Episode 60 · Michelle Bushnell · November 16, 2024
Michelle Bushnell talks through her Southern Humboldt roots, growing up on a cattle ranch in Benbow, and the family and community ties that shaped her. She shares the path from hospital work and 13 years as a school bus driver to buying The Bootleg in Garberville and serving in local leadership. The conversation also gets into her move into county government, what that transition was like, and the personal experience that shaped how she thinks about mental health and homelessness.
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What this episode covers
- Growing up in Southern Humboldt and being raised by her grandparents on a cattle ranch in Benbow
- School, early marriage, raising three children, and working at Southern Humboldt Hospital and as a school bus driver
- Buying The Bootleg in Garberville and its connection to local family history
- Community involvement through South Fork Boosters, the chamber, and the school board
- Running for county supervisor, winning by a narrow margin, and learning how county government works
- Her mother’s homelessness and mental illness, and how that shaped her perspective
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Transcript
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Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbors, welcome to 100% Humboldt with my new best friend and special guest-
Scott Hammond: … Michelle Bushnell. Hi, Michelle.
Michelle Bushnell: Hi. How's it going?
Scott Hammond: It's going very well, thank you. Thanks for being on the show.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Thanks for asking.
Scott Hammond: Appreciate it. Yeah. So tell us the Michelle Bushnell story. Start, start from the beginning.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, okay. Sure. Um, I was born in Redding. Um, my parents, um, we were from, uh, Southern Humboldt-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … but was born in Redding, came back to Southern Humboldt, and, um, was, uh, raised down there. I actually ended up being raised by my grandparents.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, my mom-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Michelle Bushnell: … my mom, um, kinda went off the deep end when I was about four.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And my dad and her got divorced, and my, um, dad went on to another marriage and other kids and, uh-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … his parents ended up raising me on a cattle ranch down there in
Michelle Bushnell: Benbow.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, uh, went to Redway School, went to South Fork High School.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. And, um, got married right outta high school and had, uh, my first child when I was, uh, 19 by a day.
Scott Hammond: Whoa.
Michelle Bushnell: And, uh, went on to have two other children, um, by the time I was
Michelle Bushnell: 26.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And worked at the Southern Humboldt Hospital for quite some time-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and then, uh, ended up being a school bus driver for 13
Michelle Bushnell: years.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep. Got divorced and, um, got
Michelle Bushnell: remarried-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and bought a store in Garberville, The Bootleg. It's been there since 1981.
Scott Hammond: Oh, right.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. And, uh, actually, the, the store, it's kind of interesting, but the man that owned the store, Bear Gratzl, Greg Gratzl, was my grandfather's, uh, best friend, and my grandfather helped him get started in that store, so it was-
Scott Hammond: What's his name?
Michelle Bushnell: My granddad?
Scott Hammond: No, the guy that owns, runs the store.
Michelle Bushnell: Uh, Bear Gratzl.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I've heard he's a nice guy.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. He actually passed away a few years ago.
Scott Hammond: He was older when I was younger.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. And so, um, so I still have that store down there.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: And got involved with, uh, the community, you know, the, uh, South Fork Boosters through-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … my kids played sports. And, um, I, so I ended up being the booster president for seven
Michelle Bushnell: years-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … and, and organizing that, and then chamber president and on the school board and, um-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … just really, really love, um, the Southern Humboldt community where I was raised.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, although it's went through lots of tran- transitions.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, but really, you know, felt very committed to making that community better and for-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … and a- and my kids, um, all my kids live down there still-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … so-
Scott Hammond: Are you a grandma?
Michelle Bushnell: I am a grandma.
Scott Hammond: Hard to believe.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, I have six grandkids.
Scott Hammond: Whoa.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. My oldest is 11, and my youngest is six
Michelle Bushnell: months.
Scott Hammond: Rad.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So they all stayed in Southern-
Michelle Bushnell: Yep
Scott Hammond: … Humboldt.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep. So-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Michelle Bushnell: … uh, you know, I got remarried in, uh, 2009 to David-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … my husband currently, and we live in Blocksburg on a ranch.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And he is a land surveyor, and we do a lot of different things besides, um, what I currently do, um, as a supervisor. My husband, uh, really encouraged me. I've never been in government before.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And he really encouraged me and thought I could, uh, do a good job, and I thought he was crazy.
Scott Hammond: Ah.
Michelle Bushnell: So ended up running, um, in '20, um, against an eight-year incumbent and thought, "Okay, well, I'll get my name out there-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and see how it goes," and ended up winning.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: And then I was like, "Holy cow, what do I-"
Scott Hammond: That was Estelle?
