Many upcountry residents received an e-mail this week about
the other challenger in the race, Lynn Morgan, as having one (1) Facebook
friend. The one friend who "invited you to like
Lynnmorgan4supervisor" turned out to be Katherine Evatt, the head of
the Foothill Conservancy, As my daughter politely explained to me: "It is never a good thing, Dad, to let people know that you have only (1) Facebook
friend!"
For years now, I have been listening to residents complain
about Lynn Morgan's overly liberal positions and divisive leadership style with
the Upcountry Community Council. Now we are being asked by Katherine
Evatt at the Foothill Conservancy to go "wild" over this election's
environmentally-minded candidate. The environment is obviously important,
but most of our upcountry residents appear to be concerned about future
droughts and property rights and unwilling to support the Foothill
Conservancy's Wild & Scenic designation for the Mokelumne River, which
could give the Federal Government more control over our water…and they also do
not seem to support the Conservancy's efforts that might lead to putting a frog
species ahead of the interests of forestry management and our economy.
Putting "residents first" is exactly why I am
campaigning to be your next Supervisor. Please visit your new website UpcountryInfo.com to
read read more about other like-minded things that we can realistically
accomplish.
Truly yours,
Mike Spence
Dear Mike:
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for confirming that I made the right choice in deciding to support Lynn Morgan for the District 3 supervisor election. My personal political choices are based on living in Amador County for nearly 35 years, a life-long interest in all aspects of good public policy, and a strong belief in civil discourse.
Here’s why I know I made the right choice: Lynn Morgan is running an issue-focused campaign, she’s well qualified to be a county supervisor, and she has proven herself to be someone who will work hard with the community to get things done.
So far, Lynn has avoided personal attacks on you, Supervisor Novelli, or anyone else, and she hasn’t used labels or simplistic portrayals of hot-button issues to divide members of the community. Knowing Lynn as I do, I’m sure she never will. She’s running a respectful, positive civil campaign, purposely rejecting the polarizing “politics as usual” that people are sick of in this country.
Lynn understands that District 3 residents all live upcountry because they love the rural quality of life and scenic beauty as well as the relationships they build with neighbors and friends. She knows the district will benefit from people working together even when they have differing points of view.
These reasons, and more, are why I support Lynn Morgan for District 3 supervisor.
I’ll leave it to the Foothill Conservancy respond to your inaccurate and misleading statements about local conservation issues.
Katherine Evatt
Volcano
Is this what we have to look forward to with you Mike? To be honest it horrifies me to think someone running for public office would ever consider this appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThe Foothill Conservancy is a locally based, locally run membership nonprofit conservation organization largely supported by local donations for the last 24 years. We're as home-grown as it gets, and our work is shaped and carried out by local residents.
ReplyDeleteFoothill Conservancy does not, and cannot, take positions on candidate elections, so we have no position or endorsement in the District 3 supervisor race. However, our members are free to express their own position on elections and even to endorse candidates. Katherine Evatt's support of District 3 candidate Lynn Morgan is a personal endorsement, made as a private citizen, and has no connection with the Foothill Conservancy.
Mr. Spence's statements regarding both local support for Wild and Scenic designation for the Moklelumne River, as well as the effect of designation, are false. Wild and Scenic designation for the Mokelumne River would protect the parts of the river District 3 residents know, use, and love today. Many residents of Amador County's upcountry do in fact support the local effort to secure permanent protection for the Mokelumne. Wild and Scenic designation would not change existing water rights, water projects or the PG&E hydroelectric project operations. It would not affect any local water agency project planned for our county or affect private property rights. In fact, a national designation would limit the federal government's current power of eminent domain along the river.
Wild and Scenic designation would keep thirsty urban water agencies from destroying portions of the river, as the East Bay Municipal Utility District attempted to do in 2009. Our successful lawsuit in that case protected the Mokelumne for locals to continue to use and enjoy. As Mr. Spence may recall, the EBMUD dam expansion was opposed by the County of Amador; County of Calaveras; Cities of Jackson, Sutter Creek and Plymouth; Amador County Historical Society; Amador County Recreation Agency; and many local individuals.
If Mr. Spence or anyone else would like to learn more about Mokelumne River water rights, we are happy to provide it. We are also glad to provide information about the state water rights system, specific issues on the Mokelumne River, and the effects of Wild and Scenic River designation.
We're not quite sure what Mr. Spence is referring to his in frog reference. We do support protecting healthy populations of wildlife species as part of a healthy environment, and know that frogs are an important part of our ecosystems, eating insects and providing food for fish and other wildlife. We also support sustainable forest management. We have participated in a local forest collaborative, the Amador-Calaveras Consensus Group, since its founding more than five years ago. That project has brought in federal funds for fuel reduction projects in our local national forests, which support local jobs and produce valuable products. The ACCG is also focused on making our communities safer from the threat of wildland fire, and has helped focus the Bureau of Land Management and others on that task.
We understand that having a healthy economy and a healthy environment go hand-in-hand, and we always have. There's no need to choose one or the other, as Mr. Spence suggests. After 24 years of community-based conservation in Amador County, we're quite sure most local residents agree.
To read more about our organization and its work see www.foothillconservancy.org