After some last minute movement, Bryan Plumley is the newly adorned front runner for the 3rd District Supervisor seat. Chris Lehman and Mike Wilson were at the Humboldt County elections office a few minutes before the deadline to see if any new maneuverings took place. Mike dropped out and Chris decided the timing was just not right. So no Richard Mostranski, Lee Ulansey, Elizabeth Conners, Dave Meserve or Mark Wheetley.
After the dust has settled, Paul Pitino, Mark Lovelace and Plumley are the potential new 3rd District Supervisor. Would have never guessed that this is how it would pan out. This race should be interesting. Sounds like Plumley will have many powerful endorsements.
11 hours ago
39 comments:
So Richard how do you break it down?
40%+ dems
18-20% reps
20%+ or so,not saying
You're right, it'll be an interesting race. You're closer to it. How do the Pitino/Lovelace supporters line up in Arcata?
You have to feel for Wilson, at least a little bit. But I agree with your take, Plumley's the front runner.
Plumbley is a class act. Pinto although very radical is a hard worker and has shown he can work in the group. Again a class act. Lovelace gives a good performance but is bought and paid for by the anti-everything lobby. Niether he or his backers have any class. It will be sad to have him slinging his crap in this race.
Paul Pitino's website (www.paulpitino.com) says:
In support of campaign finance reform, I am not taking any financial contributions. I am not soliciting or taking any endorsements, and will have no advertising or lawn signs.
Bryan Plumley will, as you say, have the backing of known entities. Paul is a serious contender in other ways. He is the only Third District candidate who has the track record of having run for and been elected to a local government office.
Who is Bryan Plumley? I have never heard of him. What party is he in?
Carol- Democrat!
Oh thanks, anon, for clarifying.
Oh my God! Carol you won't have to wet her panties Plumley is a Dem.
I've never heard of this Plumley guy before now,either.
anon 10:59 pm....Even though local races are nonpartisan, informed voters have a perfectly legit reason for wanting to know a candidate's political party afilliation, especially when they know nothing else about the candidate. A candidate's party affiliation is the first step in understanding her/his political philosophy.
Go Pitino,the best choice of them all. Should be a good race with exceptional candidates.
Mark Lovelace is not the guy he is bought off by the enviro's
9:23 am....what does that mean exactly? When somebody buys off a politician, it's usually for financial gain. You think Mark's purpose is about money?
Bryan works for Edward Jones brokerage firm. I do some investing with him. Bryan has previously been on the City of Arcata Energy Committee and has an interest in sustainable energy. Bryan has told me that only in Arcata would he be thought of as conservative. My understanding of Bryan's positions is that he sees himself as striking a balance among the issues of social services, protecting the environment and promoting business and economic development. Bryan's wife is Kim Floyd, lead project manager for CalTrans on the 101 corridor project. In the last Arcata City Council election Bryan supported Mark Wheetley and Alex Stillman.
Yes andrew,marks purpose is about money. Not for working families and a better county but for his HWC misguided mission to take over palco. It's a very involved long term plan to turn control of this county over to the likes of the bay area coalition for the headwaters,nature conservancy and of course their great leader george soros. A little PR here a little socialism there,here some pot there some tree huggers,sprinkle in outright hatetred and lies about anyone not in lock step and there you have the power behind little markies pay check.
Andrew, party never ment much around here in the past. You just voted for the best person. It means nothing today. If you think it's some bell weather then to bad for you. I will vote for Pinto because he's honest. I could also vote for Plumley for the same reason. The fact that Lovelace is a Democrat and not honest does not shine a bad light on the other two.
Go Pitino,the best choice of them all. Should be a good race with exceptional candidates.
I might agree if he would actually raise money or put up signs. It's possible to support campaign finance reform and still raise money. I like Paul a lot and I will likely support him for reelection if he runs for city council again, but money matters a lot more in a supervisors race. If he isn't going to take his own campaign seriously he shouldn't expect anyone else to either.
