Amy Bach's, Full Letter to the Editor

"I have been a professional advocate for insurance consumers for nearly 40 years, working to prevent unfair sales and claim practices and improve disaster resilience and recovery.

During that time I’ve met and worked with hundreds of elected officials. Among those who stand out as true protectors of their constituents’ best interests is Mariposa County Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe.

The people in your community should know about the work she has done to help restore affordable home insurance options. Sudden and widespread home insurance cancellations in regions hit by wildfires have been a problem in isolated areas for decades, but when drought conditions led to a tree mortality crisis in 2016, the problem worsened and spread throughout the state.

That was the year I met Rosemarie in Sacramento and gained an invaluable ally in the fight for fair insurance practices. As an appointed member of then-Governor Brown’s Tree Mortality Task Force, and a leader on its Insurance Sub-Group, Rosemarie did the gritty work of getting information out of insurance companies about how they choose and reject customers, and figuring out how to help people deal with the home insurance crisis in our state.

Supervisor Smallcombe has been at the forefront of efforts to reduce wildfire risk and restore affordable, available options for people to keep their homes insured. The work is paying off.

California law now says insurance companies can’t drop customers who live in a wildfire area for two years, one for those who live near the area. That’s a year during which you can prepare, negotiate, and consider alternatives.

The California Department of Insurance website now hosts an “insurance finder” tool. This happened because Rosemarie Smallcombe and others made phone calls to legislators and met with their staffs, and pushed until the law was passed and signed.

More than 600,000 homeowners in California have already been protected by the new law. Rosemarie and I aren’t finished. We want you to have the assurance that your insurance company will reward you for the time and money you invest to harden your home and create defensible space around it.

After seeing firsthand how effective Rosemarie Smallcombe has been in tackling serious and complicated problems, I hope voters will see the wisdom of keeping her on the job."  

Amy Bach, Co-Founder, United Policyholder
San Francisco
Published in the Mariposa Gazette, Sierra Sun Times and Sierra News Online
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Laurel Boyers' Full Letter to the Editor
"I strongly endorse Rosemarie Smallcombe for reelection as our District 1 County Supervisor. I feel we are extremely fortunate to have someone of her caliber, education, background and focused commitment to the county in this position.

I have worked with her on many occasions since 2014, and feel she always strives for the right combination of knowledge, concern and attention to the wide variety of issues affecting us all. Notable achievements over her last 7 years as a supervisor include her work on forest health, fire prevention, and affordable homeowners’ insurance, as well as responding to the myriad of community issues (closures, broadband access, Merced River issues, cooperation with National Park Service, etc.) in an earnest and fair way. This is a busy place.
Having lived in District 1 for almost 60 years, I have seen supervisors come and go--She is a good one! I urge you to vote for Rosemarie Smallcombe." 
 
Laurel Munson, Boyers Foresta/Yosemite National Park
Published in the Mariposa Gazette, Sierra Sun Times and Sierra News Online
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Gary Francisco's Full Letter to the Editor
"A few years ago my friend John Schroeder and I realized the potential impact the growing tree mortality disaster could have to our forested communities. John likened it to “a slow motion train wreck”. It appeared to us that it would most likely exceed the available County level resources available mitigate the public safety and fire risks, so we appealed to Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe to pursue a path for help, a County Disaster Declaration. She listened … and acted! Which led to the formation of a multi-agency and private citizen committee to promote intra-agency coordination and resulted in the recommendation for a Mariposa County Disaster Declaration. Rosemarie continued to collaborate with neighboring foothill counties to do the same. They did, which was escalated to the State level and resulted in the Governor’s Office Statewide Disaster Declaration providing much of the funding and agency assistance to county level dead/dying tree removal.

During her tenure as District 1 Supervisor, Rosemarie has consistently listened and acted to constituent concerns and issues. She responded to a proposed Oak Road bridge reconstruction threatening removal of heritage oak trees on a Scenic Highway and working with Public Works to encourage the project re-design. When the abandoned Muir Lodge structure fire occurred, Rosemarie listened to constituent requests for fire abatement action, and acted by encouraging the property owner to abatement action. These are just a couple of recent examples of the many things Rosemarie has accomplished on behalf of residents of District One.