Michelle Bushnell: I ran against Estelle.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, won by not very much-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … like 450 votes or something.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, and then I didn't know what to do because I had never, you know, been in this position.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, it, it… I was just telling, uh, someone earlier that the first year of being a county supervisor was probably the most depressing of my life.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: It's a, it's a steep climb.
Scott Hammond: Why is it, why was it tough? Just the learning curve?
Michelle Bushnell: The, not so much the learning curve because I jumped right in and then was very
Michelle Bushnell: committed.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, government is not like private sector.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And I've been in private sector my whole life.
Michelle Bushnell: I'm a doer.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: I like to do something, get it off my plate, and move on and-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … and really help people, and it, government stifles that.
Michelle Bushnell: They-
Scott Hammond: It doesn't work that way.
Michelle Bushnell: It doesn't work that way, and so, um, it's, it's interesting. You know, I just got reelected, and so I, I've found my niche-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and found my way, um-
Scott Hammond: Congrats, by the way.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Thank you.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, along, you know, and along the way, I had, um, you know, my mom was, my mom died when she was 49, and she was homeless when she died.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: She'd been homeless for 10 years.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: And, and as a young girl, not realizing mental illness really was what was wrong with my mom-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and, um, and along with mental illness comes drug addiction and, and homelessness.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And didn't, realizing that because I just wanted a mom and was, you know, angry at her for not being that.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And it wasn't until the, actually the year she died in, um, '02 that I had realized, I had grown up enough to realize that she did have mental illness and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and that's the reason she was the way she was. And, and actually, you know, my grandparents were, um, they're passed now, and they would've been, um, my granddad would've just turned 100 in October, and-
Scott Hammond: Whoa
Michelle Bushnell: … they were amazing people-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … and she probably did the best thing she ever could've done for me was give, give me to them-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and let them raise me.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: And I feel, uh, you know, I'm not so ancient, but I feel sometimes an old soul just because I was-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … raised in that older mentality-
Scott Hammond: Right
Michelle Bushnell: … with my grandparents.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: And, and, um, you know, got into my first marriage, which was a domestic violence relationship.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, I was in that relationship for 16 years, and it, it taught me a lot, and I don't have lots of, I don't have any anger for either situation. I think that it gave me a lot of life
Michelle Bushnell: lessons.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, a lot of life lessons that I can really relate to now-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … in my job.
Scott Hammond: I love it.
Michelle Bushnell: So-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … yeah.
Scott Hammond: I always kind of regret being a hippie child in San Diego, but- … I go, somebody said, they go, "That's kinda part of who you are, man."
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: You could own that ground and be okay with that.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I lived with my grandma for a while.
Michelle Bushnell: Did you?
Scott Hammond: She raised us for a little while, and-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … and sent us back off to California. It was great.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, you know, my, uh, my grandparents were my dad's parents, and, uh, they were just, um, just amazing people, and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and they, they didn't hesitate when my mom said, "Here they are.
Michelle Bushnell: Take 'em."
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: Uh, my brother and I. And I, you know, thank, I thank God every day for th- for them-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … because they really gave me a foundation-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … and they gave me my morals. They gave me my wor- work ethic.
Scott Hammond: That's so cool.
Michelle Bushnell: It is really cool, and-
Scott Hammond: Where did they live?
Michelle Bushnell: So, uh, my grandad was from Harris originally.
Michelle Bushnell: Um-
Scott Hammond: That's way out there, right?
Michelle Bushnell: It is, and that's why-
Scott Hammond: Is that on my map?
Michelle Bushnell: It is on your map, probably, yes.
Scott Hammond: Here's my map.
Michelle Bushnell: Yes.
Scott Hammond: So Blocksburg is down that way.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep.
Scott Hammond: And Harris is, like, way the heck over.
Michelle Bushnell: I- yep, so from Blocksburg it would be, um, southeast-
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh
Michelle Bushnell: … of Blocksburg, and that's my family's, uh, ranch currently.
Michelle Bushnell: Um-
Scott Hammond: Still Humboldt County?
