Pat Has Shown Political Strength in Helping Harbor District Change and Grow

When Pat joined the Harbor District Commission in January 2008, he didn’t waste any time getting engaged in issues such as the Redwood Dock Feasibility Study and the District’s budget. Pat’s memos on these issues, linked below, show his open style and let his fellow commissioners and the public know where he stands. Memos like these take work, but they move the discussion along on these sensitive topics. Nobody in public office works harder than Pat Higgins.

Fiscal Responsibility: Pat did his homework on the Harbor District budget and made great strides in helping his fellow commissioners to balance it, which shows that, as a Supervisor, he can help the County cope with these extremely challenging times.  Higgins budget comments: 5/29/08, 6/12/08, 6/11/09, 6/22/09.

Economic Development: Pat was a tireless critic of the Redwood Marine Terminal Feasibility Study and Business Plan because the district’s consultants could not identify the potential users (comments 01/10/08, 2/28/08, 6/26/08 7/15/08). When Pat wasn’t satisfied with the economic options being pursued, he helped form a Harbor District Economic Development Committee.

As committee chairman, he is a catalyst for discussions that will help the District and the community explore new and more productive options going forward. Pat has a number of ideas concerning how the Supervisors can do more for economic development and job creation.

Use the links in the right sidebar to watch Pat host economic development forums via streaming video provided by the Humboldt Access project.

Conservation: Pat and his fellow Harbor Commissioners, as well as communities, governments and Tribes of the North Coast, all want to see a scientifically valid ocean conservation strategy implemented by the State. To achieve that objective, Pat helped form a Marine Protected Area Working Group committee that is making sure that we maintain fish stocks and fishing access.

See the web pages at the Harbor District website that Pat helped create to explain the North Coast region’s response to the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. See Pat’s comments to the Blue Ribbon Task Force (11/18/09) and Science Advisory Team (12/20/09). He helped craft the letter from numerous regional governments and Tribes to Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman (06/05/09) that lays out our region’s demands.

Recreation: We need trails around Humboldt Bay and multi-modal transportation options throughout the County. As a Supervisor, Pat will push for reorganizing the State-created North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) to transfer its assets to a local entity so that we can get moving on rails-to-trails projects as soon as possible. Pat was appointed by the Harbor District to chair a committee to negotiate repayment of a earlier District loan to the NCRA debt. Read his remarks to the NCRA Board of 11/18/09.

 

 

We Need Action Now. Let’s Work Together.