Published April 27, 2016 in Tulare County's Foothills Sun-Gazette
Last Wednesday a large number of people
gathered at the Exeter Memorial Building to listen to 7 of the current
candidates for Tulare County Supervisor in District #1. It was generously moderated by KTIP Radio’s
PK the Redhead and sponsored by the Tulare Co. League of Women Voters. The candidates introduced themselves,
answered 6 prepared questions, plus 6 more chosen from the audience’s
suggestions.
The prepared questions ranged from “What
do you see as the role of county government?” and methods for constituency
outreach, to issues like water and economic development. Audience questions were more specific,
seeking answers on things like homelessness and mental health, parks and
recreation, land use planning, job training, water rights and leveraging money
from the state’s water bond. By the end
of the program, when each candidate summarized his interest in and
qualifications for being our next supervisor, most people had an impression of
each man’s potential performance in that job, as well as how we might feel
about that.
Some candidates were greater politicians
than others, which didn’t necessarily work in their favor in the current
political climate. Others were more well-versed
and experienced in county and city government.
Yet others had cultural experiences that qualified them for being closer
to certain constituent groups. All
claimed to understand the needs of the county as a whole.
As I scribbled my notes furiously, trying
to keep up with both what was said and what was not, trying to record the
nuances of body gestures and facial expressions, I couldn’t tell what I was
missing in the dialog. Yet when I found this
quote by Aldo Leopold (reprinted in the April 2016 issue of The Sun magazine,) I knew I’d stumbled
on a defining characteristic, a way of dividing the pack of candidates into
those I might want as supervisor, and those I would not want. Simply, I want to choose someone who understands
how important it is to maintain the organic, ecological health of this land we
call home.
“The
outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not television, or
radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only those who know the most about it can
appreciate how little we know about it.
The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or
plant: “What good is it?” If the . . . whole is good, then every part
is good, whether we understand it or not.”
The issue of water supply (from both
underground aquifers and surface storage facilities) has a way of revealing who
understands, and who only thinks they do.
Forgive me, but those who think Tulare County will stand to benefit
anything from the construction and operation of Temperance Flat Dam, or from
increased Delta diversions of all that water “wasting” to the ocean (at the
cost of extinction of the anadromous fish species of smelt, cutthroat, and
salmon) are either lying or wallowing in the last word in ignorance.
Several of the current candidates are
adamant about fighting the federal and state governments to preserve our
existing water supplies and water rights systems, without recognizing the
existing inequities to poor communities, small farms, and the remaining fish
and wildlife species with whom we are legally and morally required to share
that water. Only three candidates
considered other solutions; only two of those saw a future in conservation and
locally-arranged agreements for recharging aquifers and re-using wastewater. The rest are still locked in that
pie-in-the-sky belief that California agriculture feeds the world and thus
justifies satisfying the unending thirst of agribusiness, regardless of cost.
All the other issues – poor communities,
development of tourism or other industry, unemployment, providing parks and
recreation, even protecting property values -
all hinge on our recognition of the critical importance of protecting
the ecological health of this land. If
we allow it to be destroyed, either deliberately or through the last word in
ignorance, someday we will find ourselves fighting over straws like they do in
the Middle East, where once the Tigris and Euphrates ran through fertile farmland
and fed the world.
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Trudy
Wischemann is a writer based in Lindsay.
You can send her your candidate observations c/o P.O. Box 1374, Lindsay
CA 93247 or leave a
comment below.
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