Michelle Bushnell: Yep, Humboldt County.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, he was born and raised there.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: And his dad was, um, the postmaster, and his mom was the stage keeper.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Michelle Bushnell: The stage would come from Laytonville up through Bell Springs, come to
Michelle Bushnell: Harris.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: They would stay the night there. They had a little, uh, two, four rooms upstairs, and a, like, um, restaurant downstairs.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so the stage would stay overnight there, continue on to Blocksburg-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … Bridgeville, Fortuna, Eureka area, and then do vice versa. My great-grandfather was born in Eureka.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And my great-grandmother was born in Petrolia.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, she was a Stansbury, and my great-grandfather was a Smith.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: And so my grandfather, um, went to that little school up there, and then, um, kinda lied to get into the war.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, when he was 17-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … went off to war and came back, met my grandma, who was from, um, over in, uh, off of I-5, Willows area.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, Chrome, actually.
Scott Hammond: Cool.
Michelle Bushnell: She was raised in Chrome.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And they moved back to Humboldt County-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … and raised their kids.
Scott Hammond: Cool story.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I love that.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Those grandparents. So the stage, I can't even-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Like, there was no 101.
Michelle Bushnell: No.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: No, there was no 101, and it was no pavement, of course, back then, and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, it was, uh, you know, my granddad used to tell me lots of stories, and they, we, they have lots of pictures, of course-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … which is really awesome. So I'm a fourth-generation-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … uh, Southern Humboldt resident.
Scott Hammond: And Bell Springs Road, what a, what a road that is in the rain.
Michelle Bushnell: It's a nightmare now. I can't imagine what it was then.
Scott Hammond: We, we did that years ago. We got stuck in a rainstorm, and Joanie and I and this other college guy are in her Volkswagen, and they diverted us
Scott Hammond: around-
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, right, right
Scott Hammond: … uh, Garberville or wherever we were.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And, and it dropped in, and I'm going, "What did we just do?" We, like, burned an
Scott Hammond: hour plus-
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, s-
Scott Hammond: … in a muddy mess.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, yeah. It's, it's, uh, uh, all dirt still-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and, um, it's, it's quite rutted and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … just a v- v- very slow-go road.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Very rural, as they say.
Scott Hammond: Good. Yeah, thank you for a good backstory. That's so cool.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: I mean, I, you know, when I, I first, um, when I got divorced the first time and, um, well, the only time, and it will be the only time, I, you know, I was a little leery telling people because you don't want that to define who you are.
Scott Hammond: No.
Michelle Bushnell: And it, and it doesn't define me, and-
Scott Hammond: Good
Michelle Bushnell: … but I also know that it makes up who I am.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so it, as I've, you know, grown, as we mature-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, I realize, you know, that's part of my life, and it's part of my story.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And I'm, I didn't create that situation, so there's not a reason to be embarrassed
Michelle Bushnell: about it.
Scott Hammond: Amen.
Michelle Bushnell: So-
Scott Hammond: That's part of your narrative.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Um-
Scott Hammond: And you're right about the past not defining us.
Scott Hammond: I like that.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I like that a lot.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. I, I was elected, um, in '20. My grandfather had already passed, but, um, politics were, um, important to him.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And he was a, um, quiet, you know, about his politics and his
Michelle Bushnell: beliefs, but I guess if I had one wish about this current job is-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and I, I, somewhere, wherever he is, he knows, but I wish I could've talked to him about things-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … because he really was a guiding force for me-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and really just, um, was really good at getting me to see both sides and, and narratives.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … he, he was really just really patient like that.
Scott Hammond: Imagine doing that.
Michelle Bushnell: I know.
Scott Hammond: Doing that well.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's cool. I love that.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Great story. Hey, segue into, uh, so you went to Humboldt?
Michelle Bushnell: I did not. I did not-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Michelle Bushnell: … go to college.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep.
Scott Hammond: Gotcha.
Michelle Bushnell: Nope. So I had a baby at 19-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and went right to work.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Michelle Bushnell: And, uh, I worked, um, lots of, you know, several jobs, and then became a single mom and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … had three jobs to support my kids, and-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … yeah, and I drove school bus, and I ran a bar and
Michelle Bushnell: restaurant.
Scott Hammond: Where was that?
Michelle Bushnell: Brass Rail in Redway.
Scott Hammond: Oh, right.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, so, uh-
Scott Hammond: That's famous.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, so I did the books during the day-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … in between my bus driving, and then would go back to driving bus, and then at night I would bartend and waitress.
Scott Hammond: So you knew Sheriff Downey back then.
Michelle Bushnell: Very well, actually.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: He went to my church.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, great guy.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Yep.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: He lived in Miranda and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … went to the Weott Christian Church.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, Lance Anderson was the pastor there.
Scott Hammond: Did I read that Lance died? Was that him?
Michelle Bushnell: He just did, yeah. He was 83.
Scott Hammond: I saw that on Facebook.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: He was a neat guy.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: He had a coffee shop down in Fortuna for a minute, right?
