CLEARLAKE>>> This week at the Thursday morning, judge’s breakfast in Clearlake, District 4 Supervisor Brad Rasmussen spoke about his first impressions of the position as well as what he already has planned for the future.
Clearlake City Council member Russ Cremer introduced Rasmussen, highlighting some of his 35-year law enforcement career. “He has undertaken numerous projects that benefit the community and is dedicated to serving its residents,” said Cremer.
Rasmussen shared the amount of behind-the-scenes work that goes into this position. He added, “Last week the agenda was 2,000 pages long.” Which he is often expected to read in a weekend’s time. He also elaborated on how there are many items that come before the board that are his first time hearing anything about, as he said there are many committees that he is not privy to.
Rasmussen also spoke about the time spent on the job, noting that the Board’s weekly Tuesday meetings generally start around 9 a.m. and sometimes go until 7 p.m. He continued, “This is a 60 hour per week job” stating that there are over 65 committees and boards that they are expected to keep on top of, even if they are not on those boards personally. He also noted that he aims to focus on helping his constituents understand the local governmental processes.
Although he has only been active in this position since January, Rasmussen referred to some of the bigger projects he has already had the honor of being a part of, including the recent wildfire mitigation project that will help fund the installation of more fire hydrants. As an avid outdoorsman, Rasmussen said he is rather proud of the Board’s ability to reactivate the Konocti Regional Trails website, which has not been in commission for some time. Clearlake residents Joan Mingori asked about the possibility of adding the County’s many horse trails to these sites in order to attract tourists. Rasmussen responded stating how important it is to keep up on the trails’ maintenance as well as advertising them to tourists.
Rasmussen noted that one of his main priorities in his new position was to increase the connection between the County’s youth and local government. Responding to a question from Clearlake resident Barbara Christwitz regarding the possibility of a new park in the Sulphur Bank Road area Rasmussen said, “I have actually been working with an Environmental Impact Club at the High School and plan on giving them some of my discretionary funds to help them continue.”
The Judge’s Breakfast is held every Thursday morning at 7 a.m. at the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake. Next week the speaker will be Becky Salato, Konocti Unified Schools Superintendent. At the conclusion of breakfast this week Mark Cooper, who has run the breakfast alongside Judge Freeborn for its lengthy 30 years and took over after Freeborn’s passing, announced he is handing over the torch to Diane Watson, who is happy to take over its organization. Watson shared “It’s an honor that you asked, and I am happy to take over.”
