BOS votes to have signatures verified
Motion by Sabatier to approve a vote of no confidence in Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen died when no second was made by the board
LAKEPORT >> The Lake County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to send a referendum to the Registrar of Voters to check the signatures.
The referendum seeks to repeal an ordinance regarding enforcement of COVID-19 requirements approved by the board on Aug. 18 by a 3-2 vote, with District 5 supervisor Rob Brown and District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier in opposition.
The ordinance laid out a process for dealing with violations of public health orders, including first a warning and chance to correct the violation within five days. If a correction hadn’t been made, the person would be given a notice of violation and 10 days to make a correction. If still uncorrected, the offender would be subject to an administrative fine.
The referendum includes 2,507 signatures which will be checked for validity. If it reaches the threshold of required signatures, the board would either need to strike the ordinance or put it to voters in a special election. In the meantime, county staff said the ordinance was suspended.
About 10 members of the public commented on the item, most of whom were in favor of the referendum. During the discussion, Board Chair Moke Simon reminded the room several times that the issue before the board was simply whether or not to send the referendum off to be verified; the board was not voting on the ordinance itself.
One man who identified as a “Konocti Patriot” threatened Simon and District 4 Supervisor Tina Scott with a recall if they did not vote to repeal the ordinance. Another said that many of the signatures came from their districts.
Frank Dellosso, who took credit for starting the referendum, urged the board to immediately take a vote to strike the ordinance before the signatures were counted.
Scott said she had “concern that this group does not want these signatures verified.”
A business owner voiced concern about aggression from “anti-maskers” and said her business had loyal customers because of the mask requirement in place. She urged the board to provide a unified message on enforcement of public health orders.
Third District Supervisor Eddie Crandell made the motion, after thanking everyone who shared their opinion.
“That is what’s great about the process, this country, all of it,” Crandell said. “You have a choice to voice your concerns and it was a valiant effort.”
Also, a motion by Sabatier to approve a vote of no confidence in TreasurerTax Collector Barbara Ringen died when no second was made by the board. Before the vote, Ringen gave her rebuttal to allegations which were brought by Sabatier at the Sept. 1 board meeting. Ringen had asked to continue the item so she could have more time to prepare a response.