I believe Rosemarie’s ability to listen and act, collaborate with citizens and agencies, bring resolution to issues, is a skill set she acquired from her career working at the intersection of business and government. We are fortunate to have her experience and abilities as a Supervisor. Proven leadership that listens and acts to solve issues is needed to meet todays and future challenges for our County. Please re-elect Rosemarie Smallcombe for District One Supervisor." 
 
Gary Francisco, Midpines
Published in the Sierra Sun Times
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John Schroeder's Full Letter to the Editor
"I wish to recommend Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe for re-election as Supervisor, District 1. Under Rosemarie’s able leadership, the Mariposa County Tree Mortality Disaster Committee was formed and organized to further define the crisis confronting our County, emphasizing public safety, property vulnerability, natural resource protection, and economic impact. Committee members included representatives from the MC Fire Safe Council, MC Fire Department, MCRCD, Public Works, PG&E, and SWIFT, plus 7 Experienced citizen stakeholders, plus representatives from every Federal, State, and Local organization operating in the County.

This large group met regularly, and what I found extremely rare was the high degree of cooperation amongst the members. I attribute this to Rosemarie’s leadership. Please give her your support." 
 
John Schroeder, Midpines
Published in the Sierra Sun Times
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Lee Stetson's Full Letter to the Editor
"I had the privilege and honor of serving as a Mariposa County Supervisor for the folks in District 1 just prior to the current officeholder for that district - Rosemarie Smallcombe.

I have been highly impressed with her service. Her’s has been a splendid voice for constituent concerns in a complicated, demanding, time-consuming job. Rosemarie’s intelligent and careful research of County issues, her reach-out and ever-ready response to the communities and voters she serves has been remarkable.

Folks of District 1 - I strongly urge we re-elect Rosemarie Smallcombe!" 
 
Lee Stetson, Midpines
Published in the Sierra Sun Times
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Rosemarie Smallcombe's Full Letter to the Editor
"Katee Owens nominated me for sainthood last week in another newspaper and made so many mistakes that she has resubmitted me for the honor again in the Sierra Sun Times, this time in a “corrected” version. Still wrong. And frankly, I wish the honor were for what I have really done, not for her fictional list of failures.

Rosemarie Smallcombe, Jerseydale
Published in the Sierra Sun Times
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Don Florence's Full Letter to the Editor
"Some recent letters to the editor suggest that Rosemarie doesn’t have Mariposa County first and foremost in her mind, that she has an agenda other than doing what’s best for this wonderful county. I have to speak up to set the record straight.

I was the person that for years that attended the state-level tree mortality meetings with Supervisor Smallcombe. I was the one who traveled with her to the Governor’s office, the OES office, to other California County OES meetings to collaborate with other officials to identify assistance. I co-chaired with her the local Tree Mortality Committee that brought together over 10 agencies to help this county in time of catastrophic damage due to 3 million dying trees. This committee was emulated by other counties experiencing similar tree loss.

At the first meeting in the Governor’s Office, before the Emergency Declaration or the formation of the State Tree Mortality Task Force, Supervisor Smallcombe brought a large bag of dead pine beetles. This evidence of our reality drove the point home to the Chief of CalFIRE, head of OES and the Governor’s staff on the gravity of this region-wide disaster. Within one week we had a disaster declaration and a few weeks later a State Task Force was formed. She co-chaired the Insurance subgroup when it was formed and served on several other committees.

Just like with tree mortality, Supervisor Smallcombe has worked hard to reduce the impacts of several disasters that have affected Mariposa County. Another example is the 4 year drought and dry wells. Supervisor Smallcombe played a critical role utilizing her leadership and regulatory background to help ensure the State’s proposed regulations fully considered impacts on our rural communities. How do I know? Because Supervisor Smallcombe and I collaborated to write the documents sent back to the State.

Supervisor Smallcombe has shown incredible perseverance in times of opposition. She was a trail blazer utilizing her ability to bring people together for the good of this county and has done this with a fiscally conservative approach not seen in other supervisors or counties. How can I say this? Because I was there.

