UPPER LAKE – A lifelong county resident says he's choosing to run for District 3 supervisor because he wants to use his knowledge of the county to help make positive change.
Robert Hesterberg, 50, is entering this year's race for the District 3 supervisorial seat, in which he'll face incumbent Denise Rushing and fellow challenger Gary Lewis, who previously held the job.
A Lake County native, Hesterberg was born at the old Lakeside Hospital in 1960, a year after his family arrived in Upper Lake from Orange County.
Today, he farms the land his father purchased, tending the same 10 acres of walnut trees that he and his dad planted together nearly three decades ago after pulling out a pear orchard.
A friendly and approachable man, Hesterberg is taking a unique campaign approach in the District 3 supervisorial race, which so far has not seen the kinds of allegations and attacks that have taken place in other county races.
He's quick to note that he has nothing bad to say about Rushing, now completing her first term.
His pitch is a fairly simple one about why voters should check his name off on the June 8 ballot.
He said if voters are happy with how the Northshore has fared under Rushing's leadership, they should vote for her.
If they preferred how things were under the leadership of Lewis – who served two terms and was defeated by Rushing in 2006 – then they should pick Lewis, Hesterberg added.
But if they didn't prefer either, and want to take a new approach, Hesterberg would like the chance to represent District 3.
“I've told everybody and my family this is gonna be an unconventional campaign,” he said. “I don't have any high political connections in Washington, I don't plot and scheme and plan on votes,
all my cards are on the table.”
Transparency – a word being heard a lot in local elections this year – also is a goal for Hesterberg, who promises he won't flip flop on issues. “I will say it how I think it should be done, and that's how I'll vote. My vote will not change because of political influence.”
Hesterberg said it's difficult to assign a label to his politics, noting that he's conservative on many issues and liberal on others. Because the office of supervisor is nonpartisan, “I think that works out pretty well for me,” he said, adding it will work well for District 3, also.
“The bottom line is, I won't vote a party line, I will vote my conscience and what I think is right and correct for Lake County and for future generations of people that come to Lake County,” he said.
If elected, Hesterberg wouldn't be the first public official in his family. His mother, Lois Hesterberg, was county clerk-recorder from 1975 to 1985, retiring midway through her last term, according to county records. She passed away in April 2009 at the age of 85.
Before she was county clerk, Lois Hesterberg worked for Judge Benjamin Jones in Lakeport, beginning in 1960. Her son remembers going to visit her at the old courthouse when he was a child. “I remember thinking how big it was.”
Today, he and his partner, Tonja, are raising two children, Cameron, 18, and Mara, 13. Tonja's oldest child, Brianne “Breezy” Beighle, passed away almost eight years ago at age 13 of brain cancer.
She was the inspiration for The Sea Breeze Foundation, the mission statement of which reads, “Providing hope ... and fulfilling dreams ... for children and families during their time of need.” Hesterberg works with The Sea Breeze Foundation, which has been based at Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa.
He admits that, “It's hard to talk about.”
Key concerns and platform issues
Hesterberg said he first started thinking about running for District 3 supervisor about five or six years ago, but decided to hold off. “I felt at the time it wasn't right.”
The time now, he believes, is right. “You can't just complain about something and sit around on your hands.”
What led him to the decision to run, he said, were comments he heard on a local radio station, during an interview with District Attorney Jon Hopkins, who was asked about the cost of a specific trial. Hesterberg recalls Hopkins not knowing how much the trial cost, which Hesterberg said concerned him. Fiscal accountability on the county level is one of his primary issues.
He said he and Rushing “align on quite a few things, quite a few matters.” However his biggest complaint with the Board of Supervisors is that, to Hesterberg, it appears that they aren't keeping an eye on fiscal matters as much as they should. He said he's heard the same concern from other local citizens.
When it comes to his platform, Hesterberg said, “There's so many issues in any county but agriculture, Clear Lake and keeping rural life in my mind are three, big, huge situations.”
Agriculture and development are of key importance, and he said he's against the conversion of prime agricultural land for other uses. He said he won't discriminate against any kind of agriculture – conventional, organic or sustainable. All of it should be up for discussion in deciding whether or not to approve it. “I think it should be all on the table,” he said.
Clear Lake and its health are not just platform issues but items of personal concern for him.
Hesterberg has worked on the lake as part of the state's hydrilla eradication program and was field supervisor for four years. For the last seven years, Hesterberg has worked locally for a subcontractor for the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Clear Lake is key to the county's tourism and economy, he said. He understands firsthand the health of the lake, and said more education is needed to change people's perceptions of the lake's unique nature.
He believes the quality of the lake has improved in many ways over the years – and hasn't gotten worse as he said some people believe. Putting a sewer system in around the lake has increased water quality from what it was decades ago, he said.
As for his third issue – keeping rural life rural – Hesterberg said he's asked many people why they moved to the county. “There were many, many answers to this question.”
But the answer that kept popping up was that they were drawn by the rural lifestyle, and that people wanted to get away from the rat race of the city.
“Any way you phrase it, it's clear to me that the majority of people who move here want to keep this lifestyle,” he said.
He said he favors infill development in order to keep agricultural land from being converted into ranchettes and taken out of production, which he says is happening in places like Scotts Valley. “I'm very concerned about that.”
The economy and what kinds of challenges the county may face in the next few years also are on Hesterberg's mind. “Obviously cuts are going to have to be made in all departments.”
In such a scenario, he said ways need to be found to protect essential services such as law enforcement, fire and roads, to name a few. He said that will require all departments to be held as fiscally responsible and transparent as possible.
He said he thinks the county does a good job of promoting tourism, but added, “I think we can do better.”
Regarding other issues, Hesterberg said he doesn't agree with some of the county's redevelopment projects, include the promenade plan along Lucerne's lakeshore.
He said one concern is that, with the county being in tough financial straits, future maintenance may be a challenge, and it already has many parks in its care. Hesterberg also points to a “huge loss” in taxes by removing those properties from the tax roll.
Likewise, Hesterberg said he has questions about the Middle Creek restoration project, and returning more than 1,000 acres of land into what he called swamp. He's concerned about whether it could give rise to health issues as a result of an increase in mosquitoes, and he wants to make sure any possible negative outcomes have been addressed.
He said he plans to meet with local officials to learn more about their concerns.
“I guess my big message is, I don't consider myself a politician, and I never will, even if elected,” he said.
He added, “I'm just an ordinary citizen who has lived here all my life and wants to make this county better for this and the next generation. That's my goal.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