Michelle Bushnell: Shots.
Scott Hammond: Shots, yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, Shots. He started the original Shots.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I was reading that, and I go, "I think I definitely have met him."
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, yeah. He w- well, for me, he was a staple. He was not only our pastor, but he, um, you know, was Garberville. I went to school with his kids.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, he married LaDonna Williams, and Ed Williams was, uh, quite a person in Garberville. He owned Williams Chevrolet.
Scott Hammond: He was a Chevy dealer.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep, he was-
Scott Hammond: And Lance was a car guy, too, right?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, he was. He got that from his father-in-law.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, he also, you know, just was just a remarkable man around town-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … really cared about Garberville and, you know, we would s- I would see him and LaDonna walking all the time.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, yeah, they were just really great people.
Scott Hammond: So cars was his tent-making job, and then-
Michelle Bushnell: Yep
Scott Hammond: … 'cause Weott Church was a, a ministry miracle, right?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It was a, it was really happening church for decades, right?
Michelle Bushnell: It was a 300-plus congregation when I was, when I was a young girl and going
Michelle Bushnell: there.
Scott Hammond: In, in a place that churches have 20.
Michelle Bushnell: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, they have 15 now, I think.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: So yeah.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, and then he went from there to the Church of Rainier, um, in
Michelle Bushnell: Fortuna.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And he was the pastor there for 18 years, um, and actually was, um, still- The pastor, up till three weeks before he
Michelle Bushnell: passed.
Scott Hammond: How about that?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. He had, uh, gotten cancer, and so he-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, you know, he, he lived his life until he-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … just couldn't anymore, um, from the pain, and then was still, you know, doing postings and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … uh, prayers and-
Scott Hammond: Cool
Michelle Bushnell: … stuff on Facebook and, uh, just was just a really positive person.
Scott Hammond: Loving God, loving people, yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Who's the other pastor that retired? The, the guy that always looks young from Hydesville Church. He's been gone for a while. Um-
Michelle Bushnell: I don't know that I know him
Scott Hammond: … I want- You would know his name if I thought of it. Anyway, so I'm not thinking of it. But yeah, I wondered about that. So, uh, Lance was… I remember there, the Williams Chevrolet in, in all that.
Michelle Bushnell: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: So, um, the Downey's we know f- because we know their son, Nate, who's-
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, right
Scott Hammond: … turns out to be a pastor. There's another pastor.
Michelle Bushnell: Yes. Yes.
Scott Hammond: And we know his, uh, his wife, uh, Dallas.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: My wife knows her.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's a small world we live in in Humboldt County, so everybody knows-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … somebody-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … knows somebody.
Michelle Bushnell: Yes, for sure, or related to somebody that knows somebody or, or you are related to them.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, it's true. So let's go, let's go back to the board real quick.
Michelle Bushnell: Sure.
Scott Hammond: So first year was pretty depressing-
Michelle Bushnell: Yep
Scott Hammond: … 'cause it was just slow motion ride.
Michelle Bushnell: Well, first of all, it's a steep climb-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, learning everything, which I really d- I've just m- jumped in both feet, knew that, that I, I owed my constituents that. I didn't wanna have a lag time-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … uh, from, you know, Estelle, who had been an eight-year incumbent, and then here I come, and I just didn't want my constituents to suffer and not-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … have the representation that they needed.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: So I jumped right in and just, you know, lived it 24/7-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … so that I could really catch up.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: And w- you know, my husband, I couldn't do any of this without my husband's support. Our-
Scott Hammond: Just your support.
Michelle Bushnell: Total support.
Scott Hammond: That's cool.
Michelle Bushnell: And our, our children are grown-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and out of the house, and so that allowed, um, you know, me to really just focus on that.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, but even doing that, you, you just don't, um… Things are difficult to move forward-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … in government, and you, you can see what people need or what communities need-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and it takes a lifetime to get it for them.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's, it's just really hard. And, and when you really know… Like, southern Humboldt, um, Garberville especially, is really, um, transitioning, is really going through a hard time financially.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Kind of post-cannabis.
Michelle Bushnell: It is all post-cannabis.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so, you know-
Scott Hammond: The boom and the bust
Michelle Bushnell: … the… And we're on the bust.
Scott Hammond: On the bust side-
Michelle Bushnell: And-
Scott Hammond: … of the boom
Michelle Bushnell: … yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And every other week, there's a business closing down there.