Without a doubt this District 1 Supervisor has been absolutely the very best and deserves to be re-elected so she can continue to serve the people of Mariposa County. " 
 
Don Florence, Mariposa
Publised in the Sierra Sun Times
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Rod Fiester's Full Letter to the Editor
"As a constituent of Mariposa County’s District I for the last 40 years, I have been recently impressed by the proactive stewardship of Rosemarie Smallcombe as our Supervisor. She is most deserving of reelection. When communicating with Ms. Smallcombe, one is immediately aware that she is an ardent scholar of both Mariposa County and District I and is deeply concerned about the issues that affect both.

Her leadership on the Tree Mortality Task Force, in part, resulted in subsequent legislation and action at the state level to free up funding and services to effectively mitigate the rising costs of tree mortality cleanup. I, and many other county residents, benefited from services such as those provided by Blue Ridge Services that were a result of those efforts. Additionally, Ms. Smallcombe has been successfully involved in supporting the State Insurance Commission to require insurance companies to consider wildfire mitigation efforts by homeowners when establishing their homeowners insurance rates. Most importantly, these efforts have made us all safer from the unrelenting fire danger that confronts our community.

As a concerned military veteran, I commend her grant application and reception to supply service dogs to local veterans and her efforts to make the Merced River Canyon a cleaner and safer place. We are fortunate to be led by this unrelenting and productive public servant.

Join me in voting to reelect Rosemarie Smallcombe for District 1 Supervisor on July 7. " 
 
Rod Fiester, Mariposa
Publised in the Sierra Sun Times
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Charles Lammers' Full Letter to the Editor
"I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Rosemarie Smallcombe over the past eight years and work with her on the Midpines Advisory Committee.

She’s knowledgeable, dedicated and understands the issues important to District 1 and Mariposa County. She’s always well prepared and you can count on her to get back to you if you contact her.

Rosemarie is a leader in addressing tree mortality, securing resources to mitigate wildfire threat and affordable fire insurance in high fire areas such as Mariposa County. We need her to continue working on these important issues.

I attended the candidate forum sponsored by AAUW and Rosemarie demonstrated her knowledge of the issues, was clear in her responses and why she should be reelected. Her opponent deferred many times to Rosemarie and didn’t really have anything to say. His lack of experience and understanding of issues was evident in his answers.

I’ve lived in Midpines for nearly 40 years and worked with many supervisors over the years. Rosemarie is one of the best Mariposa has ever had. She has earned my vote and if you live in District 1 I hope she’s earned your vote as well. " 
 
Charles Lammers, Midpines
Publised in the Mariposa Gazette
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Stan Petersen's Full Letter to the Editor
"Rosemarie Smallcombe has been a tireless advocate for Mariposa County and District 1. Let her skills continue to improve and protect our community.

To learn more of her accomplishments and aspirations, go to rosemariesmallcombe.com.

Rosemarie has earned our vote for a third term as supervisor of District 1. Let a third term by a charm.

Vote Rosemarie for District 1 supervisor. " 
 
Stan Petersen, Midpines
Publised in the Mariposa Gazette
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Holly B Webb's Full Letter to the Editor
"I am writing to express my support for the reelection of Rosemarie Smallcombe as county supervisor.

My personal experience with Rosemarie is that she is engaged and active in our community, well versed on all the challenges that we face and engaged with Mariposa County residents on the solutions. There is no one easy answer to many of the challenges we face as a community, and she understands that and tries to find a balance between competing interests.

When issues come up in our neighborhoods, Rosemarie is there — listening to people about what they need and what they care about and also bringing us information that we would not otherwise have, from her connections within the county and beyond.

I am a small business owner and like all of us, when challenges arrive, from fires to Covid, I have needed help. On issues that can only be resolved at the state or national level, many of us feel hopeless, like no one is listening. But that is not the case here in the Yosemite area. We have a supervisor who listens, who takes our phone calls and spends time with us, engaging person-to-person. Rosemarie responds to constituents more quickly than I would have ever expected from someone who has a lot of people reaching out to them about so many topics.

