roberts sided with the developers, sending an email to the Supervisors denouncing the opponents for “abuse” and for “harassing land owners into simply not developing their property at all.”†† If you want a copy of Ms. Robertsí e-mail, I can send it to you ñ it speaks for itself.
Fortunately, three members of the current Board of Supervisors disagreed with Ms. Roberts and voted to protect the Albion Headlands.†
†
What’s at stake in this election is that slim 3 to 2 majority on the Board of Supervisors who will defend the General Plan against developer attacks.†Developers know that with Ms. Roberts on the Board, it would be open season on Mendocino County’s environment.
So if you arenít a big fan of Dan Hamburg because of anything he did or didnít do in his four decades of public life in Mendocino County, get over it now. †I no longer live in the 5th District so I canít vote for Dan, and this letter isnít a formal endorsement of him.† But I pray this letter serves as a wake-up call to those who care about Mendocino Countyís environment but are mistakenly considering Ms. Roberts as an alternative to Dan.
†
Joe Louis Wildman
7400 Potter Valley Road
P.O. Box 1396
Ukiah, California, 95482
(707) 367-0910
joelouis@pacific.net
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