Well I talked to him last week and can tell you that he is indeed taking it very seriously,he just has a different approach to reaching voters.My understanding is that he's been knocking on quite a few doors.
Again, party is the first best way to determine the politics of a candidate you don't know. It's perfectly valid, and smart, to ask that question.
I have supported local candidates who are not Democrats.
In the current highly polarized political atmosphere locally, particularly in Eureka, I want to know how candidates will vote on specific issues.
For example, in the Eureka City Council race, I will vote only for candidates who publicly commit to voting against any development project that would put a big box store on the Balloon Track.
I feel Pitino would have a good chance if he hired a campaign manager/raised funds/garnered endorsements/formed a committee/do signs and flyers.
C'mon Paul!
Well I talked to him last week and can tell you that he is indeed taking it very seriously,he just has a different approach to reaching voters.My understanding is that he's been knocking on quite a few doors.
When Richard was running for supervisor we knocked on just about every door in the district. We also raised thousands of dollars. I think it was around $10,000-$12,000 (Richard, do you remember?).
At the end of the day we came within 5% of Flemming. I think that if we had another $10,000 for advertising, Richard would have made it into the runoff. If we had the amount of money that the other candidates did I am confident he would have faced Neely in the runoff.
I hear Lovelace is planning to raise around $50,000. I expect Plumley will have a similar goal. Paul's message will be eclipsed. He has no chance.
As for your point about Paul taking the race seriously, this is what he says on his website: "It’s not about winning, it’s about being and remaining independent so voters get YOU, not those who endorsed or supported you financially."
I like the sentiment and I like Paul, but a candidate that sends the message that he isn't about winning simply won't be able to convince enough voters to help him win.
Andrew,we know you are biased. We didn't know how badly. Thanks for showing us how foolish your value system is.
Who are they Andrew?
Shane: Over $14,000 was what we spent. Mostly fund raised by you. (The target was $10,000 non corporate dollars and you raised over $4,000 above.) Bonnie and Nancy ended up spending nearly a 1/4 of a million dollars. Kind of dwarfed our budget.
If I was able to garner some key endorsements, we may have prevailed. I felt bad for the committee/friends of mine that really put forth a great effort. See you in 2010.
Different race Richard,but can this Vevoda dude give Jimmy a good run? I think he's the best supervisor really.
I don't know the Vevoda person. I can't see him seriously putting up a strong challenge. Jimmy should win big. He hasn't created any enemies.
8:05 p.m....I know what I want and don't want. I don't want a big box on the Balloon Track. I want City Council members who have better vision than that.
"Who are they?" If you mean who are the candidates I will support in the Eureka City Council race, I don't know yet.
Never heard of Plumley except in the Eureka Reporter gossip pages.
John Vevoda is a rancher and dairyman and owns property that has the Ferndale wastewater plant on it. Ferndale has been fraught with drainage and sewage issues for years.
Andrew,if you don't want a box on some piece of property then you should buy it and put your money and personal effort where your mouth is. Of course you won't do that because you don't have the talent. You can only bitch and pretend to be an unbiased citizen but when you open your mouthor or put finger to keyboard the jig is up.
That's ok with us Shane, since we don't take you seriously either. Paul Pitino won without spending money on the Arcata City Council in 2004, and that was in spite of you Central Committee creeps backing the ultra-creepy Rob Amerman, despite his ample loads of baggage. Paul went door-to-door connecting with people in Arcata, that's why he beat you Demo droids, and he'll do the same thing again, in the same place. No amount of blood money from Plumley will change that.
Like I said, I'll probably support Paul for reelection if he runs for council again. I've always supported him on the council. But the council race is much different than the race for supervisor. He might be able to do it without endorsements, but if you think he can do it without raising money, you're kidding yourself. I'm not calling him a "spoiler." I don't mind him being in the race. I'm just saying that he's not a serious contender. I will be supporting Lovelace.
12:06 PM...What I should do, and what I plan to do, is put my talent to work voting for candidates who have vision, after I put my talent to campaigning for them.
An LSD vision? A pot vision? A local soultions vision? A HWC vision? Your visions so cool,you better wear shades.
If Lovelace would win he might get as much criticism as Rodoni with his Palco connection. Especially with his being a member of a group putting forward a bid for the Palco mill. I think he would probably have to recuse himself so much he might not be seen too much as a Supervisor. Woolley had to recuse himself on the redevelopment issue leaving Manila with no Supervisor to go to. I believe you have to know about the person and what they are "into" before you vote. I still think if Richard had entered the race earlier that he would have stood a real chance, but then money and TV commercials convince some voters especially if they really believe their hype. Name recognition comes into the Supervisor's race also. You have to see a person 8 times before they remember you usually. That could be in the newspaper (if they read it), on TV or in person or on flyers with your photo if you have talked to them at your door. None of this is cheap when it comes to a Supervisor race. City Council is somewhat different since most running are known by different groups of people who can get out the vote for their candidate.
I can't vote for the 3rd District Supervisor race, but every Supervisor has an effect on everyone in the county not just their area so I am interested in all the races at this time.
6pm-Just for the record, I certainly announced way far ahead of time than 2 of the 3rd District candidates, and way ahead of the filing deadline.
We did come way close though. Robin Arkley talked to me after the race and told me if I went by my nickname "Dick" Marks, I would have won. (No, Robin did not contribute to my campaign.)
My other nicknames: Skid, Groucho and Pooh.
Shane, I appreciate your comments and viewpoints. I guarantee you that Paul is serious about this race. He has strong convictions about the role of money in our electoral process. In a traditionally-run election, yes, it does take fund-raising and an organizated team of players to set up a candidate. Paul is going to do things differently. I'm not going to say that I agree or disagree with your assessment about how much money is required -- but it's a moot point, because Paul is not accepting any financial contributions.
re Your comment about Paul's statement ("It's not about winning..."). Paul has a brief way of speaking, and I think you were taking the words too literally. Of course his campaign is about him winning. I talked with Paul and pointed out your observation, and now the section on his feelings on campaign finance reform has been expanded, basically so no one feels they are getting mixed messages about the seriousness of his campaign. The website says: "To me, this Supervisor's race is not about doing whatever is needed to do to win. It’s about being and remaining independent so voters get ME, not those who endorsed me or supported me financially."
and
"What I am saying is that there is something wrong when an election is based on who can raise more money, instead of what the candidate stands for."
Also, Paul is quite clear that he will NOT be running for re-election to the Arcata City Council, regardless of how the June Supervisor race turns out. This is now on the website also.
To me, a successful candidate for County Supervisor should have a history of being a part of our local government. Paul has that background, and Mark Lovelace and Bryan Plumley do not. I thoroughly support most (not all) of what Mark has done and has stood for, particularly his work to save the Sunny Brae forest. The T-S article syas "Mark Lovelace said he debated whether he would be more effective at the podium or behind the dais before deciding to run for the 4rd Distric Supervisor." I like Mark, and I believe he can be more effective in the community than as an elected official. Today's (Sunday) article in the T-S about Bryan Plumley indicates his focus on economic development. That phrase has different meanings to different people, but it's hard to imagine someone getting elected with that platform in this district.
Sadly Fred your last sentence might be painfully true. That's sad, damn sad because that is exactly what is needed in a county supervisor. Not an anti everything agenda. Pinto gets it, Plumley really gets it, Lovelace doesn't have a clue. The nuts will come out in droves for his simpleton ways/and the dope!
If Rose thinks that Brian is the front runner, she does not know Arcata.
He may be a registered Dem. but he is the candidate backed by her friends at CPR and their agenda is not Arcata's agenda.
With any luck Rose will continue to rant about the Lovelace / Miller conspiracy while she offers support to Plumley.
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