Dear Editor,

I wish I didn’t have to be the muckraker, but I can’t vote for former KMUD news director, Estelle Fennell. She showed such terrible judgment about the Mateel Community Center/People Productions controversy that I have no trust in her ability to separate truth from personal loyalties. I think she has shown herself unfit to stand against the corruptions of Humboldt politics by the way she reported (or not) what should have been the biggest story since Julia Butterfly, the rip-off of Reggae on the River from the Mateel.

Some of you may think this is just sour grapes, but I assure you it is not. The low-ball estimate of the gross loss from revenues being siphoned away from the community into private hands over the next 10 years could be $20 million dollars. Southern Humboldt organizations are already bickering over money because of the strain of losing the Reggae on the River revenues. The lawsuit bills are piling up on both sides. If the Mateel does not recover its asset, Reggae on the River, the cost to the whole community will be enormous. Estelle took the wrong side on this issue.

I’m sorry to have to say this, it isn’t easy or comfortable, but I can’t vote for Estelle because she either knowingly suppressed news or was unable to see the elephant in the living room. Either way, she lacks the judgment to be Supervisor.

Anna Hamilton
Whitethorn