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Our County staff, our Office of Emergency Services as well as all our community partners (fire districts, utility companies, contractors, emergency personnel, and state resources) have done an incredible job managing the impacts of these unprecedented storms. From those responding to community needs or those residents trying to live in unimaginable conditions, I cannot imagine how weary you are. Spring has GOT to be around the corner! Thank you for all your efforts as well as your patience and forbearance.
with the EL DORADO COUNTY WATER AGENCY
 At the beginning of this month, Supervisor Parlin and I represented the EDC Water Agency in D.C. along with Water Agency staff and CAO Don Ashton.
The purpose of the trip was to meet with federal legislators, advocating for funding for essential local water projects. We received a warm welcome from Congressman Kiley, Senator Feinstein and Padilla's office, as well as Congresswoman Matsui and Congressman McClintock's office and Bureau of Reclamation.
The El Dorado Water Agency (EDWA) was created in 1959 through the El Dorado County Water Agency Act to ensure that El Dorado County has adequate water to serve its many needs now and into the future. The Agency covers the entire County, on both sides of the Sierra Nevada with headwaters and national forests which makes the EDC Water Agency a critical partner. The Agency is actively engaged in a number of projects to help secure and protect water reliability in addition to managing our storm water and protecting our watershed. Initial feedback is showing that our ongoing efforts in Washington will bear fruit in El Dorado County. More to come soon.
EDC Water Agency Website
You may have heard that the BOS has been wrestling with the Human Rights Commission, and on March 14, in a 3/2 vote, we approved disbanding the Commission while adding a statement of intent to our Good Governance Handbook that it is the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors (not an appointed, volunteer body) to embody and uphold the principles of the Human Rights Commission.
I know people will misconstrue our action, and this is an item I have thought deeply about. Here is how I came to my decision...
In times of community tension or around issues of high conflict, who should engage? There are also considerations around jurisdictional boundaries and potential liabilities.
I think back to Covid, when there was an intense public outcry about masking in schools. Every week our Board was inundated with pleas for us to engage. One side was fierce in their position that the government was infringing on our Constitutional Rights, demanding that parents abdicate the rights to their own children. The other side was passionate that it was a matter of Human Rights for students to mask to protect the common good. I ask you...Would it have been appropriate for the Human Rights Commission to engage? Would it have been productive? With all respect, I think not.
Schools were not our jurisdiction. What became appropriate was for 2 Supervisors along with County Administration to have a conversation with the El Dorado County Office of Education. I was one of those Supervisors, and together we invited leaders of the parent organization to have a collaborative discussion to find a way through a very challenging time.
It is also important to know that in March 2017, after another time of community tension, the BOS passed and adopted a Civility Resolution that I believe states the viewpoint and continuing commitment of the Board of Supervisors to promote tolerance and suport human rights in our County. (I encourage you to read it below).
Finally, within our governance structure, El Dorado County has already provided a platform for support and resources around individual topics of concern around the broad range of human rights. The Child Abuse Prevention Council, Commission for Youth and Families and the First 5 Commission all deal with supporting kids and families, the Behavioral Health Commission is committed to meeting mental health needs, the Commission on Aging works on issues with our senior population, the Veterans Commission promotes public support and resources for veterans, and Supervisor Parlin and I serve on El Dorado Opportunity Knocks which focuses on solutions for the unhoused. Furthermore, this Board faced enormous opposition and political pressure and yet, in a unanimous vote, approved a Navigation Center at its current location. We care about difficult issues in our County.
Life is complex. Tensions flare and some people behave badly. In thinking deeply about this issue, I realized that the solemn responsibility to "actively encourage and pursue mechanisms to improve understanding, dialogue and tolerance within our county and its communities" (as stated in the Ordinance of the Human Rights Commission) should land squarely on the Board of Supervisors. It is also our responsibility to embody our adopted Civility Resolution and engage, as appropriate, to promote mutual respect, tolerance and goodwill among ourselves, within our county organization and our community.
On March 14, the BOS approved the agenda item and "directed staff to add a statement to the Good Governance Handbook reaffirming the Board's commitment to the values otherwise embodied in the Human Rights Commission and return to the Board within 60 days for the adoption of the revised handbook."
Link to Board item with Adopted Civility Resolution
"Let us give each other the grace to assume good intentions"
David Zelinsky
 I will be joining Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil, Assemblymember Joe Patterson and Michael Saragosa for the opening ceremony at 9:15. This day of resources and information will be well worth your time!
I look forward to seeing you there.
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