"The Democratic congressman has a history of staying in contact with Del Norte County leaders, determining the area's priorities for federal assistance, and then delivering. Think federal disaster relief for fishermen. Think assistance with upgrading Highway 199. Think assistance for rural school districts such as Del Norte's through extension of a program that compensates counties that have lost timber revenue."
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With the national economy in a shambles, it's understandable that voters would be in an anti-incumbent mood when it comes to their representatives in Washington, D.C. Indeed, just how voters decide to define the "change" they almost all seek will determine the Nov. 4 election results at all levels of American government.
Bailing out our financial system with hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money - or more accurately, with hundreds of billions of dollars in loans that taxpayers are on the hook for - doesn't sit well with citizens who have already seen their own retirement funds go into the tank.
It's easy to understand the appeal of anti-bailout folks such as Republican Zane Starkewolf, who wants to be your next congressman. "Penalizing U.S. taxpayers is not the way to help the economy," he told The Triplicate on Monday.
The man he wants to replace, Congressman Mike Thompson, initially voted against the bailout as well. He relented only after receiving assurances from Democratic leaders, including Barack Obama, that regulatory reform will follow to prevent future economic meltdowns.
Hard as it is to sell the bailout to a skeptical populace, there is bipartisan agreement in Washington that without it, the looming credit crunch might take the economy much lower than the depths it's already reached. That's a hard assessment to ignore. The fact is most citizens with retirement accounts are heavily invested in financial markets, and they don't want to lose the rest of their 401K's.
As arresting as the bailout issue is, the defining moment in The Triplicate's telephone interview with Starkewolf came when he was asked about Del Norte, the northernmost county in a congressional district that stretches all the way to Napa. The challenger from Davis, about 350 miles to the southeast, said he had last been up here about three years ago. He mentioned the travails of the fishing and timber industries as general issues he's familiar with. He knew nothing about the long-deferred need to dredge the Crescent City harbor channel, a federal responsibility.
By contrast, Thompson spent Sunday in Crescent City, which he visits regularly despite its location at the far end of California's sprawling 1st Congressional District. He updated locals on the prospects for approval of $2.3 million for dredging, money he has added to the proposed energy and water appropriations bill. He described his efforts to explain to Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein how crucial the local project is so that it won't get derailed when the bill moves on to the Senate.
The Democratic congressman has a history of staying in contact with Del Norte County leaders, determining the area's priorities for federal assistance, and then delivering. Think federal disaster relief for fishermen. Think assistance with upgrading Highway 199. Think assistance for rural school districts such as Del Norte's through extension of a program that compensates counties that have lost timber revenue.
Call all this "pork" if you want to. But go stand in the middle of the far-too-shallow harbor channel, where boats increasingly run aground, and try denying the need for an insider's help in getting some attention focused on the federally owned channel.
Del Norte County's business and political leaders have made great strides toward speaking with one voice when it comes to identifying the region's needs to decision-makers in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. But that would mean little without effective representatives who not only receive those messages, but act on them.
Zane Starkewolf has some appealing ideas about being a "Green Republican" who would push for more governmental incentives to make us more energy efficient and ultimately less dependent on foreign oil. He says he'll run again in two years if he doesn't win this time. In the interim, we encourage him to get familiar with the northern reaches of his congressional district.
Del Norte County is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, but there should be no split when it comes to deciding who represents us in Congress. The Triplicate endorses the re-election bid of Mike Thompson.
October 22, 2008
