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Races in three districts out of five total districts are up in this election cycle.

Summary of Endorsements:

Update: Delbar, Shoemaker and Campbell won in the primary, read about who they are below; this page will be updated soon with information on all the current elected officials. Red denotes incumbent in list below.

District 1 East Ukiah, Talmage, Redwood Valley, Potter Valley.
Michael Delbar (Republican - incumbent) See details below
Bruce Haldane (Declined to State) See details below
Barbara Clausen-Newell (Republican - Write in Candidate). See details below
WE RECOMMEND: Haldane or Clausen-Newell depending on the details of your politics. Barbara appears to be more conservative than Bruce, both are clearly better than Delbar - see write ups below.

District 2 mainly comprising the City of Ukiah
Richard Shoemaker (Democrat incumbent) See details below
David Dickey (Republican) See details below
WE RECOMMEND: Shoemaker

The question for a large rural county like Mendocino County is which candidates will most likely accelerate making it another densely populated, polluted, noisy, crime ridden area with little sustainable economic base -- those candidates are the ones NOT to vote for.

For incumbents, we attempt to use their voting record and review their list of major contributors to try to determine who is best using the "know the candidates" issues list. (see list of issues on intro page).

In Mendocino County over the last four years we could find no County votes that directly relate to Campaign, Election and Judicial reform. On the issues on which we rate candidates, there are some recorded votes on environmentally related issues.

If the non-incumbents have little public/political record to track and tend to avoid making statements that will strongly indicate how they will vote, we determine who is endorsing them and review their list of major contributors. We will also include some biographical information.

District 1 East Ukiah, Talmage, Redwood Valley, Potter Valley.

Details about the candidates.

Michael Delbar is the incumbent Supervisor; his Board votes and behind-the-scenes actions will most likely succeed in turning Mendocino into another polluted, dense, low wage, high crime, non-sustainable economic base, and lack of natural recreational open space region. He is the most active one-third of the "polluters and developers dream team" on the Board. Delbar is also the one most overtly hostile to anything that might be considered positive for the environment. He has voted wrong on almost every issue this site is concerned with that has come before the board. As of this writing a large percentage of his campaign contributions and expenditures are from out of county money.

1/29/97 - With Patti Campbell, Delbar was on the wrong side of a 3-2 vote
against Caltrans use of herbicides on roads in Mendocino County.

4/1/98(?) - Delbar voted in the minority for a resolution opposing listing of coho
and steelhead as endangered species.

1/?/98 - In a statement during a board discussion of LP sale of their
lands, Delbar said he would welcome purchase by Charles Hurwitz, "or Charles
Manson as long as it's private enterprise." or words to that effect.

The Ukiah Daily Journal reported that Delbar had finagled use of
salmon restoration funds for road repairs.

This past summer, Delbar dragged his feet on the issue of conversion of
Timberland to vineyard, making it clear that he doesn't oppose such
conversion.

He is a zealous supporter of funding more county trappers at the tax payers expense.

He pushed, unsuccessfully, for approval of a 500-unit subdivision in
water-starved Redwood Valley, without regard to the water issue.

Bruce Haldane (No Party Affiliation)

Bruce, being a non-incumbent, has no voting record we can track. Bruce has stated would and will vote and act the opposite of Delbar on the above listed votes and actions.

We asked him for a short autobiography, which is below:

I was born and raised in and around Houston, Texas and attended school
there until age 17. At that time I joined the Marine Corps as a Private
and served for four years, one of which was in Korea during the height of
that conflict. I remained for 13 years more in the Reserves, leaving,
honorably, as a Captain.

I have a BA from the University of Texas, an MA in sociology from Michigan
State and studied at UC, Berkeley and UCLA as a Ph.D. candidate.

I live in Potter Valley, on land I bought in 1972, with my partner of 26
years, Annie Esposito. We have lived there since 1990. I am the father of
four, stepfather of two and grandfather of five children.

I've worked at many different jobs, both blue and white collar, and retired
several years ago after 20 years in the landscape gardening business. I
started doing radio news at KPFA in Berkeley in 1987 and, until this
campaign, have been working as a volunteer news reporter with KZYX and Z,
public radio in Mendocino County. I serve on committees for the station,
including one that is establishing a satellite studio in Willits. I have
attended Board of Supervisors meetings for the past eight years plus many
other local commission and board meetings. I can safely say that I've
attended more board meetings than any sitting Supervisor.