Scott Hammond: Oh, boy.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's, it's really looks like a ghost town right now.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, and so that's my com- you know, community that I grew up in.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Also, the community that was begging for help.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And f- first of all, government can't help private sector that much. But what you can do is, you know, um, because it is unincorporated, you know, you can help the streets look better.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: You can help… Like, the vets, veterans building down there has been a nightmare
Michelle Bushnell: for-
Scott Hammond: Oh, wow
Michelle Bushnell: … 10 years. It's been molded, condemned.
Scott Hammond: Oh, really?
Michelle Bushnell: Now we… Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: We finally got it tore down, and we are getting it rebuilt. That was one of my main goals when I got elected in '21-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … when I took office in '21.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Here we are twen- almost '25, and it's not even gonna start being built until next
Michelle Bushnell: year.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: So that's what I'm talking about.
Michelle Bushnell: It took me-
Scott Hammond: That's cool
Michelle Bushnell: … four years, with my board's help-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … to even c- move that project forward.
Scott Hammond: It's got it.
Michelle Bushnell: We got it for-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … for the veterans down there that deserve it, that have no home-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … right now at all.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Nothing. They meet in someone's living room every month.
Scott Hammond: So they'll have s- full-on services once it's built.
Michelle Bushnell: They'll have a, yeah, a full-on building. It'll be really nice.
Scott Hammond: That's so cool.
Michelle Bushnell: And they had it before.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And the county deferred maintenance, and it c- created a mold problem.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So Garberville's unincorporated?
Michelle Bushnell: Yes.
Scott Hammond: So it's like McKinleyville-
Michelle Bushnell: Yes
Scott Hammond: … where we live.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep.
Scott Hammond: Actually, I claim Dow's Prairie.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, yeah.
Scott Hammond: We're up on the upper-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … Mc- No.
Michelle Bushnell: Yes. McKinleyville is the biggest city in the unincorporated area.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. No, it's really, really big. Um, and it's getting bigger-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … if that's possible in Humboldt, 'cause we just got back from LA and, and Sacramento where it's like, wait, this is El Dorado Hills? This was just all hills, and now it's hills full of thousands
Scott Hammond: of homes.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Well, McKinleyville really is the area to develop. There's a lot of empty lots out there. There's a lot of area for, uh, to build new housing, which is, you know… We've been in a housing crisis in Humboldt County for quite
Michelle Bushnell: some time.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so there is a lot of opportunity in McKinleyville for building.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's around services-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and it's around busing, and there's schools there.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so for unco- unincorporated area, um, that has potential for growth-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … McKinleyville really is it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah, we love it.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's been a great, g- great, great lot of, uh, nice local business people and folks that participate in government.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: MCSD, you probably know Scott Binder.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, I do.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: What a great guy.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Yep.
Scott Hammond: Shout out to Scott. Hi, Scott. The unofficial mayor.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: All those guys, they do a great job.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, they do.
Scott Hammond: So what, what are your issue… I, I know what the issues are in Humboldt. We'll talk about that. H- Are they different from what SoHum issues are in terms of, uh, housing, homelessness, healthcare?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. So, um, my district is, um, probably, uh, besides District 5, which is very large, um, um, land mass-wise, but is a lot of federal and public lands, mostly all federal and public lands-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … my district is, District 2 is the biggest for land mass-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and the biggest that's, um, privately owned.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Michelle Bushnell: But it is also the farthest removed from services.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Michelle Bushnell: And so, um, you know, Eureka is the county's with, for DHHS and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … all kinds of services are in Eureka-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and Central-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … out of Eureka.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: So Ga- uh, Garberville, um, especially Garberville-Redway area, um, there used to be a housing crisis down there with cultivation when cultivation, illegal cultivation and legal cultivation created a lot of job op- opportunities for people.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so there were, what they call the term migrants came in and, um, would rent, you know, one house and have 10 people in there.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, and then legalization came, and still, you know, people were still coming in, what they called the green rushers were coming in, and there were no homes to rent.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: You couldn't find a house down there, and the prices were astronomical for rents. You know, 1,600 for just a… 1,600, 2,000 just for a-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … mediocre anything.
Scott Hammond: Anything.
Michelle Bushnell: And current day, um, they're, they're a dime a dozen. You can find any rental down there you want.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: And we have so many vacant lands.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: So many vacant houses.
Scott Hammond: I remember p- property was going for crazy money down there.
Michelle Bushnell: Uh, yeah, and-
Scott Hammond: A million dollars an acre for something-
Michelle Bushnell: Yes
Scott Hammond: … you couldn't even cultivate.
Michelle Bushnell: Yes, and so the, with that, um, also your comparables when you were, people were buying lands-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … were just outrageous.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, so now there's all these lands out there that are either foreclosed on-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … trying to be sold, and completely vacant.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: And they're not selling.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, and now people are starting to reassess their properties because they're way over assessed.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: But also houses are, are… people bought houses for two times the value-
Scott Hammond: Right
Michelle Bushnell: … to have a house. Um, and those are not rentable now.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: You- there's no industry down there.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So foreclosures probably left and right.
Michelle Bushnell: So Garberville is, um, probably from what I understand, uh, highest on the list for foreclosures right now-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … in Northern California.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: The, so Garberville surrounding area.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: So the rural areas as well.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: So. So it's k- it's a lot different. Um, there's about a business every third week that's closing.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, we have very little for restaurants down there.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, you know, we have very little for retail stores-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … any longer.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: There's a lot of empty storefronts.
Scott Hammond: Still a Ray's and a Shop Smart?
Michelle Bushnell: Yep, there's those. Um, although, you know, they are sister stores.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: One in Redway and one in Garberville, and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and without the people there, and the prices are, you know, high-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … because you gotta truck that stuff in. A lot of people come to Eureka to shop for-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … their essentials. So I'm not-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … I'm not sure what that looks like in the future.
Scott Hammond: So those are the results. What were the causes of the, the greed cra- the, the boom and bust of the cannabis world?
Michelle Bushnell: Well, the, the, the boom was really the illegal-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … illicit market. Um, that was really when that area, um, really was thriving.
Scott Hammond: Supply and demand was-
Michelle Bushnell: Yep
Scott Hammond: … yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And there was just a lot of money that, in that area.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's a perfect weather area for growing outdoor cultivation.
Scott Hammond: It's a perfect weather area, period.
Michelle Bushnell: It is. I love it.
Scott Hammond: You guys have great weather.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. I love that we have four seasons down there.
Scott Hammond: Well, it's not, it doesn't get overly hot, and then it cools off at night.
Michelle Bushnell: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: It's a little bit like Medford.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Not, not like Redding.
Michelle Bushnell: No.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: No, I mean, it's, it's in the summers, 80s to 100s-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and then cools off to 50s, fi- 55 at night.
Scott Hammond: Perfect.
Michelle Bushnell: So it's perfect. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: So you had that, um, that perfect, you know, weather climate for-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … the illicit market, and people just really grew down there a lot, and so it brought a lot of money into the town.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And people spent it.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, and really did, um, support their community there.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Legalization in '16, um, we saw a falloff, like a, like a… It was almost like, um, a panic, like, "Oh my gosh,"
Michelle Bushnell: you know?
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And then the market leveled back out.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And we were okay for a couple years.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And now with legalization, you know, it, it's the, um, Prop 64 didn't ha- ha- didn't follow through with the one acre cap in California as it had intended, and so now there's just a huge overproduction of product.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: And with no federal legalization, there's no out for it besides California.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: So you have a ton of product and, and-
Scott Hammond: Nowhere to go
Michelle Bushnell: … nowhere to go.
Scott Hammond: Not a lot of brand new users every day.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Probably. Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Yeah, so the prices are
Michelle Bushnell: very bad.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Very bad.
Scott Hammond: Well, when you start losing money by producing a crop, that's not good business,
Scott Hammond: Prop.
Michelle Bushnell: Well, there's, there's different things, too, with, um, cannabis that are, um, it's an agricultural, uh, commodity.
Michelle Bushnell: They-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … you know, it's grown in the dirt and so forth and so on.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But it's not federally legal, so there's no lending.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: So you can't, if you need startup money, there's not an opportunity for that.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: There's no crop insurance.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: So if your crop molds, dies, w- gets eaten by the cow, whatever-
Scott Hammond: Yep
Michelle Bushnell: … there's no crop insurance.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so you either, you know, go to your, your local farm store and get credit-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and say, "Hey, can you carry me for six months-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, until my product comes off?" And then if your product doesn't come off, you, you know. It's this vicious cycle.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And so it's not like a tomato crop-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … where you can insure that or, and you can lend on that.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: And you can say, "Look at my books. It's proven. Can I, you know, I need some collateral."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so that really has hindered that, um-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … that market. And also the permitting process is pretty hard and expensive.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's something, you know, you can grow acres and acres and acres of grapes-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and not have to go through the permitting that-
Scott Hammond: Right. And you guys are re- bringing that back a little bit, right, as a board?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, so the board just, um, went, did away with the Measure S tax, which is the cultivation tax.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: For one year, suspended that.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so I actually, um, recuse on that because I have a cultiva- I have a farm myself.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so I don't participate in that. That's one thing I can't participate in.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so they just chose to, um, op- let the farmers opt out for one more year-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … with a zero cultivation tax.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: But you still have the state. Um-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … you know, the state licensing is expensive.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: So.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, remember, um, upon legalization, the just, the taxation became crazy.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And everybody's got, you know, opinions around that, so. Um, yeah, w- what it's sad for me is when I hear, uh, my friend from the chamber, they, they went down and they, they discovered families are affected.
