Written by Bob Evans (candidate for supervisor)
The following is an excerpt from a personal email. Bob Evans did not ask me to post it. Jack Lee
1. For the first time in decades Butte County might lose its Republican majority on the Board of Supervisors. This assumes that Bill Connelly is successful in his run for Assessor. (I believe this is a realistic assumption) If Bill leaves the Board that will leave two Republicans on the Board, and Bill’s replacement will be named by Governor Brown. I also believe that Governor Brown will name a liberal replacement for Bill. That will mean that our Board of Supervisors will be made up of two Republicans, two Democrats and one Independent. We will have lost the conservative majority that has been an accurate reflection of the populace of Butte County for the past several decades.
2. This change in the balance of our Board could have devastating effects on Butte County when taken in concert with what is happening in Sacramento. Specifically I am referencing the number of Bills our State Legislature is churning out in record pace. Last year Governor Brown signed over 800 new Bills. This year there are nearly 1,900 new Bills working their way through the Legislature. My assumption is that the vast majority of these bills are not favorable to North State, or rural, or Butte County’s heritage and values.
Certainly, if this scenario proves accurate, Butte County will not have the votes, nor the will to aggressively push back against new mandates coming from Sacramento. Quiet acquiescence will be the role our Board of Supervisors will play. Our farming industry, our jobs, our water, our heritage and our way of life will be changed to reflect what the Southern California urban lawmakers want it to be – and all without any pushback from our Board.
State of Jefferson is my first thought.
Is it wrong to hope someone loses his bid for a job he wants?
Tina,
Just a word of experience here, and I’m not trying to deflate Bob’s argument here. Last year a Republican Supervisor in Tehama County quit their board and the Governor did not, as expected, appoint a liberal democrat. He seemed to listen to the locals and did appoint a Republican to the slot.
It’s likely he would do the same thing in the 1st district should Connelly win the assessor race. Why? because that is a heavily Republican district, and any democrat he appointed would likely be thrown out in 2016. I already know of a couple of good republicans who are vying for the spot.
You also wouldn’t want to be too quick to root against Connelly. His only major opponent is a well funded democrat who has expressed views that do not seem supportive of Prop 13. The elected county assessor has the last say in property tax disputes when you, the citizen, feel that county appraisers have not treated you fairly. Connelly, for all of his gruffness and not always getting along with other Republicans, has a well known track record for putting his constituents above government. Remember, you can hire an appraiser, but you’ll elect an assessor.
Steve thank you for clearing that up for me. I admit I was responding with zero information other than the above…I’m way behind the curve on the intimacies of local politics. Sounds like Connely’s a good man.
I hope you will help to keep us informed as the year plays out. I hope we hear from many of our citizens. the more input the better.