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Lakeport Police logs: Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
00:00 EXTRA PATROL 2601100001
Occurred at Lake County Law Library on 3D....
Registrar of Voters Office mails out absentee ballots; data shows most county residents vote absentee
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This week the Registrar of Voters Office mailed out absentee ballots to thousands of Lake County voters for the June 3 primary election.
Interim Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez said the vote-by-mail ballots can go out at the earliest on May 5, and so this past Monday they were delivered to the post office.
This June Lake County voters have a number of races to decide, including the assessor-recorder, District 2 and 3 seats on the Board of Supervisors, district attorney and sheriff.
Valadez reported that the Registrar of Voters Office will begin processing the absentee ballots that come in beginning at 8 a.m. next Monday, May 12. That processing will continue through election day on Tuesday, June 3, and through the official canvass.
Although they will begin processing the ballots next week, results of absentee ballot voting will not be released publicly until after the polls close at 8 p.m. June 3, election officials reported.
Although new or updated voter registrations are continuing to come in, as of Thursday Valadez told Lake County News that there are 33,366 registered voters in Lake County.
Of those, 1,766 are mail precinct voters, who have to vote by mail because there is no physical precinct for voting activities. There also are 219 permanent absentees for military of overseas voters, she said.
Altogether, there are 18,606 absentee voters in Lake County, compared to 12,775 precinct voters, Valadez said.
Over the last several years, the number of absentee voters in Lake County has grown to surpass the number of people who report to precincts to cast their votes.
In the November 2012 election, there were 34,938 registered voters, with 10,215 ballots (or 29.2 percent) cast at precincts and 13,470 ballots (38.6 percent) cast by mail, according to county election records.
At the time of the November 2010 election, the county had 32,554 registered voters, with 9,124 ballots, or 28 percent, cast at precincts and 12,363, or 28 percent, of ballots submitted by mail, county records showed.
Once the election night count is done on June 3, the official canvass will being at 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 4, and continue – excluding weekends and holidays – until completed, according to the Registrar of Voters Office.
Valadez reported that observers are invited to view the processing and counting of the ballots, but they are not allowed to interfere with the election process.
Meanwhile, as they prepare for election day, Valadez said she and her staff are continuing to process voter registrations.
The last day to register – or reregister if a person has moved to a new address, changed their mailing address within the county or changed their name – is May 19.
Registration forms are available at the Registrar of Voters Office, as well as at most local post offices, libraries, city offices and chamber of commerce offices.
Completed voter registration forms must be either personally delivered to the Registrar of Voters Office – located in Room 209 on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport – on or before May 19; or postmarked on or before May 19 and received by mail by the Registrar of Voters Office.
Voter registration also is available online at http://registertovote.ca.gov/ .
The Registrar of Voters Office can be reached at 707-263-2372.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
VIDEO: District 3 supervisor candidates discuss goals, priorities in forum
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The six men running to represent District 3 on the Lake County Board of Supervisors met to discuss their goals for the district in a forum held earlier this week.
The Monday event, held in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport, was the first this election season to feature all of the race's candidates – John Brosnan, James Brown, Marvin Butler, Mark Currier, Herb Gura and Jim Steele.
The six are seeking to succeed two-term Northshore Supervisor Denise Rushing, who announced she did not intend to seek reelection.
The primary takes place June 3. In the event that one candidate does not get 50 percent of the vote plus one, a runoff will take place in November between the top two vote getters.
The forum, which can be seen in its entirely above, was cosponsored by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and Lake County News, with McKenzie Paine of Velocity Video producing the video.
The candidates answered the following 12 questions; for reference, the time that the questions are asked during the video is listed in parentheses after the questions.
