MENDOCINO CO., 12/17/25 — The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday discussed amending language in the climate resilience section of the county’s 2026 legislative platform, a document that outlines the county’s priorities and positions on state and federal legislation.
On Nov. 18, the Board of Supervisors approved a draft of the 2026 legislative platform but clarified that supervisors can propose amendments if they believe the language needs to be revised.
At the November meeting, based on recommendations from the county’s executive office, the platform was edited to replace the words “climate change” with terms such as “climate resiliency.” One reason given for the change was to reduce the risk of the county being excluded from funding opportunities by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has sought to dismantle prior federal efforts to address climate change.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Supervisor Ted Williams proposed amending the language again to use words like climate change, along with other revisions to better reflect the priorities of Mendocino County residents.
Williams, who represents District 5 covering coastal areas of Mendocino, Albion, and Point Arena, spoke about why it’s crucial to alter the climate language in the legislative platform. He said one motivator was hearing from many constituents who oppose sanitizing the language to appease the current administration.
“The people have the same information I do, and overwhelmingly in one direction, they’re asking that we represent their values in the language of their choosing. It’s a way to be transparent about what we represent as a county,” Williams said. “I’m not comfortable going against the people and saying, ‘While I might agree with your stance, we’re going to strip the language because of what the federal administration might do to us.’ I don’t think the federal administration is going to do anything to us.”
Supervisor Madeline Cline spoke about the potential consequences of altering the language back to use terms like climate change, noting that she had seen the Trump administration revoke funding from climate projects in blue states earlier this year.
“These are projects for a variety of states across America. This is not us opining whether it’s right or wrong; this is just the reality of how certain administrations operate. I would rather err on the side of caution,” she said. “Our language still meets the same goals, but in a way that won’t harm us in the long run.”
However, Supervisor John Haschak, the board’s chair, said that the language should better reflect the county’s ethos and its stance on climate change.
“We don’t have to walk away from our belief that there is climate change … or our belief that we should have diversity in our county,” Haschak said. “I don’t think we need to compromise the language that we use or what we believe in.”
Haschak requested that Williams incorporate climate-related language from both legislative platform drafts and bring the proposed amendments to the board’s next meeting in January. Williams will collaborate with Supervisor Maureen Mulheren on the revisions.
The next Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Jan. 6 in the board chambers at 501 Low Gap Road, Ukiah. Meetings can also be watched virtually via Zoom. More information, including agendas, is available at this website.
Ah yes, “climate unchange” how about?
It’s New Speak! How wonderfully Orwellian …
You need to back your voters who gave you your job or you won’t have your jobs very long. Our great state is in multiple lawsuits against this federal administration on these issues. Our state refuses to back down or move backwards to appease the clown 🤡 and neither should “We The People”. Are we going to side with Trump against our own state and our own values? Words have meaning. It’s not a game. Grow up!
Climate change is all about strangling the poor with taxes and enslaving them while doing nothing. Ready for your new mileage taxes on driving? How about impossible and expensive energy codes for building houses? Ready to have your generator and chainsaw taken away? Highest gas in the country? How about we raise property taxes on greedy retired homeowners to save the environment…
So true, but the earth is still our home. And we shouldn’t live in our own filth. There’s got to be a way to separate clean up from politics
Yes, if the government cared about the earth they would ban PFAs in food, clean the water in Flint, fix plastic pollution, hold corporations accountable. But instead they just tax you and me for the climate change boogeyman, how many times have they said we would all be underwater and dead? In Sacramento they are about to clearcut thousands of old growth oaks to put in solar panels for “green energy”. The county just wants to get funding… all about the almighty dollar.
I wholly agree. Our valid concerns have been used against us.
I have thoughts. Changing the focus from “climate change” to “climate resiliency” means actions will change from preventing climate change by reducing CO2 emissions to adapting to the consequences of catastrophic climate change. This is reasonable because any reductions in CO2 in CA or Mendocino County will be immeasurably small compared to China and India.
Of course, many constituents will call their Supervisor all sorts of vile but silly names. This creates an opportunity for each Supervisor to take a leadership role instead of “sensing the mood” of the community and going along with that.