Supervisor Gitlin responds to RECALL notice

By Donna Westfall –  June 18, 2018  – On June 12th, a Certified Letter was received by Sup. Gitlin containing the Notice of Intention to Circulate Recall Petition mailed by Jesse Davis, the former Chair of the Cannabis Working Group and advocate for the recall.  Also included in the Certified Letter were the first 20 names, addresses and signatures verified by Del Norte County Clerk, Alissia Northrup as valid registered voters.

That list included:

1. Juvenal Aguilera at 1320 Harrold Street
2. Virginia Delatorre at 1500 Summer Park Ct., Apt 2
3. Joshua Delatorre 1500 Summer Park Ct.,
4. Valleda Laverne Peters at 1010 Humboltd
5. Rachel Justice at 1108 Douglas St
6. Ashley Hines at 1500 Summer Park Court Apt 111
7. Jacob Patterson 1725 Northcrest Dr
8. Andre Carpenter at 130 Mason Ct.
9. Donna Carpenter at 160 Mason Ct.
10. Billie Kaye Gavin-Tygart at 350 Pacific Ave
11. Jim F. Tygart at 350 Pacific Ave.
12. Chelsea Saryaolu at 495 5th St.
13. Lisa McKeown at 185 Dream St.
14. Charlie McKeown at 185 Dream St.
15. Carman Delatorre at 1319 Jordan St.
16. Gina DeWitt at 135 Dream St.
17. Ian DeWitt at 135 Dream St.
18. Laura Benson at 1210 Oregon St
19. Brian Benson at 1210 Oregon St.
20. Jermaine Brubaker at 461 E. St

The grounds for the recall had no discernable reasons. An answer by Sup. Gitlin, should he  chose to file one, had to be filed within seven days with the County Elections Official, Alissia Northrup along with a copy to one of the proponents.

Here is Sup. Gitlin’s answer.

The organizers of this frivolous Recall seek to remove me because I am a strong advocate for positive solutions implementing quality-of-life changes. Advocating constituents’priorities will ruffle the feathers of those who wish to keep the status quo. It’s that simple!

I’ve committed no wrongful acts during my terms. Honesty and candor have been the foundation of my relationship with the voters.

Since elected in 2012, I’ve maintained the promise making local government accessible to all and continue performing on that pledge.

At zero taxpayer cost, Take a Bite out of Blight clean-ups, 37 to date, will continue.

Facing the prospect of Critical Access at our local hospital (fewer beds and higher prices), I worked with local medical leaders successfully preserving our full-service hospital.

Currently, I serve on a City/County/Healthcare District subcommittee and continue to advocate for expanded quality healthcare.

Last Chance Grade project remains a top priority, continuing work to provide a safe Highway 101 route.

No Recall organizer contributed to any of the above efforts or successes.

When needing assistance, you receive a prompt, courteous reply and my best effort to help solve your issue.

Thank you for allowing me to continue to serve you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Roger Gitlin

District 1 Supervisor

Del Norte County

225 Lighthouse Way

Crescent City, CA. 95531

What Sup. Gitlin’s statement means – NO RECALL ORGANIZER CONTRIBUTED TO ANY OF THE ABOVE EFFORTS OR SUCCESSES – not one of them came out to lift a finger on 37 clean-ups around the City, neither did they support any plans presented on a Last Chance Grade alternate route nor keeping our hospital a full service without losing any beds.

What Sup. Gitlin neglected to point out in his response is that our local Safeway shopping center which was a mecca for the panhandlers/homeless and thefts…. with landscaping unattended and a parking lot that was not very sanitary…. drew his attention.  He tried working with management to get things fixed so that more people would feel safe shopping there.  He accomplished his goal but made enemies along the way because they didn’t like the way he handled the issue. Some of those enemies are listed above, Lisa McKeown being one of the more vocal of the group.  When reminded of that scenario Gitlin said, “Thank you for reminding me of the Jed Smith Center (Safeway being it’s main tenant) with it’s out of control panhandling. I almost forgot. Now the same center  hired a security guard.” I personally know that many people stopped shopping there for fear of being acosted by scary homeless.  They have since returned because despite Gitlin’s brash style in dealing with management, the dynamics at the shopping center has dramatically changed.

When elected, Gitlin promised to donate 10% of his salary and indeed has contributed thousands of dollars around town in the support of people, organizations and projects which served to prove he is a man of his word. One such recipient was Our Daily Bread Ministries who’s executive Director is Mike Justice, a hero in my book.  However, his wife is one of the proponents of the recall.  When speaking with Mike about why his wife would sign Gitlin’s recall petition, Mike admitted to me that he and his wife have differing political views and that he was personally grateful for Gitlin’s support. Aside from Daily Bread Ministries becoming a rescue mission for the homeless accomodating under 20 people, Gitlin’s interest in helping to find workable solutions to housing the homeless is an on-going process.

Gitlin has a willingness to step into difficult situations and work towards solutions which benefit the public. Combined with an intelligence that can analyze and summarize a vast amount of information, he’s a rare combination of businessman and politician.