Michelle Bushnell: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Their kids.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: There's, there's also some downline sadness for th- a
Scott Hammond: family or,
Scott Hammond: uh, um-
Michelle Bushnell: You know, i- in, uh, uh, my grandfather was a rancher, and we raised beef cows. And he wasn't a cultivator at all, didn't believe in cannabis.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, you know, it was a drug.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And like, like a lot of the older population. And so I was not part of that culture when I was-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … I'm probably one of very few in Southern Humboldt that didn't have that, um, you know, pot culture, uh, growing up.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: I was very shielded from that. And then to get into cultivation later in my life and have a farm now.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um,
Michelle Bushnell: s- so
Michelle Bushnell: you know- There, there are stories with people, but p- and people think, some people think, you know, they've got that vers- that Murder Mountain version that came out-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … which is not true of southern Humboldt-
Scott Hammond: No
Michelle Bushnell: … and not even true of Rancho. It was a very hyped up-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … here watch me type-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … thing that was not actually-
Scott Hammond: Docu-drama
Michelle Bushnell: … docu-drama-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … that was not really real. And, and despite what people think, cultivators are just normal people like you and I, and they have families, and they're just raising their families and
Michelle Bushnell: taking-
Scott Hammond: Going to Costco and buying stuff.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, and taking care of their community.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: That's how the South Fork High School Booster Club ran
Michelle Bushnell: forever. Um-
Scott Hammond: My God
Michelle Bushnell: … you know, we were so- the Booster Club was solely responsible for funding every bit of sports down there. And at that time, you know, we had a, a bigger school.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: More people there. And they, they fundraised.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, those cultivators paid for, for their kids to play.
Scott Hammond: That's cool.
Michelle Bushnell: They, they were very generous.
Scott Hammond: Matil Center probably the same thing.
Michelle Bushnell: Matil Center.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: I mean, my… I can reference my store. I bought my store in 2011-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and it was a booming store.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And I should be closing my doors right now.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so I, you know, I look at my books every month, and I'm like, "Oh, my goodness. What am I gonna do?"
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: I wanna keep that service for the community-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … but financially, it's not making it.
Scott Hammond: Right. Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And that store's been there since 1981.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: So a long time.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: A long time.
Scott Hammond: Hard decisions, right?
Michelle Bushnell: Very hard.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Very hard.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: So, you know, then, um, so as my job as a supervisor, you know, I get a lot of, um, you know, "How can you help us?" And you, you really can't help private business.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But you can, like I said earlier, you know, if we could get maybe the streets redone down there-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and that kind of thing, the roads in a better condition.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: So we're kinda transitioning back to the '70s-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … when tourism was really popular.
Scott Hammond: Ah.
Michelle Bushnell: And really looking for that as an avenue-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … in Humboldt County right now. We have, Humboldt County has everything. We have, you know, the cities up here, tons of culture in Eureka and Old Town-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and Arcata has tons of culture. Then you have the outdoors, anything-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … you wanna do outdoors and, and the most vibrant coasts.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And then the beautiful redwoods.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: And, and so if we as a county can learn to market that well, um, that'll bring pe- people come here.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: They just don't stay here. Humboldt's special.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, it's worth staying for-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and it's worth working hard for.
Scott Hammond: Love it.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, we just have to get something, some kind of economy coming here.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Great Redwood Trail would be fun.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. I, I-
Scott Hammond: I mean, that'll, that'll come right through your district.
Michelle Bushnell: It will. It's not, um-
Scott Hammond: In a couple generations.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. The, the, so the Ilver Canyon, it's pretty controversial right now.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: The ranchers out there are having a little bit of a fit about it.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And they're scared. You know, it's fear-based.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: They just don't know what it entails, and they've worked hard to keep their lands
Michelle Bushnell: intact and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … safe and, and so we'll see, but I think it could bring great ec- economic
Michelle Bushnell: opportunity.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: I know.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I understand that hikers are mostly not gangsters, and bike riders would probably be pretty mellow, wouldn't it?