1. Please share your thoughts on the importance of the role of supervisor in the Lake County community. (12:26)
2. How often do you attend supervisors meetings, or watch the televised versions, to keep yourself informed of the issues at hand? (17:52)
3. The Board of Supervisors oversees many departments, often deals with employee matters and approves a final budget that for this fiscal year totals about $188 million. Please describe what experience you have managing people and budgets. (23:34)
4. What particular skill, area of knowledge or area of expertise do you possess that you believe uniquely qualifies you and makes you the best candidate to represent District 3 on the Board of Supervisors? (29:20)
5. What is your position on private ambulance companies moving into Lake County and taking over emergency medical transports from the Lake County Fire Districts that have provided that service for over 10 years? (35:15)
6. Do you do volunteer work in the community? If so, please give some examples of groups you have worked with – or continue to work with – and some projects with which you have been involved. (40:52)
7. What should be the No. 1 priority of the Board of Supervisors, and why do you believe it should be the top priority? (47:07)
8. Medical marijuana is a frequent issue before the Board of Supervisors, and one that is surrounded by a great deal of contention. How do you propose to balance the legal allowances for legitimate patients with the complaints, concerns and health issues being reported by community members who now find themselves living with marijuana grows in their neighborhoods? (52:57)
9. County supervisors take an active part in employee negotiations. Do you support binding arbitration? Why, or why not? (1:00:09)
10. Candidates were asked to talk about a key issue – besides other predominant issues discussed during the evening – that was especially important to them and how they would like to address it as a member of the Board of Supervisors. (1:04:54)
11. What options do you see regarding employment for Lake County youth? What kinds of training programs would you want to see in place? Which community agencies and businesses should be involved? Be specific. (1:12:29)
12. The Board of Supervisors recently chose to make some major changes to the way the county is marketed, including the eventual closure of the Visitor Information Center in Lucerne and a shift to smaller, mini visitor information centers hosted at local businesses, as well as electronic kiosks. Do you agree with these actions? What other ways, in your opinion, should we be promoting Lake County? (1:18:44)
In addition to viewing the video above, voters who want to know more about the candidates can visit their Web sites and social media pages, or contact them by email or phone.
Web, Facebook and email addresses, along with the phone numbers for each of the candidates are listed below, with the candidates listed in alphabetical order.
– John Brosnan: http://www.brosnan4district3.com/ ; https://www.facebook.com/Brosnan4District3 ; email,
– James Brown: https://www.facebook.com/brownfordistrict3 ; email,
– Marvin Butler: www.marvbutler.com , https://www.facebook.com/MarvButlerforSupervisor ; email, http://www.marvbutler.com/contact.html ; phone, 707-274-8887.
– Mark Currier: http://www.markcurrierfordistrict3.com/ ; Facebook page pending; email,
– Herb Gura: http://HerbGuraforSupervisor.org ; https://www.facebook.com/herbforsupervisor ; email,
– Jim Steele: http://jimsteeleforsupervisor.com ; https://www.facebook.com/JimSteeleForCountySupervisor2014?ref=br_tf ; phone, 707-295-6198.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Clearlake City Council to consider candidate forum policy for council chambers, TV8
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – This week the Clearlake City Council will discuss the adoption of a policy regarding the use of the council chambers for candidate forums.
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 8, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
On the agenda is the discussion and possible adoption of a use policy for the council chambers and TV8 for candidate forums.
City Clerk Melissa Swanson's report to the council explains that there will be an election this November for two council seats, as well as the city clerk and treasurer positions.
TV8, the county's cable access television station, is housed at City Hall and ultimately the city can be held responsible for the materials that are broadcast, and “can be held liable for fines and possible litigation if election information is not presented in a fair and unbiased manner and if each candidate is not given equal time on TV8,” Swanson reported.
The firm that currently provides the city with legal counsel, Best Best & Krieger, drafted a policy meant to prevent ambiguity and confusion over the city's responsibilities, according to the report.
The one-page policy, which can be seen below, requires that all forums be held in a “fair and unbiased” manner, which consists of inviting all candidates and giving all of them who choose to participate an equal opportunity to answer questions and explain their positions.
At Thursday's meeting, City Manager Joan Phillipe originally had planned to ask the council to discuss an effort by a group called “Evolve, A Community Organization” to close a tax loophole in Proposition 13 relating to commercial properties.
However, an updated report from Phillipe to the council released Wednesday explained that the League of California Cities is urging cities to not take a position on the matter as changes to the proposal are being made.
Items on the consent agenda – considered to be noncontroversial and accepted as a slate with one vote – include warrant registers; a response to the April 24 public comment question regarding the Pacific Gas and Electric Bill for the light district; and a receipt of notice from Clearlake Waste Solutions of the annual rate modification.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Council approves housing element report, surplusing vehicles and legislative policy
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday the Lakeport City Council held a public hearing for the city's housing element report, agreed to surplus several vehicles and approved a new policy to quickly respond to proposed legislation.