I've served on the Boards of Directors of Mendocino County Public
Broadcasting and the Mendocino Environmental Center. In Berkeley, where I
previously lived, I was elected to the Poverty Board and served on the
Mayor's Advisory Committee, the Fair Campaign Practices Commission and, for
five years, the Berkeley Police Review Commission.

I am an avid community gardener and was instrumental in establishing three
community gardens in Potter Valley last summer; that project will continue.
I am now working with others in Potter Valley to establish an emergency
preparedness network and a community center.

Barbara Clausen-Newell (Party ? write in candidate) is a politically conservative to moderate businesswoman.
Barbara was so dismayed at Delbar's backroom double dealings that she decided to run, unfortunately at the last minute, hence the write-in candidate status. If elected, she will donate her county supervisor's salary to a nonprofit.

District 2 mainly comprising the City of Ukiah

On the issues that most concern us Shoemaker will probably be far better than his opponent. On pesticide use he voted correctly on one major vote and also on water quality and stream and river protection he voted correctly. He could have been better on animal protection and one river buffer zone vote (NMFS letter).

Dickey has very little record to track. He is backed and endorsed by all the wrong people; Ex-supervisor McMichael and current supervisor Delbar and major contributors are the major developers and polluters.

District 4 Greater Caspar, Greater Fort Bragg, Westport, Leggett, Piercy.

Patti Campbell represents one-third of the developers and polluters dream team on the board of supervisors. The main difference between she and the other two members of this unfortunate club is that her style is softer and politically smarter than the other members of the gang of three.

Patti Campbell is a 54 year old republican living in Fort Bragg, married to Peter Caton -Manager PG&E, three grown children, AA degree from local Junior College, 15 years receptionist local hospital, also worked in the PG&E office.

Votes and Contributors:

1/29/97 - With Delbar, Patti Campbell was on the wrong side of a 3-2 vote
against Caltrans use of herbicides on roads in Mendocino County.

Her votes on water, developer tax payer subsidies, animal trappers are all hostile to the environment and animals.

Rod Jones current and past activities indicate he will be a very different vote on environmental and major development issues.

ROD JONES BIOGRAPHY:

Former Mendocino County deputy public defender, Rod Jones now serves Coastal
residents with low cost or free legal services, advocating in the courts in
Fort Bragg and Ukiah for local working families and small businesses,
challenging government mismanagement and blocking special interests. He is
a 53-year-old, public interest attorney who received his Bachelor of Arts
degree in Political Science, followed by a juris doctorate law degree in
1971. He attended college on a scholarship and graduated in the top twenty
percent of his class. For 16 years, he was a full-time professor and law
school dean, lecturing in both criminal law and legal ethics. He brings to
the supervisors' race his experience in both law and administrative duties
including program design, hiring decisions, budget analysis, grant
applications and fiscal management.

Co-founder of the Mendocino Coast Environmental Center, Rod has extensive
community service and a public education background. He serves on the
Mendocino Coast Hospital Bioethics Committee, the 4-H Young Basketball
program, Mendocino Music Festival Staff and on an ad hoc committee with the
Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce. He also put together a private money
endowment fund where community based projects will be able to apply for much
needed start-up and project funding.

A KZYX and KMUD programmer, Rod produces the radio show, "Justice Blinded,"
which focuses on crime and civil liberties. Widely published in many legal
journals, he is also the author of several books including the humorous
"Disorderly Conduct: Verbatim Excerpts from Actual Cases" and "Supreme
Folly: Further Excerpts from Actual Cases." He is also an editorial writer
for Open Forum, in a statewide legal newspaper, the Daily Journal, and has
authored many articles in local newspapers. Jone's father was a radio
station manager and independent small business owner of an advertising
agency and small publishing firm before his death. His mother did clerical
work in a hospital personnel office and for the Boy Scouts of America. (Rod
was an Eagle Scout.) He started working at age 12 in a local grocery store
as a bagger and checker (unionized) and also had his own newspaper route.

His main interest in running for supervisor is his background and
experience, which both demonstrate a commitment to involvement in his
community and towards a work ethic both personally and professionally that
seeks to promote the greater good and make this world a better place for
all. He offers his intelligence, common sense, integrity, independence and
dedication to the overall functioning of the Board of Supervisors where he
says he can help promote better decisions, a modicum of harmony and a dash
of leadership. He seeks these challenges in his daily life and wants to
carry that over to his Board duties. He lives on the south end of the
sprawling 4th District, which extends all the way from Russian Gulch State
Park to the Humboldt County line, with his partner, Saelon Britton, a
registered physical therapist at Mendocino Coast District Hospital. He has
one daughter, 13-year-old Lindsey Graham-Jones.

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