Final candidate forum: D5 is a one person affair
Bridges absent from final D5 forum
Native American tribal members interviewed Lake County Supervisor candidates in a non-partisan forum at the Robinson Rancheria Conference Center last Friday, March 1. Besides the normal questions about housing, health, and land and water issues, the candidates were asked a “hot topic” question concerning the proposed name change for the town of Kelseyville.
The U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey and its subsidiary, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names are currently reviewing a petition from a Kelseyville Ad Hoc group, “Citizens for Caring,” to change the town name of Kelseyville to Konocti. Kelseyville is named after Andrew Kelsey who, during the 1840's and 50's, enslaved, abused and murdered Native American Pomos.
Jessica Pyska, the incumbent Supervisor of District 5 which includes Kelseyville, was asked by tribal members, “How would you engage, in a compassionate way, with others who had opposing views from you; in order to show them empathy for their feelings.”
Pyska replied, “It's been brewing for a long time. It's coming to a head. My position has been to be supportive and available to all citizens by staying neutral.” Sounding dismayed, she declared, “I don't know how it will end!”
Boone Bridges, challenger to Pyska in District 5 in this 2024 election, declined a gracious invitation to attend this candidate forum at Robinson Rancheria which was hosted by the “California Native Vote Project” and “Kno Qoti's” “Native Wellness Inc.”
Just one day earlier, on Thursday, February 28, Bridges sent out a polarizing campaign attack mailer to the citizens of Kelseyville in which he mocked everyone involved in the petition for a name change; from local citizens, on up to the federal government. He parroted the Alt Right's sarcastic version of the African American term, “woke,” to taunt “outsiders, politicians and political activists” involved in the name change review.
“Woke” is a word that comes from the African American dialect. It means to “sleep with one eye open.” It means to beware; to be aware of what's going on in the community related to racism and social injustice. The opposite of a “woke” person would in effect, be racist, or at least unaware of injustices.
During the Black Lives protests, protesters would carry picket signs that said, “Stay Woke.” Then the Alt Right began to use the term in a pejorative way to express contempt or disapproval; a sort of name calling or slur, just as Bridges used in hie mailer.
As Big Valley Rancheria Board member, Fred Briones, said when he was sitting in the audience at the forum, “Showing faith is everything. If you don't have faith, you have nothing.”