Jerome Venus the man on the street. All photos by R.V. Scheide.
The conundrum facing the political outsider is that in order to effect political change, you have to become a political insider. Jerome Venus, as outside a Shasta County supervisor candidate as you’re likely to ever come across, sums it up with a parable his father taught him about the engine, the pebble and the spark plug.
You want to do something to the engine. So you throw the pebble at the engine and it harmlessly bounces off. But take the spark plug out and put the pebble in the hole? Now you’re talking real change.
“If you want to change the machine you have to get inside,” Venus concludes.
It’s not the greatest campaign allegory, given that change is represented by a holed piston at the very least. It’s a better argument for homeostasis, keeping things the same, and truth be told Venus admits he has virtually no chance at unseating incumbent 2nd district supervisor Leonard Moty in the June 7 primary election.
That’s not the way Venus sees things anyway. It’s the principle of the thing. Voters are employers and politicians are their employees. Voters would have to “fire” Moty and “hire” him before he’d be able to throw a pebble into the works. Except then the pebble would be made from marijuana and tossed into Shasta County’s economic pond, rippling out to magically stimulate the local economy. The problem with magic is not everyone in Shasta County believes in it.
We were seated outdoors at Kaleidoscope Coffee Company on a typically brilliant spring day in Redding. He worked from his notes while I sipped dark roast house, asked questions and attempted to keep up with his stream-of-conscious oratory. The occasional drifter drifted by, sometimes carrying a backpack, sometimes accompanied by a dog.
The 59-year-old local gadfly’s campaign was brought to my attention by some of my medical marijuana friends on Facebook. As far as I can tell Venus is the only local candidate on the ballot running on the weed ticket. Recreational marijuana use by adults may be legalized by voters statewide this November, but being pro-marijuana still qualifies you for outsider status in Shasta County.
Venus uses cannabis medicinally but would qualify for outsider status regardless. He’s the poster child for the 21st century American nightmare, the unemployed family marriage therapist who lost his middle class job in the Great Recession, the disabled vet with a substance abuse problem who has occasionally gotten in scrapes with the law, the middle-aged white guy at the county supervisors meeting who wonders, sometimes out loud, why everything always seems to be getting worse.
“It got bad because of the economy,” he said, recalling his dive into life’s Dumpster. “It tanked here and when it did people just hit the streets.”
The 3rd and 4th district supervisor seats are also on the primary ballot, and all of the candidates so far have expressed concern for the county’s ongoing problems with homelessness and the mental illness and criminality associated with it. Being on the streets with a psychology degree has given Venus a unique perspective on the issue.
“Imagine you had your house and that every time you left it, you left it unlocked and told all your neighbors you’d left it unlocked. That’s what it’s like being homeless. How could you survive unless you were on drugs?”
The answer according to Venus is people have to be housed before we can help them. He figures that 80 percent of the current homeless population could start over by themselves if they just had a place to lock up their belongings in the day and sleep at night. The other 20 percent represent the hardcore cases that may be more difficult to treat and rehabilitate. Venus thinks more focus should be put on the people who can help themselves.
“People have to be held responsible, but first you have to give them security,” he said. “The more money we can take away from law enforcement and put into beneficial programs the better off we will be. We have to use common sense.”
He’s got a heaping handful of pebbles to throw into the Sheriff’s engine. Deputies would be required to have bachelor’s degrees and live in the areas they patrol. All of the Sheriff’s substations would be restored to full-service. Outdoor marijuana cultivation would be legalized, within reasonable limits established and enforced by the county.
Interesting ideas that could improve the standard of living and government services or empty political rhetoric for more programs we can’t afford? What happens if 2nd district voters pull the plug and screw Venus into the engine? How will he push his anti-establishment agenda, which traces its origin back to 1971, when he saw “Billy Jack” for the first time, without tearing the county apart?
“I’d find out what they agree with and find out what they don’t,” he said, smiling confidently. “But I won’t be a yes-man. I will be a voice of dissent. It makes economic sense to stop busting people and start paying attention to the people committing real crime.”
It’s all about restoring people’s dignity, which can be done, he assured me. To demonstrate, he tilted his head back, reached into his mouth, removed his upper and lower partials and placed them on the table. The fake teeth were donated by a local dental provider. He gave me a big gap-toothed grin then replaced the dentures.
“They gave me back my dignity,” he said, smile restored.
I know what you’re thinking. It’s crazy this guy’s on the ballot, right? I had to triple-check it when I got home. But it’s true. Jerome Venus is running for county supervisor. When he got up out of his chair and unfolded himself, I noticed how tall he was, “six-five, six-six on a good day, when my self-esteem’s up.” He doesn’t have a chance but he says he’s good for the job. He introduced me to his dog, from animal rescue, whom he says helps keep him sane. It’s the year of the outsider and anything can happen.
I drove off wondering if the whole world hadn’t gone crazy.
