Category: Politics

I am pleased to be supporting Linda Deos for county supervisor. I went to lunch with her last fall, and was very impressed with her willingness and ability to listen, and her passion for uplifting those disenfranchised in Yolo County – her priorities of affordable housing, protecting the environment and alternatives to mass incarceration will be a refreshing and much needed voice on our Board of Supervisors.  

I am thrilled that Linda will advocate passionately for immigrants, people of color, and other marginalized folk. As an immigration defense attorney myself, I often see bias in county agencies resulting in needs in our communities' not being met fairly and accountably.

And finally, we really need a strong, progressive woman on that Board!

Ann Block

Davis

This is just a friendly, civic reminder that Tuesday February 18th is the last day to register to vote in the California primary coming up soon on March 3. You can do that online here.  Or, you can "conditionally" register to vote after the 15-day voter registration deadline by following these instructions: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/same-day-reg/

If you want to check your registration status, you can do that online here: https://registertovote.ca.gov

Republicans have a closed primary. You must be Republican to vote in it.

However, Democrats have an open primary, so on the day of the primary, any independents or folks registered with a third party can opt to vote in the Democratic contest.

Roughly 1 out of 4 registered votes in California are independents ("no party preference.") That's a lot of people! If you are one of them and want to make sure you get to vote in a presidential primary, here's how:

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I'm writing in support of positive change and community engagement and thus in support of Linda Deos for the 4th District of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, which covers most of north (of Covell) and east (of Hwy 113, J and L Streets) in Davis. I've read with interest various letters in support of both Linda and the incumbent, Jim Provenza; both appear to be good people who support their community. Letters in support of Mr. Provenza stress his accomplishments while on the Board and, as one might expect when a person sits on the Board for twelve years, there is a notable list. Board members are paid to accomplish things.

The question one might ask, then, is why make a change? Incumbents traditionally have this advantage in a campaign. To this question, my response is, the making of public policy is strengthened locally by representation on our Board from as many segments of our community as possible. In these troubled times, such inclusivity matters tremendously, not only at the national and state level but also locally—it starts here.

Diversity of representation, however critical, should not be gratuitous, however. Linda Deos—not as part of her job but in her passion for giving back to her community—has volunteered on six area boards and commissions, including the Yolo Basin Foundation, health, cannabis and disability access advisory groups.  All of this effort has been carried out on top of her legal work with members of the community who are facing bankruptcy, or who are overwhelmed by credit and student debt. With this record of contributions in an unofficial capacity, imagine what she can achieve as a County Supervisor! Linda has the capability to meet and to exceed Mr. Provenza's record if she is given the opportunity.

I encourage voters in the 4th District to vote for the future by electing Linda to serve the district and to represent your interests to the County.

Michele van Eyken

Davis

I want a leader on the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, someone who has fresh ideas and solutions for the new decade. I want someone who will not only question the need for a new county jail but will look at ways to reduce the incarceration rate that we have. Eliminating the cash bail system that keeps poor people in jail while awaiting their hearings is one way to accomplish this goal. Because 65% of our jail residents cannot post bail, they must stay there until his or her trial. They are in jail, often for months at a time, despite not having been proven guilty of any crime. It's a modern-day debtor's prison.

It costs as much to house a prisoner in California for a year as it does to send a student to Stanford for the same amount of time. That’s a lot of money that could be used to provide more robust social services programs that lift up our county residents.

I want a leader who will return our foster care program back to one that works for families that are in distress.  We need to stop shipping hundreds of Yolo County children to foster homes far from their families.

I want a leader who understands climate change as the existential threat that it is. Someone who is able to work with other committed supervisors and residents to do the hard work of making significant and urgent changes to our county’s operations model.

You have a choice of leadership for the 4th district Yolo County supervisor race for the first time in many years. The leader that I want for Yolo County Board of Supervisors is Linda Deos. She is the future.

Elizabeth Lasensky

Davis

I'm voting for Linda Deos for real change.

I strongly support term limits in California politics and agree with those imposed on our state legislators. I think the longer an elected office-holder is in the same job the more entrenched they become with their same ideology and their same old ways of doing things. That's no longer enough given the huge challenges facing our planet, our country, and our county.

For instance, on a local level, Yolo Co. still has an extremely regressive criminal justice system that disproportionately hammers even non-violent low-income defendants of color and minority youth.

We still have an exploding homeless population that shows no signs of abating. Yet our Supervisors are only using short-term band-aids to try to alleviate this glaring problem and have yet to enact a long-term comprehensive plan to address our homeless and housing crisis.

Yolo Co. is still increasing its carbon footprint every year while the world is burning and the Supervisors have yet to declare a climate emergency or implement policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that have already been adopted by the City of Davis and more progressive communities.

Enough is enough. Jim Provenza is a very nice man and truly believes in what he is doing. But he has had 12 years to make his mark on Yolo Co. and there has barely been a dent in improving the lives of the most vulnerable people in our midst.

It's time we changed the make-up of our staid, male-dominated Board of Supervisors and their same old ways. Endorsed by one of my favorite local progressive heroes, Public Defender and 2018 Yolo Co. District Attorney candidate, Dean Johannson, Linda Deos will work for the little and forgotten people in our county.

Linda Deos gets my vote.

Alan Pryor

Davis

Support Jim Provenza

I am delighted to write in support of Supervisor Jim Provenza. I have known Jim for a long time. He is very accessible to the residents of the county. In several incidents, I reached out to him to solve issues with the county. He contacted the right persons and resolved the issues in no time.

Jim's priorities at Yolo County include the preservation of open space and farmland in Yolo County, the protection of our water supply, and the promotion of services for children, crime victims and senior citizens. He is committed to ensuring that Yolo County delivers essential health care and effective public safety protection.

Supervisor Provenza has 30 years of county and state government experience, and a long career in public interest law. For the 23 years, he has worked as a special assistant district attorney. He is also a past member of our school board. We are fortunate to have him as our supervisor.

Hamza El-Nakhal, 

Davis