Past Gold Digger Days – photo from Facebook.
I had the pleasure of returning to Greenville last Saturday. They held their 60th annual Gold Digger Days and it was as much fun as ever, even with the town almost completely incinerated. It was my first trip there since the Dixie Fire and it was sobering to see the picturesque village and surrounding forest gone.
Top photo by Liz Merry – bottom photo by Brandon Clement 2 weeks later
The people of Greenville, however, are undeterred, optimistic and resilient. They took joy in making sure this event went on as scheduled and the gratitude they expressed towards visitors like me was poignant and beautiful. This incredible community came together with big plans for the present and future.
The parade was shorter than usual so they went around twice. How cool is that? Congressman Doug LaMalfa was there, rode in the parade and hung out all day, speaking with whoever walked up to the booth with the Let’s Go Brandon flags. It’s my friend Barbara’s booth and she asked if I’d like to speak with him. Would I? Try and stop me.
No Step On Snek – photo by Liz Merry
My mind flashed back to our first meeting years ago at the Tehama District Fair, where I outed myself as the person behind “LaMalfenstein”, the 8 foot tall Frankenstein monster with a cowboy hat who showed up at Barbara McIver’s rally at the Cone Kimball Plaza during her assembly campaign against Doug in 2004.
Newspaper clipping from Red Bluff Daily News
He and I had a good laugh over that – he remembered it well and his campaign thought I was a very tall high school boy. Hah. He said his sister was still mad about it, so we took a selfie together to text her.
Doug and me
Yep, got one with Wally Herger, too.
Would he remember our prior meeting? I walked over to find out and he was staring at his phone. I said’ “Hello Congressman.” He didn’t look up. “Congressman?” He showed me his phone, where he was watching the viral video of a baby elephant being saved from a well. He said, “Isn’t that great?” “Yes, it’s wonderful.” We had a moment of kvelling and bonding – just like last time. I wondered if he would have loved that video so much if it had been a baby donkey, and I am going with yes.
I thanked him for coming to Greenville and showing support for the mountain communities. I put my hand out to shake and said, “Liz Merry.” “Liz Merry? Tehama, right?” Rut-roh. How much does he know? No way he remembered my name from the Fair.
LM: “Yes, Tehama. I write a weekly column for the Red Bluff Daily News.”
DL: “Bob Williams lost his election up there. And so did…um…um…”
LM: “Dennis Garton.”
DL: “Right. Bit of a prairie fire, huh?”
LM: “Yes sir. It’s all about the water and I would love to talk to you about it sometime.”
We made some small talk and exchanged business cards. Then I had a customer and had to go. I have never and probably will never vote for Doug LaMalfa, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be cordial. This meeting happened Saturday, which was before Tuesday, or it would have gone very differently. He would have gotten an earful about how the candidate he endorsed for Tehama County Supervisor called a roomful of women an unbelievably misogynistic slur in a public meeting. Twice.
Photo from Bob Williams District 4 Supervisor Facebook page
Most of us who were in the Supes Chamber are still reliving Tuesday’s events in our minds, wondering if it was a collective hallucination. If you read Martha Kleykamp’s excellent letter to the Red Bluff Daily News editor Thursday,
Or watched Sam Chimenti’s story on KRCR,
Or have even a casual relationship with Social Media, you already know that Supervisor Bob Williams read a prepared statement in which he…well, why not read it for yourself?
“I get a little tired of individuals who Can’t Understand Normal Thinking, and their rancid obsession to make something of nothing. (Williams interrupted by someone yelling “That’s a meme!” ) If they can make the slightest connection between either myself or Supervisor Garton. I am also a little disappointed with, uh, Chip Thompson and the Red Bluff Daily News for continuing and allowing their weekly gossip columnist to push lies and disinformation in the paper to discredit and slander individuals and organizations in this county. I doubt that this sick infatuation with trying to find the slightest shred of evidence to be twisted & spun into some grand conspiracy theory will end anytime soon. My guess would be that, similar to former County Administrator Bill Goodwin, Supervisor Garton and I will continue to be blamed for things long after we are gone from this dais. Blaming their own failures and incompetence on others seems is the M.O. of this group.
Anyway……I will anticipate that my statement today will again be spun to look bad, but such is the nature of politics. All I can say is , C U Next Tuesday.”
Oh, you’ll be seeing us Tuesday, Bob. And we will be demanding your immediate resignation. The fact that you told KRCR reporter Sam Chimenti you were “guilty as charged” and that we “should just move on” shows your true self better than anything I have ever written about you. You have been done in by your own sense of entitlement.
Not only are we NOT moving on, we are adding many women and men to our numbers and you will be held accountable. Your dreams of state or national office? Fahgeddabouddit. All I can do now is ask if you kiss your mother with that mouth?
Dear readers, please make known your feelings about this vulgar and egregious display of male toxicity. Write the Tehama County BOS or attend their meeting Tuesday at 10am. I will be first in line demanding his resignation.