During the recent response to Covid-19, we all faced challenges in operating our business. For myself, there was even a time when I was unable to access my own property, due to questionable restrictions. Rosemarie coordinated with multiple agencies to immediately solve that particular problem.

Similarly, when regulations made operating my business confusing, and I wasn’t clear about what exactly was required or when, Rosemarie helped us get clarification so I could get back into business and do so legally, and also took back the feedback from me and my fellow business owners to share with other regulators. She recognizes our challenges as they arise, sometimes before we even know what is coming, and advocates for all of us.

Rosemarie provides a positive example of how representative government is supposed to work. I don’t have the time to dedicate to understand every issue in the county, to research it, network with others, including other government agencies, nor do I have the ability to sit down with our government leaders to create a workable solution. I only attend the monthly county supervisor meeting when issues directly affect me. I am busy going about my own day to day, as well as I don’t have the luxury to take my personal concerns straight to the highest level of decision makers. But all the time I am focused on the things I have to take care of at home and in business, Rosemarie is out there, representing me, representing us.

When we are not at those meetings, she is still advocating for the people of her district. She is truly our representative. So, I know that I don’t have to worry, because I have Rosemarie looking out for our interests and speaking up for me when I need a voice and bringing my concerns to whomever needs to hear it, as well as bringing back information on the reasons behind the actions. Rosemarie is a true public servant, dedicated to our community and I am grateful for everything she does to represent all of us in our district. " 
 
Holly B Webb, Mariposa CPA, CMA
Publised in the Mariposa Gazette
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Glenn and Kathy Sutherland's Full Letter to the Editor
"As 41-year residents of District 1 of Mariposa County, we wholeheartedly endorse Rosemarie Smallcombe for re-election for supervisor. She has worked tirelessly for all of Mariposa County, and has been proactive in seeking solutions for our critical challenges, such as the housing shortage, wildfires, and Covid-19 and its effects on tourism and our economy.

In addition to working for the benefit of the entire county, Rosemarie has been very responsive in helping solve specific issues. We live on a dead-end road, and for many years had only one escape route in the event of fire. We and our neighbors spent years trying to establish an emergency escape route over property owned by an out-of-county, nonprofit entity.

However, the landowner rebuffed our inquiries and proposals. After we sought her support for our effort, Supervisor Smallcombe suggested a new approach and spoke to a number of interested parties to help solve the problem. Thanks to her time, energy, and creative thinking, we now have our emergency escape route. Whenever we have had a concern, Supervisor Smallcombe has responded promptly and effectively. The fact that she was working for us was more than a cliché; it was sincere and real.

Rosemarie works for all of us in the county. She also works for each of her constituents in District 1.

Please join us in voting for Rosemarie Smallcombe. " 
 
Glenn and Kathy Sutherland, Midpines
Publised in the Mariposa Gazette
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Kevin Spach & Irene Vasquez's Full Letter to the Editor
"District Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe cares and works for District 1 and the larger Mariposa community. She is respectful and considerate of people and the issues that affect us. Experience counts. Our Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe works full-time and has a vital voice in issues affecting Mariposa from medical services, relations with neighboring counties and Sacramento, housing issues, water supply and quality and fire protection. It takes time and commitment to understand all these subjects, to know others at the table, and to respond quickly to opportunities and problems. Smallcombe’s attention to the job and her years of experience are of extraordinary value to us all.

I hope you will join us in voting to reelect her District 1 Supervisor." 
 
Kevin Spach & Irene Vasquez, Mariposa
Publised in the Sierra Sun Times and Mariposa Gazette
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Sigurd Meldal's Full Letter to the Editor
"Mariposa needs a hard-working supervisor, a supervisor who is exceptionally well-informed, has broad leadership experience engaging with the local and state organizations so critically important to Mariposa, a supervisor who can bring stakeholders - often with seemingly competing interests - together to solve problems cooperatively and, simply, a supervisor who can get things done.

We need a supervisor who understands our often very complex challenges and issues and who already has experience identifying and implementing solutions.

