Dear Editor,

Clif Clendenen, life-long businessperson, orchardist, outdoorsman, is my choice for Second District Supervisor for many reasons.

Important among these is increasing the Eel River flow to its mouth, an important part of our local ecosystem and watershed.

As a businessman and member of an important local agricultural family, Clif can speak to the wine interests of Mendocino County who have tapped so heavily into our river to buoy their agricultural businesses. While I myself enjoy the fruits of their labors and can appreciate their need for water, I want to know there is a public servant who understands the importance of the Eel River to our local ecology, economy and the very spirit of our area and can speak to those winery owners and operators on an equal footing to try to find a compromise between their water needs and our own.

I think for far too long we have had either a much too quiet a voice, or no voice at all in the discussions concerning the ultimate end of the waters feeding the Eel River.

Clif Clendenen can and will be that voice for us in these important discussions.

Craig Foster
Fortuna