Thanks for the ping!
I just faxed a letter to the guv, then faxed a cc to Leslie, as below:
Please feel free to use, reuse, recycle, etc. any of it you like.
(HEY! ...This is all about *CONSERVATION*, ISN'T it??? ...grin)
Thanks for, and Good Luck with, your fine efforts on behalf of all us California citizens.
--Seadog
May 27, 2004
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger VIA FACSIMILE: 916-445-4633
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841 - Fax: 916-445-4633 - governor@governor.ca.gov
RE: PROPOSED SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVANCY
Dear Governor Schwartzenegger
I strongly support Assemblyman Tim Leslie’s vision in this matter – that the creation of this conservancy without meaningful local controls would be a disaster – and urge you to support him in his efforts to insure that any conservancy so created will answer, and at all times be accountable, to the citizens within the areas directly affected.
The proposed conservancy gives cause for serious concern. Countless problems have been created in the past by state employees with no accountability to the people and little connection to the areas their decisions impact. Like you, Governor Schwartzenegger, it is my desire to see government become more responsive and connected to the people, not less so. If there is to be a Sierra Nevada Conservancy, it must be built upon respect for and collaboration with the people who live in the Sierra. Such a conservancy should be established only if its design requires collaborative decision-making. The Conservancy board must contain strong representation from the Sierra region, and, more importantly, any major board action must be based upon general consensus with local elected officials.
Local governments are responsible for local land use planning and decisions, and are held accountable by their constituents for such decisions. Unless local government has the ability to say "no" to conservancy acquisitions it finds objectionable, the conservancy will have the power to approve acquisitions with no local oversight.
Giving local communities a true voice would be unique for a conservancy. However, any conservancy stretching across the entire Sierra Nevada would be unique. No existing conservancy contains the vast area, diverse sub-regions, and varied land uses encompassed by the Sierras.
The best government efforts always draw from the perspective, volunteerism, and commitment of local communities. By ensuring the conservancy only undertakes projects embraced by local communities, we can create the goodwill and trust critical to effective efforts.
Lastly, any new conservancy should not be funded on the backs of already-overburdened taxpayers. The State already owns vast amounts of land, and has insufficient resources to properly maintain the lands it already owns. How can Sacramento lawmakers now justify creating another agency in the business of buying up more land, while the state is dealing with a severe budget deficit affecting education, healthcare, fire protection and other vital services? Buying up more land already reduces the tax rolls upon which cash-strapped state and local governments rely. In these tight times, California taxpayers are already overburdened, and still paying for, the consequences of previous bad decisions at the state level (…such as the legislature’s energy “deregulation” disaster). Californians simply cannot afford further attempts by state legislators to play ‘Lady Bountiful’ with taxpayer funds. Unless any new conservancy’s funding is drawn from existing conservation programs, the new conservancy would only add to, and exacerbate the existing budget burden the state, and our local governments, are facing now.
I therefore urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to adopt and support Assemblyman Tim Leslie’s vision, so that any new state agency created has both the necessary local oversight, and does not further negatively impact the already exceedingly difficult state and local budget situations.
Sincerely,
cc: Tim Leslie (R-CA4)
Hey FF, what about sending out a ping for review of this really well thought out letter?
Nonetheless, It's a good letter and hopefully would be pursuasive, even if overly recognizing the possibility of a compromise in an area that should not be compromised at all.
RE: Letter to Governor (#20 this thread)
I have heard nothing back from the Governor, but I DID get this email (below) back from Tim Leslie's Office, which I thought I might share with you. If nothing else, I am impressed with his PR department - since I am not in his district. No big deal of course, but at least it says SOMEONE in his office is paying attention. Am I 'reading between the lines' correctly if I infer from his response that he might actually *LIKE* to get some more correspondence of the sort he might get from this group? ...perhaps an encouragement to others who might consider writing?