MCRPD candidate withdraws from election

FORT BRAGG » A candidate for the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Parks board has asked voters not to cast their ballots in her favor, in a last-minute decision to withdraw from the race.

Cynthia Coupe Audo posted on her Facebook page Oct. 8 with an “urgent plea” for locals to not vote for her.

“Please do NOT vote for me for MCRPD board. I know I’m the perfect candidate, but I cannot do it ,”

Coupe Audo wrote in her post. “I’m doing it for the wrong reasons, which is to please others.”

Coupe Audo’s last minute decision to remove herself from the race means it’s too late to take her name off the ballot, but she said she simply “couldn’t put more on her plate” right now.

With her daughter doing virtual schooling and a sick family member that needs her attention, Coupe Audo said it’s simply too much stress for her to take on a four-year position with the board, should she win.

“I just have to put family first,” she said. “I believe in MCRPD and I know I would be a good candidate but I know I’m just barely holding down the fort day to day right now.”

In a comment on the post, Coupe Audo said she was throwing her support behind John Huff and Keith Stiver.

“From what I’ve seen and heard, my belief is that they’re both part of what the solution could be, not part of the problem,” she said, calling the board “so political.” When asked what will happen if she wins one of the open seats anyway, Coupe Audo said she’s not sure what the next steps would be, but a formal resignation would be likely.

“Ibelieve in the Parks board and I believe in my community and I want to help,” she said. “I just had to listen to what was right.”

The remaining candidates in the race include Huff, Stiver, Angela Dominguez and Cutler Crowell.