Still unknown whether incumbent Third District Supervisor will run again
By Charles Douglas
Humboldt Sentinel
With face-offs already guaranteed for the other two Humboldt County Supervisor seats up for grabs in 2012, the Third District will now be a political battleground as well.
Arcata environmental activist Mark Lovelace, who has yet to decide whether he’ll run for a second term after his landslide victory in June 2008, has an extra factor to consider — Bayside businesswoman Karen Brooks, who made public this week her intention to run for the job.
“This mom, this business woman, this concerned citizen has decided that we can do better for the people of Humboldt County and I’m standing up to make your voice heard,” she wrote on her Facebook wall yesterday. “If you live in Manila, Arcata, Blue Lake, Kneeland, Bayside, Freshwater, northern Eureka and all points in-between I would represent you with no nonsense, real world leadership. I have a vision to bring our future back to our children and grandchildren…stay tuned!”
Brooks previously ran for State Assembly on the Republican ballot line as the only alternative to incumbent Wes Chesbro on the November 2010 ballot, scoring just over 38% against the entrenched Arcata Democrat who previously served as 3rd District Supervisor, as well as an Arcata City Councilmember and a twice-elected State Senator for the North Coast.
Humboldt County’s other two Supervisorial seats will also be contended in the June 2012 election — with a November run-off if no candidate scores above 50%. Incumbent Jimmy Smith’s First District Supervisor seat will see retired schoolteacher Annette De Modena face former Eureka City Council candidate Rex Bohn, while Second District Supervisor Clif Clendenen will once again share the ballot with former KMUD news director Estelle Fennel. More candidates may step forward, as the filing period won’t close for several weeks.
While never having served in elected office, Brooks was the Marketing Director for the North Coast Co-Op, and also is an active member of the Humboldt Tea Party Patriots; she even wrote a guest opinion column entitled “Patriots and prejudice — irrational hatred of the Tea Party” for the Times-Standard earlier this year. She’s a Humboldt State University alumnus and an active equestrian.
Her first campaign event will be a Pancake Breakfast meet and greet at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7 at the D Street Neighborhood Center, just south of Humboldt State University in Arcata. While the breakfast is free, Brooks is asking attendees to bring two cans of food per person to help the local food bank — and she’s also asking for people to bring their own dishware to make it a zero waste event.
Brooks characterized the event as part of a “listening tour” in a press release earlier today, and says she intends to sound out issues and concerns from local residents in order to find sustainable solutions. For more information on her campaign, e-mail Brooks at brooksforsupervisor@gmail.com.
Here’s an excerpt from Planet Humboldt (produced by the Sentinel) of Brooks delivering comments at the 9/11 Commemoration held in Fortuna earlier this year:
