And Why This Week’s County Workshop Matters

A Tim McCaffrey Meet and Greet in Twain Harte, CA

Over the past several weeks I have been spending a lot of time talking with locals everywhere I can, as well as walking our neighborhoods and knocking on doors in District Three.

That has become one of the most valuable parts of this entire process.

When you knock on someone’s door, you do not get a rehearsed answer. You get whatever is actually on their mind. Sometimes it is a quick hello. Sometimes it turns into a long conversation in a driveway. Sometimes it turns into a story about a road that has been ignored for years, an insurance bill that doubled overnight, or the fear people feel heading into fire season.

And right now I am hearing a lot of the same things.

Yes, people talk about roads. Yes, people talk about fire insurance. Yes, people are deeply concerned about fire after the vote to defund CAL FIRE staffing at Station 56 in Mono Vista.

But there is another theme I hear over and over again that has nothing to do with policy.

People are tired of the nonsense. They are tired of the division. They are tired of watching local government behave like a stage instead of a workplace. People are tired of county leaders acting like political performers instead of public servants.

County Government Is Not Supposed To Be Sexy

Being a county supervisor is not supposed to be a glamorous job. It is not supposed to be a high profile job. It is supposed to be a heads down, get the work done job.

A supervisor’s role is actually pretty simple. Listen to the people you represent. Then work with the right departments, experts, and agencies to move solutions forward… Even if some of those ideas do not perfectly align with your personal views.

That is the job.

It is not about standing at the dais and proselytizing. It is not about blaming others when things go wrong. It is not about constantly reminding people what you personally accomplished. And it’s definitely not about partisanship.

The job is about making the county better than when you arrived. Five supervisors make decisions that affect more than fifty thousand people in this county. That responsibility is bigger than any one personality.

The Reality Of How County Government Actually Works

Another thing that often comes up in conversations at the door is frustration with how credit gets claimed in county politics, it’s not given to the people that actually make it happen. That in turn slows the process down. It’s divisive. It’s not team work. And it causes problems.

I recently dealt with this. Whether it was confusion or ego I still don’t know, but a few of us are currently trying to get some really great things done around Twain Harte. Things that will benefit the community and visitors alike. Working with multiple levels of leadership in town. But the project involves… local government… It’s been stalled.

Not because of what the project is, not because the end results will change, not because less or more money is wanted or needed. It’s because someone wants the credit. That’s not team work. That’s not how we move forward. And instead of just getting the job done, we have stopped. We should be breaking ground but the project is on hold, because someone wanted the credit and stuck their nose in at the last minute. Frustrating to say the least.

Another example… there has been a lot of talk at the board level about how the sheriff’s office (law enforcement) is now fully funded.

The reality is that our sheriff, David Vasquez, made the case for those resources through hard work, planning, and clear communication. The board then voted to support that funding. That is how the sheriff got law enforcement fully funded (thank you, David). That’s how county government is supposed to work. Departments identify needs. They present those needs to the board. The board votes.

That is county collaboration.

The same thing applies to our new road equipment that Public Works has recently acquired. The county spoke, Public Works identified the need for new equipment, the board approved it through the budget process, and the department executed the plan.

The credit their belongs to the director, Blossom Scott-Heim P.E. and the head-down professionals that are doing the work.

Public Works crews are out there plowing roads, repairing damage, and maintaining infrastructure to the best of their ability EVEN while dealing with staffing shortages and extremely limited resources.

That is the kind of work that keeps a county running.

County government does not operate from the top down. It starts with the community identifying problems and then allowing the people with the expertise to solve them, to do their jobs.

The Storm That Reminded Us How Fragile Things Can Be

The storm a few weeks back showed exactly why governance matters.

More than 200 trees fell onto the PG&E ditch, damaging multiple flumes and forcing the canals to shut down. According to reporting from MyMotherlode and the Union Democrat the ditch carries roughly 95 percent of the drinking water to Tuolumne County residents served by TUD (Tuolumne Utilities District).

Suddenly the county’s primary water source was offline.

PG&E as well as TUD crews scrambled to keep water flowing, asking the public to conserve water while repairs were underway. Crews worked through the night, hiking for miles in the snow. At the same time thousands of residents lost power, some for over a week. Communication systems failed in several areas. Roads were buried in snow.

And yet our community stepped up. Neighbors helped neighbors. Crews worked around the clock. Our local departments did their very best to keep systems running. It was not perfect. We lost some members of our community, but it could have been worse.

That storm was a reminder that infrastructure matters. Our fragile water systems matter. Emergency preparedness matters. And strong cooperation between multiple agencies matters.

All of this Brings Us To The County Workshop

*Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors (left to right) Ryan Campbell, Jaron Brandon, Mike Holland, Steve Griefer, Anaiah Kirk. (instagram.com/tuolumnecountygovernment/*)

This Tuesday and Wednesday Is the Board of Supervisors annual county workshop.

For many residents, this meeting happens quietly in the background. Some residents believe that’s the way the supervisors want it. But it actually matters a lot to all of us. This is a public meeting. We are all invited to be there, and we all have the right to speak.

This workshops is supposed to be where departments outline their needs and where supervisors align around priorities for the future.

In other words, it is where planning is supposed to happen. Not partisanship. Planning. If you have the time, I encourage you to participate.

Other rural counties have shown how powerful this kind of cooperation and collaboration can be.

Nevada County BOS worked together and has invested heavily in coordinated wildfire preparedness, evacuation planning, and emergency communication systems that cross all partisan lines and involve local agencies, residents, and state partners working together.

Placer County BOS has built long term strategic planning around public safety, infrastructure resilience, and economic stability, with regular updates and transparent communication about progress.

These are not partisan efforts. They are simply examples of local governments focusing on what matters most to their communities.

The Big Question That Keeps Coming Up

When I talk to people at their doors, I keep hearing the same question.
What is the plan for Station 56?

The Board voted 3 to 2 earlier this year to eliminate CAL FIRE staffing at that station beginning in July. JULY! Right in the middle of fire season.

Whether you agree with that decision or not, people want to understand the plan moving forward.

What will response times look like? What coverage replaces it? How will the county ensure emergency readiness during peak fire season?

These are the kinds of questions that deserve clear answers. And a county workshop is exactly the place where those answers should be discussed.

What Do People Really Want?

After hundreds of conversations across the district, I can tell you this much.

People are not asking for perfection. They understand that rural counties operate with limited resources. They understand that storms happen, that humans make mistakes, and infrastructure sometimes fails.

What they want in District 3 is a full time supervisor that represents all of us. They want leadership that focuses on solving problems instead of performing politics. They want supervisors who communicate honestly with us and with each other. They want collaboration and cooperation instead of infighting. They want leaders who recognize that the tax payers pay their salary and they work for we the people. The county does not belong to them.

It belongs to ALL the people who call this place our home.

Where We Go From Here

*Twain Harte at sunset from Black Oak Loop - ©timhmccaffrey.com*

Tuolumne County has incredible strengths. Dedicated public employees. Resilient communities. Beautiful landscapes that continues to draw visitors from all over the world.

But none of that works without thoughtful leadership and honest planning.

The annual county workshop is a chance for the board to focus on something bigger than individual personalities. It is a chance to align around the real needs of the community.

Infrastructure resilience. Fire preparedness. Economic stability…And the simple idea that government should work for the people who live here.

Because at the end of the day, county government should not be about who gets the credit.

It should be about getting the job done.

What People Are Really Saying