The Democratic Party has about a 30% share of the registered voters in Shasta County. We haven't elected a Democrat to state or federal offices in over 30 years.
People in the "Northstate" have been depicted as "The Gun Capitol of California", the "Deepest Red County in California"; etc.
From 1932 to 1972 this was not the case. Shasta County was a blue county, electing several state and national representatives, who stayed in office for long periods of time, and brought tons of money back home to Shasta County. Clair Engle, who was a Republican turned Democrat, was even elected Senator from California. A host of other Democrats were likewise very influential in Sacramento and Washington; Bizz Johnson, James Carr; etc.
And the money flowed into Shasta County.
This was also a product of bipartisan cooperation between Democratic and Republican leaders. Earl Warren, a Republican Governor of California, supported many Shasta Country politicians, in their efforts to develop the north state's water supplies.
The way it works in California is the south is arid, the north temperate.
The Sierra Nevada Mountains catch snowfall every winter, and that snowmelt, plus the copious rainfall in the north, feeds the population centers of the state.
The water reclamation projects in Shasta County were, and are, a big part of that.
That is not exactly true, snowmelt provides the majority of the water (plus the Colorado River), but there is not doubt Northern California water is a big deal, especially for the Sacramento Valley agricultural industry.
And Democrats, with Republican cooperation, built them: Shasta Dam, Clair Engle Dam, Whiskeytown Dam, and others were built along with canals, bridges; etc.
And the county boomed.
And then 1972 hit, the state began retracting its investment in the future, Prop 13 was passed, southern Californians began moving to Shasta County and it all changed.
The wood products industry crashed, partly caused by environmental regulations that restricted the clear cutting, land destructive methods of the past, and mostly caused by the fact that privately owned forest lands had been over logged. Regardless of where one stood on the issue, a major industry left Shasta County for all intents and purposes. The newly arrived conservatives blamed the Democrats, and the county got more Red.
The old practices of resource development, conservation infrastructure; etc, were ridiculed as wasteful spending by the newly emergent conservative majority. The remaining Democrats evolved into progressives, who directly clashed with the now conservative majority.
And Shasta County's standard of living dropped. The middle class, who had been fed by logging, manufacturing, and government reclamation projects, dwindled.
As time has passed, the divide has even expanded. Conservatives now join Tea Parties, calling for dismantling of government at all levels. A statewide fire fee, desperately needed because of global climate changing wildfires that threaten the county, is opposed by Tea Party members as "big government". The fee is about $1.50 a month!
Anyway, Shasta County is stuck. It sits as the major population center between Sacramento and the Oregon border, and is broke, poor, and essentially politically impotent.
The impotence comes because California has gotten Bluer and Bluer. Conservative rants against immigration, has turned off the Latino and Asian American communities so much, that every state constitutional officer in the state is Democratic. The large urban areas are hugely Democratic. Even the state legislature, to date, is 2/3 Democratic, giving a veto proof majority to Democrats.
This leaves Shasta County out in the cold. Once a showcase of bipartisan cooperation leading to prosperity, Shasta County sits alone, without viable representation. But, Democrats need Shasta County, to keep their razor thin 2/3 majority. If only we could get in the game and elect a viable Democrat, or a moderate Republican who would vote with the Democratic majority, to the state legislature, our clout would increase a hundred fold. The state Democratic Party would need us big time.
However, we recently crowned another Republican conservative heir to the House of Representative's seat, a hard liner Conservative, who will not even speak to a Democrat, much less cooperate with one.
But, we still are in this together. Democrats, Republicans, Tea Partiers, Independents, all of us share a love of the North State. All of us have neighbors, relatives, sons and daughters, who, if they elect to stay here, are broke, poor, and desperate.
And meanwhile California is desperate for water. And right now, we have it. Right now, California is desperate for energy, and we have it in the abundant sunshine and open spaces, plus the wind energy capacity that is virtually untapped. And we should not forget the hydro-electric power that is still not fully tapped.
So, let's admit the problem we have, and start cooperating. Democrats up here need to moderate their rhetoric, conservatives need to face political reality, and we need to unite behind what brought us together before, utilize our abundant natural resources to enhance our standing in the state: Responsibly protect our natural resources, but don't wall them off behind endless environmental laws.
The power grid is already here to a certain extent because of the existing hyro-electric system.
But this will require government, on a big scale. And in this area, conservatives will have to take a deep breath and compromise. Government is not all bad, especially that which brings big money to the area.
And finally, we need to elect moderates to office, who will work with both sides, who will stop the big government bashing and start acting in our best interests, which happen to coincide with the state and nation's best interest: alternative sources of electricity, and that precious water!!!!!
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