Thompson (D-St. Helena) met with the Board of Supervisors and their department heads in the stately upstairs courtroom of the Courthouse Museum.
“I think everyone realizes the No. 1 issue in Washington today is the economy,” with a full court press taking place to turn it around, he Thompson told the group.
Thompson touched on unemployment, reporting that the country has lost more than 4.5 million jobs since the recession started more than a year ago.
And while unemployment numbers around the state and district are high – reported at 16 percent for Lake County – Thompson stressed that those numbers don't give the full picture of everyone who is out of work, and the actual numbers are much bigger.
“It doesn't take into consideration people who have become discouraged and fallen out of the search for jobs,” he said, nor does it give a true picture of the unemployment picture in agricultural areas, where there are many undocumented workers.
“Sometimes we get focused on the statistics and forget that behind every one of those statistics is a face,” he said.
Government isn't going to fix all of the problems, and “tragic mistakes” were made across the board to bring the economy into its current shape, he said.
The government needs to offer more oversight and regulatory control, said Thompson, and citizens can't use credit cards or risky loans for purchases if the problems are to be avoided in the future.
As in previous local appearances, Thompson addressed the “infamous” TARP bailout bill, saying he was glad Congress took the action because something had to be done. Now the stimulus bill is at work.
“Believe me, we're going to work our way out of this,” he said.
Lake County will get around $4 million in stimulus for education and $1 million for transportation, Thompson said.
He also lauded Lake County for being “head and shoulders above many” when it comes to its renewable energy efforts.
Thompson briefly discussed the federal budget, assuring the county that it's both honest and transparent.
County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox told Thompson the county's revenues are getting hit hard, and construction has fallen flat. “We have a challenging year ahead of us.”
He told Thompson that the county is having difficulty finding out just what stimulus money will be available because the funds aren't being distributed with the same guidelines and structure as other funds the county has received in the past.
So he's created a “strike team” to search through the funding maze. “It is really a challenge,” said Cox.
Cox thanked Thompson for remembering the county when he submitted a list of appropriations for the 2010 federal budget, which included $18 million for local projects, as Lake County News has reported.
“It would make a big difference for our county if we were able to receive those funds,” he said.
Cox also raised the issue of the auto industry bailout. He said he's met with local car dealers, and only two near car dealers remain in the county.
“They're both under extreme pressure. Who knows how long they're going to be able to stay open,” said Cox.
He said both dealers are under pressure from corporate, which appears to want to shut down dealerships in small rural areas. “It just seems like there is something fundamentally wrong with that.”
Thompson said he'll provide the county with a guide to searching out the stimulus money. He said he's very concerned about rural areas not getting their fair share. Many of the programs have been designed to make sure only rural areas get funds for infrastructure as well as broadband expansion.
He commended the county for being judicious with the appropriations requests they submitted, all of which are good projects. Thompson said he feels the earmarks process is important because he knows what's in the best interests of the district better than Congress or a White House staffer.
Thompson said he was very aware of the issues facing the auto industry, put together a call with district auto dealers and generated a letter signed by 50 fellow members of Congress that was sent to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner about dealers' concerns.
He said the auto industry financing arm hitting dealers has lightened up in some regard, but added, “If you're an auto dealer you're on shaky ground.”
Thompson said a lot of dealerships will end up being closed because there are many more dealerships than the business plan suggests. “There's a lot of US jobs at stake in this.”
Supervisor Rob Brown said roads are a priority for him, and added that unemployment numbers also don't reflect self-employed people struggling to find work.
He doesn't like seeing the Army Corps of Engineers receiving a lot of government money for projects, adding that they usually get paid to fix something they messed up decades before. He pointed to the Middle Creek restoration project as an example.
Brown suggested it would be better to give the money to private enterprise, avoid bureaucracy and not have to use the high prevailing wage requirements.
Thomoson said he didn't know how they could get away from the bureaucracy issues, and noted there is overwhelming bipartisan support for the prevailing wage.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington echoed the concerns over the loss of tax base, which ties the hands of local government in providing for its community.
Regarding the earmarks requests, he added, “Everyone stigmatizes earmarks as a bad thing, but they're not a bad thing if they're coming to your community.”
Board Chair Denise Rushing emphasized the huge capital improvements needed for the county's infrastructure, particularly its water and sewer districts. She called the county's infrastructure challenges “dire.”
At the same time, the county still is hoping for money for parks projects. “We're trying to do it all,” she said adding that the county is investing with the hopes that others will invest, too.
Thompson said the infrastructure and water systems needs in Lake County are similar to those seen across the country, and there isn't enough money to fix them all. He said the county will be struggling with meeting those needs forever.
Jim Brown, head of the county's health department, asked about the Veterans Administration clinic which is supposed to come to Lake County, as Lake County News has previously reported.
Thompson said the VA has a Realtor and is looking for land in the Clearlake and Lower Lake areas, based on the number of vets living there. “I feel better than I've ever felt before about it.”
Community Development Director Rick Coel told Thompson he would like to see the county take its renewable energy efforts to the next step, and become a mecca for green startup companies. Thompson said in the stimulus bill he included an amendment to provide a manufacturers tax credit for renewable components made in this country.
County Public Works Director Brent Siemer said federal officials have made sure that much-needed federal road money is making its way to the county. He said the county is receiving between $4 million and $6 million for storm damage work. “That's big for us.”
He said he has 40 projects totaling about $16 million that he has to have done by Christmas, and needs cash to float some of the projects while waiting for the rest of the government funds to come through.
Siemer said having the timber money that comes through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act continued for another four years is good, because it saved him six jobs. Thompson said not to count on that money continuing.
Siemer asked if there is anything he can do to become more competitive when it comes to putting local projects before congressional subcommittees. Thompson suggested he put together his best argument for the projects and get it to Thompson's office.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Hajik told Thompson he's very concerned about the light brown apple moth, which is in both Sonoma and Napa counties, and he worried that it could get to Lake and do serious damage to the local agricultural industry.
“The light brown apple moth has been a very contentious issue,” said Thompson, with the government working to resolve the problems. Sterile twist ties and sterile moth releases hold promise for addressing the moth.
Thompson also took questions from some community members who came.
The first question came from Lucerne resident Donna Christopher, who asked him about why he voted for HR 10 that resulted in some deregulations. She also asked why he supported a bill to change bankruptcy bills and why he flip flopped on the TARP bailout.
“I didn't flip flop on anything, maam,” he replied, reiterating that he didn't see any choice to the final bailout bill, which was a significant improvement over the first version.
Kelseyville resident Clovice Lewis, the chief executive officer of a green technology startup company, asked about the current situation in which credit for business is gone. Thompson agreed it's a big issue, and said they have to fix the credit markets.
“We're starting to see some loosening of credit. It's not where we need to be. We have a long way to go,” he said, noting some improvements.
Anna Ravenwoode of Kelseyville asked if Thompson would be willing to reinstate the clean lakes program under the federal Clean Water Act and include Clear Lake in that program. “I'll look at it. This is new information,” said Thompson.
Farrington and Dellinger said they've been working on that issue.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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