"New Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Bonnie Neely is now the board representative on the Humboldt County Association of Governments board. After a lengthy protest from 2nd District Supervisor Roger Rodoni, the board went ahead to put Neely in as the new board representative.

The HCAOG board -- which oversees a vast pool of transportation moneys -- repeatedly has split 4-4 on whether to let the tribe in. Rodoni ultimately went against the vote of the rest of the Board of Supervisors and voted against the tribe's membership, creating a debate that may have ultimately cost him his seat.

The tribe has been asking for such an inclusion for years, and at one point had legislation passed to designate them as a public agency so that they would qualify for membership.

HCAOG is a joint powers agency including the cities of Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell, Trinidad and the county of Humboldt. The agency is largely responsible for state highway, local street and road improvements, public transportation resources and the roadside call box program.

It is time for the tribe to be a part of HCAOG, and have a say in how state funds earmarked for Hoopa are spent."

Get the Story:
Now let's get the Hoopa on government board (The Eureka Times-Standard 1/12)

Relevant Links:
Hoopa Valley Tribe - http://www.hoopa-nsn.gov

Related Stories:
Column: Tribes not the same as other governments (10/13)
Editorial: Veto tribal representation bill (08/22)
Hoopa Valley Tribe again denied seat on board (04/05)
County supports Hoopa Valley Tribe's seat on board (01/18)
Hoopa Valley Tribe denied seat on county board (12/15)