By Samuel Strait, Reporter at Large – November 7, 2021

Recently, on November 3,2021, the resurrected Del Norte County Tea Party
had a second meeting hosted by former Sheriff, Dean Wilson.  While the
ultimate goals of the group remain virtually the same, a call for more
education on certain issues to address deficiencies that have appeared
recently within the local community has been made.  The group was
originally formed to combat fiscal irresponsibility in government,
growth of the government, free markets, and education of the citizens to
the meaning found within the Constitution.  Originally it was formed
during the Obama years to combat through education the perceived
missteps of the federal government in increasing debt and over all
growth of government.  As the years passed the Tea Party morphed into
concerns over social issues which clearly were felt by a gradual
shrinkage of support.  Recently, the current administration filled with
ineffective leadership, growth in government, fiscal irrationality, and
movement from the fundamentals of freedom found within the U S
Constitution has encouraged the Tea Party to resurrect itself.

By doing so the current iteration is seeking information on how to
proceed in curbing some of the most blatant attempts by local government
to abuse local taxpayers, reduce the size of local government, and
educate locals in combating over reach by local authority with
particular interest in  activities by our local school district and
their efforts to push a new construction bond of $47 million, Covid
restrictions at schools, mask mandates, and a close examination at the
City and County’s use of their 1% sales tax revenue.

As was recently revealed in a DNUSD Community Oversight Committee,
public money was being spent without any independent oversight that is
required by the terms outlined in the $25 million Bond measure of 2008. 
As is now being revealed, that same kind of activity is currently taking
place in the County with their surreptitious repayment of the US
Department of Commerce over the failure of yet another of the County’s
ill advised attempts to fund fiscally unsound business adventures,
leaving the County and its taxpayers on the hook for over a million
dollars. One can only wonder what the City’s leaders have been up to
with their sales tax slush fund.  There does not seem to be any in your
face pot hole or pavement work on going.  Perhaps this is a task suited
for the Tea Party in an effort to keep the school district , the County,
and the City on the straight and narrow.   It does not appear the
Citizen Oversight Committees have done their jobs.

Without allowing huge amounts of sales tax revenue to be expended in a
slush fund like fashion, perhaps the Tea Party members can make it their
business by attending oversight meetings to determine what the money is
being spent on as the current oversight is significantly missing in
action when it comes to being transparent with the public.  In the same
vein, perhaps many of the County and City’s boards, Commissions, and
Authorities need a helping hand at reducing tax burden, being
transparent, making cuts of unnecessary employees and administration,
bringing salaries and benefits under control, and being governmentally
fiscally responsible.  Maybe, in addition removing those current
representatives in elected office that have been abusing the public
trust.  What a change from what is happening now…..