LOWER LAKE – Tie-dye, messy desks and admiration were among the themes at a celebration of District 1 Supervisor Ed Robey's career of public service on Saturday.
About 100 people gathered in the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum's Weaver Auditorium Saturday evening to honor Robey as he prepares to retire from his post on the Board of Supervisors.
Robey's 12-year tenure on the board ends this month, at which time he'll be succeeded by Supervisor-elect Jim Comstock.
Decked out in his trademark tie-dye suit, Robey was joined by a host of friends, and current and former county officials, who shared a theme of praise for Robey's accomplishments, not just on the Board of Supervisors but on the Lake County Planning Commission and Clearlake City Council in its earliest days.
In all, the 62-year-old Robey has spent 28 years in public service; at the same time, he was a businessman and computer expert, teacher at Yuba College and a county employee for a time as well.
District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing was master of ceremonies for the evening, and began by presenting Robey with a proclamation from the board honoring him for his work.
A series of speakers came forward to honor Robey and to also give him a good teasing.
With District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown unable to attend, the night's main comic relief came from county Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox.
The schoolhouse museum, said Cox, was the site of Robey's first political speech as a young man, when he spoke to the Lions Club. “This is when he was young so it was many, many years ago,” said Cox.
Cox recalled first meeting Robey years ago when they both sat on the Area Planning Council. They got off to a “shaky” start, Cox said, with Robey trying to grab as much county road money for the Clearlake area as possible and Cox trying to fight him on it. Eventually they would become close friends.
While serving as a county planning commissioner under District 1 Supervisors Voris Brumfield and Helen Whitney, Robey also worked in the county's data processing department, which meant he helped fix the counties computers, said Cox.
Cox said Robey was a visionary, but his ideas weren't always accepted with enthusiasm. “Ed came to my office one day and told me about a thing called e-mail,” said Cox, who recalled telling Robey, “No one will use this e-mail thing.” Besides, Cox added, the county recently had replaced its typewriters with new Selectric IIIs.
Robey's vision held true, with Cox admitting that he's since become probably the county government's most prolific e-mail user.
Cox credited Robey for a host of accomplishments, among them securing funds for a new senior center and library in Middletown, as well as a sheriff's substation, road improvements, negotiating geothermal agreements, new street lights in Lower Lake and Middletown, and giving his “unwaivering support” for purchasing property on Mt. Konocti.
He also helped preserve the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum. In particular, Cox credited Robey with working to find funds for restrooms on the auditorium level; he urged people to think of Robey when using the facilities.
Robey, Cox informed the audience, is a huge Star Trek fan, as is Cox. Robey also has a penchant for keeping every piece of paper he ever gets, with stacks of papers rising in huge piles around his office, which Cox joked had to be abated.
Following Cox, Beth Robey read a special “Ode to Ed” she had written for her husband, a poem recounting his accomplishments and outlining some plans for retirement.
Rushing said there were many versions of Robey – from “Ed the tie-dye guy” to “Ed the politician,” and including “Ed the geek,” “Ed the sage” and “Ed the mentor.”
“I'm going to really miss you,” she said.
That was a sentiment shared by Supervisors Jeff Smith and Anthony Farrington.
Farrington credited Robey for his work on the North Coast Wilderness Bill, expanding family services to reduce the county's high per-capita teen pregnancy rate, negotiations over county water rights and creating a new general plan.
“You have left Lake County better than you found it,” Farrington said.
Karan Mackey, a former District 4 supervisor credited Robey with always taking the high road.
County Public Services Director Kim Clymire said Robey is a caring and sincere man. “He's always been for consensus and not conflict.”
Frieda Camotta, who formerly served as Robey's planning commissioner, recalled Robey telling her how much he liked his job as supervisor, because he didn't realize how much he would be able to help people.
“He does a lot of his best work behind the scenes,” Camotta said, recalling his work to help get a fire district measure passed and securing funds for improvements on Hartmann Road.
Camotta – who also commented on Robey's penchant for a messy desk – added that the county likely would have to do an archaeological study on his office.
Rushing said the night revealed “a story of legacy and a lot of gratitude.”
Cox, Clymire and Rushing then presented Robey with his gift – a large wooden eagle carved by local chainsaw sculptor Mark Colp. The status's plaque said “Ed Robey, County Supervisor, Live Long and Prosper.”
“I don't know how to express how I feel,” said Robey, noting that the evening had been the most humbling experience of his life.
The county has a good board and good leadership like Cox, so Robey said he felt comfortable stepping away, even as tough times loom ahead.
Robey, who is used to speaking in front of crowds, said he was finding it difficult to say what he felt. “I just want to say how much I appreciate all of you.”
He said he had wanted to invite all the “really great people” to the evening. “That's why you're all here.”
Robey said he's thinking of writing a book about his experiences. “It'll be fiction. I'll change the names.”
Of the evening, he said, “I really don't feel like I deserve it.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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