3 pot backers running for Board of Supervisors

Three marijuana advocates are among the field seeking seats on the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors in the June election, battling a perceived public backlash against marijuana production.

With a ballot measure to repeal liberal pot-growing limits also on the ballot, the June election promises to be a referendum for or against the use of marijuana in Mendocino County.

"People have called me, saying, 'Help, help, we need some representation,' " said Dane Wilkins, director of the Northern California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.

Wilkins is running for supervisor in the 2nd District, which includes Ukiah, a seat currently held by Supervisor Jim Wattenburger.

Ukiah City Councilman John McCowen, Planning Commissioner Jim Mulheren and forestry consultant Estelle Clifton also have announced they are running for the seat in the 2nd District. Wattenburger has not announced.

In the 4th District, Paula Deeter, a county planner and co-owner of Herban Legend, a marijuana dispensary, is challenging incumbent Kendall Smith, a former congressional aide who represents an area that includes Fort Bragg.

Ukiah Morrison, an outspoken advocate of legalizing marijuana and a self-described "reverend" of medicinal hemp, plans to run for the 1st District seat held by Supervisor Mike Delbar. Farm Bureau Manager Carre Brown also is mounting a campaign for the seat.

Delbar said he's not surprised that pot advocates are running for each of the supervisor seats on the June ballot.

"Pot's already taken over the county," he said Friday.

It's a sentiment that has fueled the backlash against marijuana production in Mendocino County, where an atmosphere of tolerance for pot has fostered its reputation as a haven for growers.

Illicit marijuana production is now believed to be Mendocino County's largest agricultural crop.

A coalition of lawmakers, business leaders and community activists, fed up with the marijuana proliferation, is now pressing for a reversal.

They say pot growers are attracting crime, damaging the environment and stinking up neighborhoods.

The group successfully pressed supervisors to put a ballot measure on the June ballot that would reverse Measure G, a 2000 initiative that decriminalized marijuana for personal use.

Measure G doesn't specifically address medical marijuana limits but rather allows up to 25 plants per person for personal use without fear of prosecution.

Under current medical pot rules, Mendocino County allows a licensed user to possess 2 pounds of dried pot. Sonoma County allows 3 pounds per user, while Lake County follows recommended state guidelines allowing one-half pound.

Wilkins, Deeter and Morrison said they are concerned by the apparent backlash against marijuana use, but said their platforms are about more than marijuana.

Wilkins and Deeter said they are concerned about land-use planning, including the future of the former Masonite plant.

Morrison said he doesn't want "a big monolith jail in downtown Ukiah." Expansion of current jail facilities have been discussed during the past year.

Smith said she expects pot to be an issue in the campaign, but hopes it is not the focus.

"Marijuana certainly is an important issue. It is by no means the only one," she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat

.com.