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Dear MendoFever Staff and Editors,
I sincerely thank MendoFever for posting my announcement about my candidacy for the 2nd District’s seat on the Board of Supervisors. The local journalism you champion connects and informs the community and helps maintain the heart and health of this beautiful place we call home.
I recently had a candid exchange with Mr. Anderson of the AVA (a fellow Marine like myself and someone I can tell loves this County as much as I do, Semper Fi ). I emphasized my unyielding commitment to our County and District 2 in that conversation. I grew up here, as did the five generations before me. It helped form me into a man who values service. I’ve served my country for eight years, did a tour in Iraq, and returned with the hope and desire to raise my family in this beautiful place we call home. I searched for workplaces where I could contribute, improve, and protect the most significant aspects of our community, its people, and the things that allow them to thrive. I dedicated years to the manufacturing base of this community, climbing the ladder within two central economic pillars of our manufacturing base. I have always adhered to the idea that it was my duty to protect the opportunities provided by these companies for our future generations and help steward and contribute to their economic success in any way I can. I believe in servant leadership, that leaders only thrive by placing the needs of others at the forefront and fostering a culture of empowerment—current county leadership is lacking in this.
My entry into politics stems from a desire to address our most pressing issues meaningfully. Challenges such as the housing shortfall, a palpable leadership vacuum, and the rising tide of addiction are not abstract concerns; they are the lived realities of our neighbors, friends, and families.
Our current county status profoundly troubles me. The stark visuals of my children dodging needles during a casual bike ride around the neighborhoods, parks, and trails of Ukiah or the sight of our fellow citizens battling homelessness and addiction pains my heart. We have intelligent and capable people and non-profits in this County who offer viable solutions. Yet, our Board seems paralyzed and incapable of making the hard decisions to move our County forward positively, often defaulting to another Ad Hoc committee. Complaints of inconsistent county processes aren’t just evident; they’re a tangible barrier to progress. This paralysis IS the sickness plaguing our County and creating problems like economic stagnation and the lack of available housing, which cascades to homelessness, addiction, and despair. The current Board seems unable to guarantee the County’s ability to preserve its essential functions, let alone address these pressing issues. I hear the collective public frustration about the Board’s lack of transparency, action, and leadership.
Acknowledging these challenges is just the start, but it is the action that truly counts.
I am eager to address the myriad of issues our County is grappling with and lay out my roadmap for a better future for our residents. This dialogue is essential, and I hope it continues to flourish.
I aspire that my words and deeds resonate with District 2 constituents. It is high time we rise and demand accountable leadership and make Mendocino County the home we are all proud to be a part of.
With warm regard and determination,
Jacob S. Brown
Candidate, Board of Supervisors 2nd District
“I have always adhered to the idea that it was my duty to protect the opportunities provided by these companies for our future generations and help steward and contribute to their economic success in any way I can.” Could you elaborate? Who are these companies you want to help?
Looks like a tense typo, “can” should’ve been “could” as he was speaking of past positions. I’ll cut him a break
This isn’t saying much even if you change the tense. “Protect the opportunities” and “steward and contribute to their economic success” sounds strange. Why is it a politicians position to protect the company’s interests or opportunities? The politician is beholden to the voter not “these companies.” Mendocino County is made of up of voters that all have lots of diverse needs.
You are way overeading this. Basically what he is saying is that he has always done the best for the people who have given him their trust and employment. It was a comment on ethics.
“I believe in servant leadership, that leaders only thrive by placing the needs of others at the forefront and fostering a culture of empowerment—current county leadership is lacking in this. ” – This looks like the sentence referring to ethics. “Protecting opportunities provided by these companies” is a strange comment on ethics and its super vague.
If it’s vague, how are you 3 paragraphs in on dissecting 1 sentence. This feels a little obsessive at this point. Seemed simple to me, but I guess you can believe what you want or ask the man himself.
Politicians are notorious for using vagueness to pass less than ethical things. Most of this letter is fluff and no substance so yeah I’m not exactly sold on the message.
Elaborate, it’s a fancy way of saying jobs. Protect jobs for locals. You may have noticed there’s no industry but the marijuana industry here
I figured, and this is called Protectionism. Someone said I was overreading it but I’m not the only one seeing it. I don’t believe Protectionism is going to help Mendo but distort Mendo’s local market more than it is now. There is already protectionist policies in Mendocino and adding more to it will double down on less desirable results.
Not sure where you picked this up, but his plan is not Protectionism. He directly says that he is looking for action and progress forward. You have worked yourself into a pretzel over a sentence with a typo and ignored the rest.
Yes, he needs to get more specific with his solutions. I am sure this will not be his only attempt to communicate those.
“Elaborate, it’s a fancy way of saying jobs. Protect jobs for locals. You may have noticed there’s no industry but the marijuana industry here” – Mendocino has history of applying protectionist policies into many elements of its economy including cannabis. It’s not unfathomable to think this next potential BOS member will push the same agenda as the last several board members before him. I hope he clears up how he plans to expand the job market beyond what it has been.
Businesses employ people. Good employment is in the best interst of the people is it not?
Is this an empty platitude? Protecting jobs for locals doesn’t necessarily equate to “good” employment. The largest employers in Mendo are in the gov’t and healthcare sectors. What jobs are we protecting (in reference to the article)?
You wrote “lay out my roadmap” which seems to indicate your singular view of service toward others and not FOR others?
How will you ever be able to step outside your own ego and listen to the views of residents without this obvious singularity?
So you want Photo Op Mo? You like the Facebook posts and never making a decision and relying on Bowtie Ted telling her how to vote. When she’s caught between Bowtie and the issue she immediately asks for an Ad-Hoc Committee. Quite frankly, a blow up doll would do a better job. Maybe five blow up dolls is the answer.