Fortunately for District 1 and the county of Mariposa, we already have that supervisor: Rosemarie Smallcombe.

Rosemarie should be re-elected and allowed to continue her excellent service for our community. Her track record speaks for itself: she brings people together, she is solution-oriented and she gets things done.

A few examples:

Responding to increased tree mortality, Rosemarie established the local Tree Mortality working group (now Mariposa County Fire Advisory Committee), she successfully petitioned the Governor to declare a State of Emergency and is now working on facilitating the clearing of evacuation routes and local roads of hazard trees. She brought partners together to accomplish $5.4 million worth of tree mitigation work in Mariposa County, funded through the California Disaster Assistance Act by securing a line item in the Governor’s budget.

With the threat of catastrophic wild-fires hanging over our heads (which my own community has barely escaped three times since 1990), Rosemarie has been working diligently with community members and associated stakeholders to enable Mariposa communities to systematically reduce fire-loads, to share best practices and to safe-guard our properties.

As we all know, Mariposa’s vulnerability to wildfire has not gone unnoticed by the insurance industry and many have had their insurance more than double or, worse, dropped. Fortunately, Rosemarie served as co-leader of the Insurance Sub Group of the state Forest Health Task Force, and through her network of partners has been working at the state level to promote regulations that require insurance companies to provide affordable policies to property owners that work to make their properties fire safe.

Rosemarie’s bringing people together was demonstrated just recently when, as a member of the Board of the Yosemite Gateway Partners, she reached out to folks from the business community outside Glacier National Park, inviting them to share at the quarterly YGP meeting how they worked with Glacier National Park to ensure that its reservation system would benefit their communities. At the meeting they shared with Yosemite National Park officials and members of the Yosemite gateway communities how, through clear and careful communication and messaging, all parties benefitted while welcoming more tourists, enhancing their visiting experience and increasing demand for tourist experiences outside Glacier National Park.

Mariposa already has a remarkably well-informed supervisor with an established track record of bringing people together to effectively address the challenges we all face and make a significant difference in our lives.

Re-elect Rosemarie Smallcombe".
 
Sigurd Meldal
Foresta, CA
Publised in the Sierra Sun Times and Mariposa Gazette
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Jeanetta Phillips' Full Letter to the Editor
"It’s time for those of us in Mariposa County to elect the person who will tend to Mariposa County business for the next four years.

It would not be a hard choice for me. I do not reside in District 1, but if I did I would be voting to continue with Rosemarie Smallcombe.

It would be in the best interest of District 1 and the county to do so.

Supervisor Smallcombe has the best interest of our county at heart. Her hard work on tree mortality and her interest in trying to help our residents with the high cost of home owners’ fire insurance is just a sample of her concern for our county.

I have strong political opinions, mostly quite conservative, and I’m not shy about them. Honestly, there are things about which Rosemarie and I don’t agree, but none of them are close to home.

In my experience, when it comes to Mariposa she is on the ball and doing the job. She is quick to find resources and funds to help our county and careful about how taxpayer money is spent.

I hope you will be voting to reelect Supervisor Rosemarie Smallcombe. " 
 
Jeanetta Phillips, Mariposa
Publised in the Sierra Sun Times
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Kim Monson's Full Letter to the Editor
"I write to support Rosemarie Smallcombe’s reelection as District 1 supervisor. Rosemarie has worked tirelessly on behalf of all Mariposans, whether it be the tree mortality issues, the homeless situation, low-cost housing or our tenuous fire insurance situation.

She has the knowledge of the problems, knows the people who can make a difference and has the work ethic to see it through. Rosemarie has worked very hard for us the past several years and now is not the time to replace her.

Greg Royse is a really nice guy, and I would love to have a beer with him. But the recent AAUW town hall showed that he does not have the knowledge or the administrative skill to complete the tasks that Rosemarie has worked on so diligently to bring relief to our community. Rosemarie knows who, what, when, where and how. Greg Royse does not. " 
 
Kim Monson, Mariposa
Publised in the Mariposa Gazette
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Catherine Collamer's Full Letter to the Editor
"I fully support the reelection of Rosemarie Smallcombe for District 1 supervisor in Mariposa County.