At the start of the meeting, Mayor Kenny Parlet honored one of his predecessors, Arlin Pischke, who served two terms on the council from 1982 to 1990, serving twice as mayor. Pischke died following a brief illness on April 27.
As Pischke's widow, Rose, his daughter Karyn Rasmussen and granddaughter Savannah Rasmussen looked on from the audience, Parlet read an excerpt from Pischke's obituary.
Parlet then asked for a moment of silence in memory of Pischke, who up until recently had continued to make occasional appearances at council meetings, whether to support grandchildren receiving awards or to weigh in on important city issues.
Moving into the meeting's business, the council agreed to add an application for an upcoming bass tournament to the agenda as an urgency item due to the immediate need to consider it. Council members unanimously approved the application.
During public comment, Christina Basor, wife of Lakeport Police Officer Gary Basor, asked the council to give special attention to the city's police force, with officers working long shifts due to staffing issues.
Parlet acknowledged the council is aware of the issues but that they could not respond to matters raised during public comment, which are not agendized for council discussion.
Lake County Department of Public Works and Water Resources Director Scott De Leon gave the council an update on Measure L, a half-cent sales tax for projects to improve the health of Clear Lake that will be on the June 3 ballot.
The council also held a brief public hearing to approve the 2013 Housing Element Progress Report, and directed staff to submit the report to the Department of Housing and Community Development.
Public Works Director Mark Brannigan's proposed resolution to declare seven surplus vehicles – including three trucks, a tractor, a scooter, a trailer and a backhoe – was approved. He said his department is working to complete a big cleanup this spring.
City Clerk Janel Chapman took to the council a resolution for a legislative policy that would clearly outline the city's position “on priority issues and matters that impact the City’s ability to operate effectively, while allowing the consideration of additional legislative and budget issues that arise during the legislative session,” according to her written report.
Chapman explained to the council that the city often gets requests from the League of California Cities to support or oppose legislation. “These come in and they need to be acted on quickly,” Chapman said, explaining that in some cases city staff doesn't have the time to bring the issues to the entire council.
The new policy, she said, would set down guidelines and allow city staff to write letters to support or oppose legislation for the mayor's signature. According to the policy, if the mayor is not available, the position letters could be signed by the mayor pro tem or the city manager.
City Manager Margaret Silveira added that the policy would be based on the League of California Cities platform.
Councilman Marc Spillman said he opposed the idea, wanting such letters to be considered by the full council. Mayor Pro Tem Martin Scheel said that Chapman can't email the documents out to the council without violating the Brown Act.
Parlet called the legislative policy “a brilliant tool” that allows the city to move quickly on proposed legislation. He said he wanted more generic language around funding mechanisms in bills.
Silveira said the policy language has been vetted by the League of California Cities and emphasizes local control. The policy can be seen in the council packet below, pages 45 to 51.
Chapman said the entire council would get copies of the letters that go out.
Spillman said he felt they were giving up their rights to vote on these issues and governing “by fire not light.” Councilwoman Stacey Mattina responded that the council frequently doesn't meet in time to respond to requests for times to send out letters.
Spillman insisted that it was better to take the time to look at things, and doesn't want his name behind something he hasn't reviewed. “I really have an issue with that.”
Parlet asked what line item in the policy concerned Spillman, who replied that he didn't like a blanket agreement, adding that he felt some of it could be very arbitrary.
“I like the policy,” said Councilman Tom Engstrom.
Scheel said he liked it too, and had a lot of faith in the League of California Cities. He said he serves on the league's legislative committee, which is constantly working to stay on top of legislative issues. Scheel recounted getting a call from a league staffer late one evening asking for support for a bill.
“I'm comfortable with the league and how they operate,” said Scheel, who added that he understood Spillman's concerns.
Mattina suggested Spillman attend League of California Cities meetings to see what is going on, explaining that the group is very supporting of Lakeport. “I don't know what we would do without that group.”
Parlet also lauded the league, and said he liked the policy platform and that it would be good to be able to refer to it.
Silveira said the league approves its platform annually, and she can send it out to the council so they know of the changes.
Of the legislative policy document presented to the council, Parlet said, “I could not have been more impressed with it.”
Scheel moved to adopt the policy, with Engstrom seconding. The council voted 4-1, with Spillman voting no.
Email Elizabeth Larson at