I like him, you read me wrong, and service isn’t enough no matter the background. I think he wants to connect a make a contribution to the individual citizen and welcomes the criticism. Deal with your own intolerance, or go play with your dolls and work it out.
Telling someone to “step outside of their own ego.” Is calling them egotistical!!!! Mr. Brown at least talks about issues, his opponent takes a lot of pictures but does nothing. Do you notice her making any statements? No, she’ll make a few videos to post on Social Media, meanwhile she is part of group destroying this County. I’ll give Mr. Brown shot. It’s not intolerance, it’s called common sense, which you’re struggling with in your post. Nothing Mr. Brown said was egotistical.
Are you sure?
Hmmmm…you don’t put your actual name on your response, use disparaging language to describe the incumbent…who I’ve ACTUALLY SEEN take action to better our county for all…just curious what you’ve done to help, but if you’re not willing to share your actual identity I guess we just have to assume that would be nothing. What is your solution? When is the last time you attended a BOS meeting?
I’m sure there will be lots of posts of how some people, also anon or with fake names, have supposedly SEEN Mr. Brown being a great man. His track record is what will speak to the voters. Not just what he says his track record was or what friends say. You’ve got to admit that the general public understands that politicians or people who gravitate toward that profession aren’t typically the most honest types. It’s okay for people to question. And to generalize, one does have to have a pretty big ego to willingly put themselves under a microscope. Even “trolls” can say their piece. Welcome to politics.
I applaud your ideas!!!
When the lumber industry shut down and Masonite closed their doors it was devastating to the community. Many of my friends worked in those industries and bought homes and raised families from the wages they earned. The economy of Mendocino county has declined immensely since that void was never filled. I applaud your desire and enthusiasm to be of service! The young people deserve a chance to make a living and start families where they grew up. Vocational training in the building trades would be a great place to start. Jails and drug treatment centers are necessary of course, but if there are no jobs for the newly rehabilitated what’s left for them to do?
“housing shortfall, a palpable leadership vacuum, and the rising tide of addiction are not abstract concerns”
Then why are you speaking about them abstractly? I can’t help but notice you have failed to provide any concrete steps you think the County needs to take to address them.
I agree. This letter is unnecessarily vague and filled with empty platitudes.
I’d love to hear from his current or former subordinates. Hopefully they come out of the woodwork and share if Mr. Brown is really such a great leader with a servant attitude. Where is he working now?
Hey! I am a previous employee of Mr. Browns. I have to tell you, I was SO excited when I learned he was running- my first thought was how lucky the county will be to have him. No matter the current state of things, I believe he can fix and improve.
Jacob is a great leader. He is both intelligent, and personable. He was great at boosting morale, and making sure we were motivated even it times of high stress. He is a great team player- Knowing we were under pressure he would show up and say “What do we need to get it done” “Is there anything I can do for you to help assist the success/on time delivery” and then he would quickly pop by to high five the success or acknowledge efforts… even when he may not have “had” the time… he showed up. He was stern when necessary, yet fair. He is known to me as a proud family man, honest, trustworthy. I’m not sure where he is working now, so I can’t answer that part.
The thing about comments on here is that even Mr. Brown could be posting them or having others do so for him and we’d be none the wiser. Fortunately the campaign process is a long one and in time people talk and things comes to light via other means and forums which constituents will be paying attention to. Transparency just happens in this process. That’s a guaranteed inevitability. Thank you, Sarah.
A candidate’s statement generated by A.I. Sir, the software will write fancy statements for you but what intelligent ideas do YOU have to move this County in the right direction?
Your statement is filled with fluff and fancy words, but that’s about it.
Unfortunately, the problems are so simple and obvious that creating a full letter suitable for printing would be impossible without a little fluff. They are the fears of action that have plagued Ukiah for 40 years. He is not a professional politician and it shows. One thing I do know about Jake, though, (and yes, I have known both candidates since childhood) is that his learning curve is short. I expect for his solutions to be expressed more succinctly as moves forward in the race.
As for AI-generated, I doubt it as there are a couple sentences that would have disappointed our Ukiahi English teachers hahaha
I would like to hear specifics addressing the mental health and addiction issues in the county. I’ll get excited when I hear he has connected with some of us who work in those fields to receive some of our feedback.
Please contact me directly at jacobbrownforsupervisor@gmail.com. I recognize the challenges we face with these issues and will rely upon the local expertise and the hard earned experience from the professionals in the trenches of these fields. We need this kind of input to keep moving our county forward.
Respect. Thank you.
only 2 questions.
1) where do you stand on the constitution (will you honor it when you take your oath)?
2) where do you specifically stand on the 2nd A (yes or no Q)?
Jacob S. Brown– You don’t say what two “economic manufacturing pillars” you are referring to, nor what your role (aka experience) was, nor why you think they are worthy of supporting. Nor do you express any goals, let alone plans for meeting them. Neither do you specify what specific incidents or Board action/decisions have lead you to your judgements. Yup, you certainly sound like a politician. But why should anyone vote for you? What will you focus on changing? And how will you go about facilitating that if you are elected??
If he climbed so many ladders and made so many positive changes then what were they? It’s one thing to get a title. It’s another thing thing to keep it. And why does he think he’d be immune to the same bureaucratic red tape that the current BOS members have to deal with?
I like Jacob’s introductory letter. His observations about the homeless crisis are mine as well. I don’t care at this point that he hasn’t spelled out a solution for homelessness, because it would be bullcrap. I totally agree with the central point he made towards the end about acknowledgement. I can’t even tell if the current sups acknowledge anything.
If we want non- lizard people in charge then we have to include normal non-perfect letter writting citizens who can bring boots on the ground rationality to these counsels