It makes me hopeful see so many candidates running for Del Norte County District 5 Supervisor. However, there is no doubt that I will be voting for the strongest candidate, Susan Masten.
I’m voting for Susan Masten because no one else running for this seat has the political experience that Susan brings to the table. She created a tribal council, negotiated for Yurok Tribal fishing rights, and has been in the room with intertribal, local, state, national, and international leaders. She has the political will and experience to get the job done for District 5.
I’m also voting for Susan Masten because she is the only candidate that is in support of undamming the Klamath River. Since the 2002 fish kill, local river tribes, as well as river activists and environmentalists, have been fighting for dam removal.
We know what the science says: those dams have caused incredible damage to the Klamath watershed and continue to impact the health of our river and our fish.
Just last summer, 97 percent of our juvenile fish died because of the conditions in the Klamath. We do not have time to mess around with dam removal. We do not have time to stall. Negotiations about the science of dam removal have been going on for decades, and none of the other district supervisors have ever been a part of that process.
Susan Masten isn’t scared to stand up for the river or the fish. She isn’t afraid to put this issue, which is undeniably a Del Norte issue, to our county leadership.
Lastly, a vote for Susan Masten is a vote for all of us because she believes in a future that includes the voices of the people. I want a Supervisor who empowers, listens to, and works for the people. That candidate is Susan Masten.
Chrystal Helton
Klamath