MENDOCINO CO., 4/30/26 — It was a decent-sized crowd at Wednesday evening’s District 3 Mendocino County Board of Supervisors’ candidate forum in Laytonville, which drew around 35 attendees plus another 11 or 12 on Zoom.
Jokes were made about cavernous Harwood Hall and its all-wood walls and high ceiling, perfect for echoing voices and microphone delays. But in Laytonville’s spirit of can-do, real estate agent Alison Pernell, who served as the moderator, got the audience and the candidates down to business.
Only three candidates participated in the forum — Buffey Wright Bourassa, Clay Romero and Eric Hart. Pernell said that Russell Green could join in if he showed up after the 6 p.m. start time, but Green never arrived.
The three candidates made opening statements, then answered questions submitted beforehand, then a few questions sent in from the audience, and finally gave short closing statements.
Before all that, Pernell gave the ground rules: respect everyone and opening statements could be read off your phone but then phones had to be put away for the remainder of the forum.
Everyone agreed, and the show was on.
Bourassa stressed her experience in county government, for which she’s served in various roles for over 11 years, including in county human resources and public health departments.
“I know about how systems work, and I understand the challenges we face,” she said.
As a substance disorder specialist, she works with fire personnel and the Sheriff’s Office.
“I also served three terms on the tribal council, dealing with local, state and federal governments,” she told the crowd. “My leadership is about listening, showing up and getting things done.”
Candidate Clay Romero talked about how he has lived in Willits for many years but graduated from Laytonville High School in 1970. His father built houses in Brooktrails in the ‘80s, he said, and he worries that Laytonville is “not an economic powerhouse.”
“I want to see things done more efficiently at the county,” he said. “That people can get a permit before they die.”
Romero pointed out someone in the crowd and said, “We disagree about all kinds of things, but we are neighbors first. That flavors everything I do. Mendocino County has everything we need. Let’s see what we can do to help our neighbors.”
Candidate Eric Hart explained that he and his wife live about 25 minutes outside Willits. His career has been in systems maintenance and organization for large corporations and small businesses. He serves on the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council and is involved in other community organizations.
“What I see in Mendocino is not a lack of ideas, it’s a gap in execution,” he said. “I see how these challenges can be in the county, there’s staffing challenges, delays. And when those systems don’t work, it affects everything. My approach is straightforward: improve departments, increase transparency, shift the culture so the government is a partner, not a barrier.”
Over the course of the two-hour forum, a pattern emerged, defining the candidates. Bourassa emphasized her leadership abilities and understanding of how county departments interact, as well as how the county can best be served by state and federal governments. She stressed that she is committed to working with everyone and listening to her constituents.
At one point, Romero said that he was the best candidate because he had never worked for the county.
“I’m probably best qualified because I have not served in the government,” he said. “I’ve been self-employed, working as a machinist.”
Romero thought that left him in a position to better visualize the problems that beset the county.
Hart leaned on his systems analysis background to explain that the county could run far more efficiently under his leadership. He too talked about his ability to work with those whose viewpoints he did not necessarily share.
“All five supervisors have to work for what is best for the county,” he said.
What brought these disparate approaches into alignment was an implicit agreement that the county — and its residents — were in trouble, and the county wasn’t helping. In a question about the top three issues for the Laytonville area, Hart named the economy; the lack of a sewer system, which limits housing and thus growth, and getting decent cell and internet service.
“These are things that should be basic,” he said.
Bourassa also called out the sewer problem.
“The top thing is the sewer infrastructure that is lacking here, and the inability to deal with that on a county level,” he said. “Permitting is horrendous. Another issue is transportation. There is no MCA coming up here.”
Romero chimed in on the economy and permitting and then added what he saw as bad county policies with cannabis.
“There’s a certain point where you have to say, this just doesn’t work,” he said. “People are hurting. The third thing is that issue of having a regular wastewater system. I’m a self-employed machinist, and this is something that I’m very familiar with. I can design something with proper drainage.”
As to what is Mendocino County’s greatest strength and its greatest weakness, all three cited variations of the resilience of the county’s residents as its strength.
“Mendocino is the place where your neighbor is doing the most unique thing you’ve ever heard of,” said Hart.
Answers were more varied on the weakness front. Romero thought lack of access to specialty products, including machinery parts, in Laytonville and Covelo was a weakness. Hart said the county and its residents depend on boom/bust industries such as timber and cannabis, which isn’t reliable, and Bourassa noted how hard people work here but that the work is often siloed.
“We need to work together to get through these economic times,” she said.
The candidates stuck to their lanes when it came to the question of why people are disillusioned with the Board of Supervisors.
“They work hard but they’ve failed at taking a vision and failing to implement,” said Hart. “They’ve let the CEO run the county, a CEO that is not elected by us. That is not democratic.”
Bourassa thought the issue with the board was that they lacked accountability with the public.
“We need more face-to-face conversations,” she said. “They need to have more town halls. Covelo and Laytonville are not Willits.”
Romero likened county residents to customers.
“Customers should get good service,” he said. “The county should make sure that they’re served properly.”
Romero also didn’t like that the supervisors would not respond to public comment during board meetings.
“At least they could say it’d be good to put that on the agenda,” he said.
A subject on which they could all agree was how cannabis policy had been implemented.
For Hart and the others, the county has mismanaged legal cannabis
“Mendocino took a wrong turn along the way,” Hart said. “For us to be last in place in the state is an embarrassment. We had all the talent, all the knowledge, and we screwed it up. Things will not go back to the way we were. But we can assist the growers who are still here. We need to assist the small mom and pop growers, the organic cannabis farmers. We have skills to make the best cannabis in the state and in the country.”
Romero said that cannabis should be treated the same as any other agricultural product.
“Is that too much to ask?” he queried.
Bourassa affirmed that “Mendocino County is the place to grow marijuana,”and noted that the county has recently had meetings to talk about a cannabis tax forgiveness.
“I support looking at one-time amnesty,” she said. “The goal is compliance and shouldn’t punish people who followed the rules.”
In the closing statements, Bourassa reiterated that because of her experience with county government, she knows how to improve systems that aren’t working.
“My campaign is about making decisions together. I believe the county deserves a candidate who listens and thinks about the challenges of all the communities: Laytonville, Covelo, and Willits,” she said.
Romero said that the biggest job killer in the county is the county itself.
“Any good government should do five things: safety, economic stability—I think about Laytonville and Branscomb, it should be in the county’s best interest to see people succeed—the third thing is environmental cleanliness, fourth, freedom. A lot of people don’t think about this too much, but I do. Thank goodness we have a good Constitution. Fifth is basic fairness.”
“We’ve had a lot of thoughtful ideas here,” said Hart. “Who is best prepared to turn all the good ideas into consistent results? We need to deliver outcomes that people can rely on. That’s what I’ll bring as a supervisor. We need to support our residents and find a way to say yes when they need something.”
The next candidate forum is Saturday, 3:00 p.m., at the Round Valley Commons, in Covelo.
Thanks for providing the summary. Much appreciated.