Not only is she well experienced but she works hard for our community, which I appreciate. " 
 
Catherine Collamer, El Portal
Publised in the Mariposa Gazette
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Tom DeVries' Full Letter to the Editor
"Rosemarie Smallcombe introduced herself to us almost exactly eight years ago now, in the driveway of our home. She said she was running for county supervisor, and we talked about what Mariposa needed and how we might get those things.

We talked about road repairs and tourism and jobs, about dead and dying trees, and about fire protection. We asked about her own background and what she might bring to the job. We were impressed and she got our votes back in 2014 and will again this year.

A county supervisor might be judged on two things: one, how she or he handles the predictable, and two, what they do with the surprises. Performance on both of these challenges really depends on how experienced and focused they are. In other words, does our supervisor or candidate know what they’re doing?

Our supervisors manage spending nearly of $140 million this year. That is obviously serious money and it should be handled by experienced people. Much of that money, most of it actually, comes to us from outside Mariposa — principally the state and federal governments. You can believe Sacramento and Washington pay attention to how that money is handled and accounted for. Make a mistake and you have to pay it back. Be careless and you don’t get anymore.

That’s a large and predictable task, understanding and managing 500 pages of budget and spending detail. Smallcombe has been solid on it. She has mastered the fine print of where our money comes from and where it goes.

There will also be surprises. While she’s been on the board they have included flash floods, Covid, the near collapse of tourism, several horrific wildfires, the exploding costs of buying or renting a home, the fire insurance crisis. Smallcombe has showed up every time, taken the calls, listened to complaints, visited the damage, found solutions. In short, she’s done the job.

I would not expect to agree about everything with any political office holder. But I would like to respect their knowledge and reasoning, and to find them open to argument. Rosemarie Smallcombe has proved herself and deserves our support for reelection in supervisor of District 1." 
 
Tom DeVries, Mariposa
Published in the Mariposa Gazette
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Lisa Edelheit's Full Letter to the Editor
"Rosemarie Smallcombe has the proven experience, leadership, knowledge and dedication needed to be an effective Supervisor.

She has done a good job representing District 1 and Mariposa County and should be re-elected to continue her good work. Over the past 8 years in office she has developed working relationships with officials in key agencies responsible for addressing issues important to the residents of Mariposa County (NPS, CalFire, CalTrans, PG&E, State Insurance Commissioner to name a few).

She has been a leader at the local and state level working on wildfire prevention, tree mortality and fire insurance. She is working on broadband issues which will help attract more businesses to Mariposa County, improve our schools, allow more people to work from home and better position the County to meet the needs of a 21st Century community. Rosemarie also has working relationships with the hospital district and school district which are essential to our community in not only providing needed services but many well-paying jobs.

In addition to her knowledge and leadership skills, Rosemarie is very approachable and is a good listener. I was fortunate to be at the same table with her and her husband Steve many years ago at a community event at the fairgrounds. They were new to the community at the time and after spending a few hours together it felt like we were old friends and how fortunate for Mariposa they chose to retire here.

When it became known there was going to be a vacancy for the District 1 Supervisor many residents approached Rosemarie and asked her to run. Luckily she accepted and was handily elected for her first term in 2014.

Rosemarie has proven herself and has done a lot of good work on behalf of Mariposa County. There is still much to be done and with the relationships she’s built and her experience she is the most qualified and best candidate to serve as the District 1 Supervisor. Please join me in casting your vote to re-elect Rosemarie Smallcombe."

