Letters
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- Written by: Jim Steele
The partisan election process for national and state offices sometimes overshadows and gets confused with county offices.
County elected offices are nonpartisan to any political party and are more hands-on management jobs. The management exception is that the five district supervisor offices act as a voting board in a policymaking and quasi-judicial role. What these offices do affects all of us.
The countywide elected district attorney, treasurer tax collector and assessor-recorder are three important offices which need job focused experience and qualifications with a strong management background to best benefit our rural county.
We sometimes don’t get that and should not vote for low performing incumbents. But if we get a good elected official, reelecting them is key to constantly improving the office.
As a former county supervisor, I saw firsthand how either a poorly or well-performing elected official can influence county government. I’d like to put some opinions on the table based on what I saw for three offices coming up for vote on June 7.
First, keep the good ones. District attorney: Susan Krones is a highly experienced manager and keen legal mind who has performed at a highly professional level for an office with a tough job, getting justice for victims of crime. Let’s not let her get away for a very minimally qualified challenger.
Second, elect the right ones. Treasurer-tax collector: This office has needed change for years and is now vacant for voters to put the right person in place: Patrick Sullivan is the highest qualified candidate for that office in years. He is a proven manager, attorney and accountant with a perfect temperament for working with people and governments. We would be lucky to get him and he definitely has my vote.
Third, change the wrong ones. Assessor-recorder: This officeholder has been a non-performer for 8 years and unfortunately ran unopposed last time. The challenger, Hannah Faith Lee brings the right stuff to the office and has a far better chance of making that office work for the public. I’m impressed with her management qualifications and business approach. She gets my vote for what is a very much-needed change.
Jim Steele lives in Clearlake Oaks, California. He is a former Lake County supervisor.
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- Written by: Kimberly Armstrong
No. 1, who is Andrew/Drew Tritchler? Has he attended any open forums where both candidates had time to speak? Has he reached out to ask questions directly instead of hiding behind the keyboard?
I have been a member of this community and lived in Hidden Valley Lake for over 10 years. I am informed and I went to an open forum and specifically asked Susan, “You have indicated that during COVID you were the DA and managed the office?” Wait a minute, shouldn’t our DA be fighting for our county to put the criminals/arsons/thieves/rapists/child molesters/trafficking/illegal grows and child pornography sex offenders behind bars — for a long time — instead of plea bargaining sentences for them to walk our streets, just so she can get back to “manage” the office.
I believe this “Andrew” with all the private accounts and his partner work for the Susan Krones campaign.
Any businesses or individuals have the right to publicly or privately endorse any candidate for any public office that they choose. Full stop!
To ramble on about how “offended” he is — is just nonsense. To target any business in any way for their political views such as Clay Shannon that is supporting Anthony Farrington, when we should be supporting our neighbors and local businesses, this has been a rough two years in this economy and to try and target businesses is appalling.
It is very clear to me why Susan has a record of failing to place bullies behind bars, if she can’t control her supporters from being bullies ... how is she expected to control the courtroom?
There is plenty to be grateful for in Lake County including our right and responsibility to vote for anyone we choose who is running for our county seats and elections without being bullied.
So by all means support who you want publicly or privately, but please don’t take the food from our neighbors’ mouths because of an opinion.
I know that I will be voting for Anthony Farrington; why you ask? It’s because he has served Lake County his whole life, growing up here and serving on the Board of Supervisors for four terms.
He will be tough on criminals and support law enforcement. He will make criminals think twice before they break the laws in Lake County. He will treat others with respect and dignity and I’m sure he will leave the administrative tasks to his team.
Kimberly Armstrong lives in Hidden Valley Lake, California.
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- Written by: Angela Carter
It has been an honor to work with Susan Krones. One of my favorite things about her is her ongoing commitment to our veterans in Lake County Veterans Court.
Susan Krones is a veteran. She served her country proudly and understands and supports the services provided by this very special program.
I have never seen her opponent at Veterans Court. Just like I never saw him at any of the Public Defender Oversight Committee Meetings when I ran the public defender system in Lake County, and just like I never see him in criminal court with any criminal law cases. He strikes me as a political opportunist.
Elect the person who has invested her time and heart into helping Lake County Veterans, who is knowledgeable in the field of criminal law and who has proven commitment to the position. Vote for Susan Krones.
Angela Carter is a local attorney and contract attorney providing indigent defense services for Lake County Veterans Court. She lives in Kelseyville, Calif.
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- Written by: Don Anderson
There has been talk about the importance of prosecutorial experience. However, this type of experience does not make the person. What makes an effective DA is that person’s knowledge, common sense, life experience and the ability to understand people.
We live in a different time in the criminal justice system. The old ways of doing things simply are not effective anymore. I am very disheartened to see that many of the accomplishments and effective programs I established while DA have been canceled under the current administration.
As some examples, I created a “perjury unit,” the first ever in the United States, that not only investigated and prosecuted perjury in criminal, civil and family law matters, but also educated litigants about the consequences of perjury. The unit had remarkable success and was recognized throughout the country and was making a difference in our courtrooms. This entire program was abolished after I left.
We established diversion programs that taught life skills to low level criminal defendants. This also was a great success. That program was also canceled.
We created a unique-to-California alternative to community service program that raised over $250,000 for local charities while still securing convictions for the underlying crimes. That program was abolished immediately when the new DA was sworn in.
The DA’s Office purchased a 3-D crime scene scanner and trained investigators and law enforcement in its use. The costs of the machine and training exceeded $200,000 and came only from seized drug money. This was a state-of-the-art crime scene tool which was a great benefit in investigating and prosecuting major crimes. That machine has since been sold to the road department for pennies on the dollar.
I started a program that aggressively investigated and prosecuted human trafficking, which included sting operations. This aggressive way of dealing with human trafficking of women is now almost non-existent.
Additionally, the conviction rate in jury trials have drastically dropped in the past three years.
I am fearful that reverting to the old school ways of operating a DA’s Office is not an effective way of seeking justice. We need to keep up with the changing times to aggressively fight crime in Lake County. For all these reasons I am endorsing Anthony Farrington for district attorney.
Don Anderson lives in Lakeport, California.
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