“….the Farm Bureau has been on the wrong side of most issues — the open space initiative, protection of greenbelts, community separators, streamside protection, saving coastal forests from vineyard expansion, and so on.”
Farm Bureau politics
EDITOR: It’s time to take a hard look at the Farm Bureau. Yes, we love Sonoma County agriculture and want to support small farms, but the Farm Bureau is a special interest organization.
Like most special interests, its primary concern is enhancing its financial success, not the welfare of the community at large. If you follow the history of land use policy in Sonoma County, it’s plain to see that the Farm Bureau has been on the wrong side of most issues — the open space initiative, protection of greenbelts, community separators, streamside protection, saving coastal forests from vineyard expansion, and so on.
The Farm Bureau spent more than $100,000 to squash Proposition 15 with misinformation. We had an equitable tax reform that wouldn’t have affected homeowners or renters, while protecting small business and funding local schools and community colleges.
Now we read that Executive Director Tawny Tesconi is unhappy with the appointment of Caryl Hart as head of the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (“Temporary director appointed for district,” Nov. 18). Hart is probably the most experienced land use expert in the county. Tesconi is afraid the district might favor open space enjoyment for all citizens over land exclusively dedicated to farming.
Tesconi wants to expand the Farm Bureau’s influence, but it’s important to ask what is being influenced.
P. M.