Lisa Edelheit, Midpines
Published in the Siera Sun Times and the Mariposa Gazette
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Kathy Chappell's Full Letter to the Editor
"I strongly endorse Rosemarie Smallcombe for District 1 County Supervisor. I have known her since she was first elected in 2014 and since then we have worked together on several occasions. I am always amazed at her depth of knowledge and sincere concern for our county. Because of her background in Regulatory Compliance, she has experience working in private industry and with all levels of government. These skills are invaluable for our county. Rosemarie has a long list of accomplishments as a county supervisor. For instance, as co-chair of the Tree Mortality Task Force, she worked extensively in the areas of forest health and fuel reduction. She is currently working on numerous projects including affordable homeowners' insurance, road maintenance, broadband availability, and the housing crisis. Rosemarie tackles the difficult issues by doing extensive research. She is tenacious, thorough, and always professional. She will be ready to work on the very first day of her new term and every day after. She knows that being on a county supervisor is a full time job and she is eager to continue working extremely hard for the citizens of Mariposa County. Mariposa needs Rosemarie's knowledge, commitment and experience. Please support her with your vote." 
 
Kathy Chappell, Mariposa
Publised in the Sierra Sun Times and Mariposa Gazette
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Fran Shell's Full Letter to the Editor
""I recently attended a Republican meeting where Greg Royse spoke to promote his candidacy for Supervisor of District 1.

Greg smiled a lot, and moved his arms and hands around a lot, but he didn’t say much. When asked why he was running for office he said it was because he liked it here. When asked about the issues that were important to the local Republicans, he didn’t really seem to be aware of their interests. They had to explain things to him.

I just read his candidacy statement in the Wawona paper. He says he serves on the Grand Jury. Maybe he meant he served on the Grand Jury several years ago. He also says he serves on the Tree Mortality Board. Wasn’t that the board created by Rosemarie Smallcombe – that she invited him to attend – and didn’t that conclude a few years ago? And why doesn’t he respond to emails to his campaign?? If he doesn’t respond to campaign emails, imagine trying to get in touch with him if he’s a county supe.

He is running against the incumbent Rosemarie Smallcombe. She has worked hard at representing her district and all of Mariposa County. Her leadership on the Tree Mortality Board helped our county get much needed money to deal with the dead trees. She doesn’t just slide into her seat for a few hours on Tuesday to be at a supervisors meeting. She prepares by reading the hundreds of pages in the board packet each week, and asking questions so she is prepared. She always asks good questions in the meetings. She listens to constituent concerns and goes above and beyond to find solutions to their problems. She is connected in all the right places to get us where we need to be going. Vote for Rosemarie." 
 
Fran Shell, Mariposa
Publised in the Sierra Sun Times and Mariposa Gazette
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Ruth Ketvirtis' Full Letter to the Editor
Rosemarie Smallcombe and her husband, Steve, came to Mariposa County to retire. She could have rested on her laurels and written a bestselling memoir about her extraordinary life and accomplishments in the interface of international business and government, but instead she chose to use those skills to help the people of our county. Lucky for us, Rosemarie ran for office and has been our District 1 county supervisor for the last seven years.

Several years ago, during the worst of California’s drought, our well ran dry and my husband and I regularly had to haul water from a friend’s house in our ancient little Toyota truck. We would fill two 55-gallon tanks and transfer the water to a 300-gallon tank in our backyard. That, along with about 30 one-gallon jugs and several five gallon camping containers, kept us going. One thing we learned is that our swamp cooler used about 15 gallons of water a day!

The same deep-well friend came across a little window style AC unit and we hooked it up. We decided we would be willing to pay a bit more for electricity, and have that extra 15 gallons to drink and clean up. This went on for several months.

Once on social media, I shared our water-hauling escapades. A harried and overworked official might be excused for scrolling past, because there are more important responsibilities to deal with than a constituent’s trivial water issues. But, instead of moving on, Rosemarie Smallcombe contacted us to let us know about a government drought relief program. With her help, we were able to get a 2,500 gallon tank and regular water deliveries, saving us time, fuel costs and wear and tear on our truck and our bodies.

Rosemarie is experienced, brilliant, dogged, honest and compassionate. If you haven’t, you should go to her website, rosemariesmallcombe.com to take a look at all she has done and continues to do for her constituents and Mariposa County. Let’s reelect Rosemarie Smallcombe for the next four years. We need her."" 
 
Ruth Ketvirtis, Mariposa
Publised in the Mariposa Gazette and Sierra Sun Times
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