In what political universe is it a bad thing for a County Supervisor to have a good relationship with the Governor? Roger Gitlin criticizes Supervisor Masten’s appointment by the Governor as if it is a badge of shame. On the contrary, out of all the people in the fifth district the Governor chose Susan Masten because of her experience and commitment to our community.During her first 6 months as Supervisor, Susan Masten has developed strong, positive relationships with our elected representatives. In fact, Supervisor Masten is being endorsed by our Congressman, State Senator, and Assemblyman. When our county needs assistance it will be advantageous to have a Supervisor with these established connections.After the election, we will have the same Congressman, State Senator, Assemblyman and Governor. All the statewide offices will likely be retained by Democrats. We need a Supervisor that can get along with our State and Federal representatives, rather than disrespecting them at every turn.#placement_573654_0_i{width:100%;max-width:550px;margin:0 auto;}var rnd = window.rnd || Math.floor(Math.random()*10e6);var pid573654 = window.pid573654 || rnd;var plc573654 = window.plc573654 || 0;var abkw = window.abkw || '';var absrc = 'https://ads.empowerlocal.co/adserve/;ID=181918;size=0x0;setID=573654;type=js;sw='+screen.width+';sh='+screen.height+';spr='+window.devicePixelRatio+';kw='+abkw+';pid='+pid573654+';place='+(plc573654++)+';rnd='+rnd+';click=CLICK_MACRO_PLACEHOLDER';var _absrc = absrc.split("type=js"); absrc = _absrc[0] + 'type=js;referrer=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + _absrc[1];document.write('');I am always baffled by the political strategy of insulting and antagonizing our elected officials. How will this convince them to act in our interest?We should avoid getting bogged down by partisan politics in a non-partisan race. Being a Supervisor is not about power or politics, it is about serving the community. Supervisor Masten is a moderate Democrat who is fiscally conservative. If elected, Susan Masten will pull the Board of Supervisors to the center.In contrast Dean Wilson will steer the Board of Supervisors to the far right. My primary concern is that Wilson has a political ideology that is too extreme for our community.Wilson’s campaign slogan is “Known and Trusted”. Those of us who have been here for the last 20 years know Dean Wilson. If you have forgotten, let me remind you of a few of things that he has done, that are not in his campaign brochure.Wilson served as Sheriff from 2003 to 2014. Sometime during his term Wilson was radicalized and joined the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA).According to an Anti Defamation League report entitled Extremism, Terrorism and Bigotry (9/20/21), “The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) is an anti-government extremist group whose primary purpose is to recruit sheriffs into the anti-government “patriot” movement.”“CSPOA was started in 2011 by former Arizona sheriff and Oath Keepers cofounder Richard Mack. Although the Oath Keepers have garnered more media attention in recent years, the CSPOA has arguably had more success infiltrating law enforcement.”“The central tenet of CSPOA, is that the county sheriff is the ultimate authority in the county, able to halt enforcement or actively oppose any federal or state law they deem unconstitutional. This notion has no basis in American law.”It was reported in Reason Magazine (1/23/13) that Wilson joined 90 Constitutional Sheriffs who pledged to refuse enforcement of all federal gun laws that they consider to be unconstitutional.Wilson was also a member of the local Tea Party Patriots and in 2014 supported the secessionist movement to break away from California and form a new state called Jefferson.In June 2014, Del Norte voters rejected the State of Jefferson with 58% voting no. This demonstrated that locally there is a moderate majority that will not condone these radical ideas. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents voted together for common sense government.In November 2014, the voters knew but did not trust Dean Wilson when 54% voted against his reelection.In the Crescent City Times (5/31/14) conservative activist Donna Westfall stated, “The consensus is that Wilson is not a good leader. He either approves of or turns a blind eye to actions considered by reliable sources including those in law enforcement to be both unethical and illegal by his deputies and detectives…My conclusion; I cannot endorse Wilson.”Recently the President of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Association reported that this union has endorsed Susan Masten for Supervisor. Though it appears that there are a few Sheriff Department employees that disagree with this, I see no reason to question this endorsement. If there is a dispute it is internal to the union.The fact that there are any Sheriff employees that oppose Wilson for Supervisor is significant. These are people who have firsthand knowledge. We should heed their advice.Most people do not want their elected officials fighting over disruptive political issues. The residents of our county want leaders that will put the interests of the people over extremist partisan ambitions.We should expect that if Wilson is elected, his actions as Supervisor will reflect his actions as Sheriff. This is not what our community needs.Supervisor Susan Masten will aim toward the middle and build partnerships across party lines. Even Gitlin admits that “Masten has been respectful, civil and dare I say charming in all our interactions.”I hope that the moderate majority again will vote against extremism and vote for Susan Masten for County Supervisor in District 5.Kevin Hendrick is the Chair of the Del Norte County Democratic Central Committee - dndems@gmail.com googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });