I am running for City Council because I love Eureka and care greatly about what happens in this very interesting and likeable place.
Nine years ago I chose Eureka as my home when I could have chosen to live anywhere. I chose Eureka because I noticed some unusual characteristics that I thought would make Eurkea a great place for me, a retired city and environmental planner, to live. I noticed that the location of the city on the shores of Humboldt Bay portended low-tech economic and recreational opportunities and great scenic beauty.
I recognized that Eureka was built as a compact urban place with some of the most outstanding architecture of the 19th century that I have ever seen (and I have lived in beautiful large and small cities: Georgetown and Foggy Bottom neighborhoods of Washington, D.C.; North Beach in San Francisco; Springfield, Ohio; Pacifica, CA.; and Kodaikanal, India).
I noticed that Eureka is surrounded by ranches and farms and open spaces that are backed by more distant mountatins and saw that they are close enough to be accessible by trails for walking. hiking and biking. I noticed that the climate is cool and damp and has produced a lush forest and meadow landscape crossed by many rivers. I noticed that the local beaches are almost unused by people, sea and sky are wrapped in a misty, foggy, opalescent brightness. I also noticed that although Eureka is sadly lacking in neighborhood parks, a network of gulches criss-crosses the city along natural creeks that keep these areas green
Some of the first buildings I noticed in Eureka's downtown and West Eureka made me wonder why a city blessed with such a beautiful setting and features also included large severely blighted areas in such highly visible areas of the city. While Eureka's houses are almost all attractively designed, their conditions are often shabby and neglected--often exceedingly deteriorated. The neighborhoods where these neglected houses stand appeared to also be forgotten. I noticed that there were few trees and a lot of concrete and asphalt, no planter strips for street trees and no boulevard or divider strips in the middle of wide streets. I also noticed that there were no people about.
However, I did not think these problems were insurmountable and they certainly did not encompass the entire city. As a consulting planner I had worked on what we called "conservation areas" to remove blight and make rundown areas of a city liveable again in several cities. A city with so many natural and built assets can only change for the better, I thought.
Several indicators of what is wrong became apparent after I moved to Eureka. I discovered that the people of Eureka and their leaders did not aspire to anything great happening in Eureka. There was a kind of resignation and indifference to trying to make things better, as if Eureka was somehow an inferior place or backwards compared with the rest of Humboldt County. There also was a sentiment that Eureka needed to remain that way so that it could be affordable to those who have nowhere else to go. I heard people refer to Eureka as Butt-reka and Freaka-reka. Sone people in Arcata told me that there are no neighborhoods in Eureka. A woman at a public hearing on the Waterfront Drive plan told me Eurekans had no right to complain about traffic on 101 because they had wanted it to go through Eureka. I could go on and on about the horrible stones thrown at Eureka but fortunately I found that even though I live in West Eureka I have wonderful neighbors and I certainly consider my home to be part of a neighborhood.
I believe it is my right as a resident of my city and my neighborhood to let the city officials and staff know when there are problems in the neighborhoods or the city as a whole and to try to find a way to solve them. There are many problems, just as there are in other places too. However, some of the city officials and staff do not respect this right of the citizens and do not welcome citizen participation in government. They give lip service letting people testify about their concerns and then move on without discussing or thinking about these problems.
I am running for City Council because I believe all of us can help solve problems and I welcome new ideas and old ones too. I believe citizen participation is an important element of planning and governing and, if elected to the City Council, I will always be available to listen and consider the thoughts of others, particularly the residents and workers of Eureka.