Michelle Bushnell: It's not the hikers that will, um, utilize that trail that they're fearful of.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Michelle Bushnell: It's more the local population that-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Michelle Bushnell: … um, will utilize it for-
Scott Hammond: For access
Michelle Bushnell: … access. Yep.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. So, you know, the-
Scott Hammond: Like for, like for break- burglaries or-
Michelle Bushnell: They do it now
Scott Hammond: … theft?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, they do it now.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Michelle Bushnell: So it's, you know, you… And also if you've got, um, you know, a bunch of rambunctious kids out there, they're gonna use that trail on, with four-wheelers. I would.
Scott Hammond: Or something.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: It'd get you from point A to point B.
Scott Hammond: Look, they built us a new trail.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Oh, cool. These are hill kids, man.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, exactly.
Scott Hammond: These are mountain, mountain boys and girls.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, no, different, yeah, I hear you, different, whole different mindset.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Willow Creek, same thing.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Willow Creek, the same thing.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And they're in a rebuilding also.
Michelle Bushnell: Um-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … and they were largely, um, very dependent on cannabis-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … for a lot of years, and so they're, they're in a, um, down- downward turn as well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And when I got elected, you know, I, I got on the board and, um, you have four board members you have to get along with.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And they… Whether you like them or you don't like them or believe in what their beliefs are-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and our district, uh, Humboldt is so vast, and really our, the districts are really different with-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … constituent bases-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and, um-
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … political beliefs. And it, this is a nonpartisan job, and, and so we're all supposed to be working towards the greater good.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, but it gets… I don't know if you've ever watched one of our meetings, but at
Michelle Bushnell: times-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … it, yeah, it can be, it's difficult.
Scott Hammond: You guys are on TV.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, we're on TV.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I know, I've seen. I've seen it and go, "Did Rex say that?"
Michelle Bushnell: I know. Or-
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Of course he did.
Michelle Bushnell: I remember my first year, I'm like, "Do not cuss on TV." I had to remind myself
Michelle Bushnell: that.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah. Are, are there people that swear in the meetings?
Michelle Bushnell: Uh, Rex does.
Scott Hammond: Does he?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: A little bit? Okay.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, yeah, he does.
Scott Hammond: Little potty mouth there.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, he does have a potty mouth.
Scott Hammond: Oh, come on, Rex.
Scott Hammond: Come on now.
Michelle Bushnell: He doesn't care.
Scott Hammond: No, he, yeah, he's, um, he's a free spirit.
Scott Hammond: He's f-
Michelle Bushnell: He is a free spirit
Scott Hammond: … he's a very free Humboldt spirit.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So, so what do you see the issues that you guys face, uh, are coming into, uh, immediately in terms of the Board of
Scott Hammond: Sups?
Michelle Bushnell: Our budget.
Scott Hammond: So-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. This-
Scott Hammond: … low, low budget? It's, oh, is it-
Michelle Bushnell: So we're definite spending right now.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: We were def- deficit spending last year 18 million.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: This year we're at 15 million. Uh, the year before that, um, I can't remember the number. It was my first year.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But, um, so, like, last year I know that 10 million of that deficit was, uh, Measure S taxes not being paid.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: We didn't budget that in this year-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and still came, you know, with a $15 million deficit.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: So when you're pulling that money out of your piggy bank-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … and you're not really recouping that money, you're in trouble.
Scott Hammond: And it goes quick, right?
Michelle Bushnell: It goes quick.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's big ticket items.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, you know, the, the departments, when you're, you, you know, funding a department that needs $47 million-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … you, you, it's not nickel and dime stuff.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: So, so our biggest issue right now in this county is the county's budget as far as government goes, and it's affecting every department we have.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: It also affects the services that are, um, given out to the
Michelle Bushnell: communities.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, you know, we're on a hiring freeze right now.
Michelle Bushnell: We're-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um- Almost all departments are closed on Fridays.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, you know, just it goes on and on.
Scott Hammond: Does that freeze include law enforcement, sheriff's department?
Michelle Bushnell: So it, it does, um, but there are exceptions that they can bring to
Michelle Bushnell: the-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … uh, board for public safety.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so if, if, uh, Sheriff Honsal needs a position-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … he brings that to the board and requests that.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And that comes on consent, but if you, you know, one of the supervisors doesn't like it, then they can pull it.
Scott Hammond: Tell us everything you think about Billy Honsal.
Michelle Bushnell: Everything I think about Billy Honsal?
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: So I, I get along well with Sheriff Honsal.
Scott Hammond: I don't think anybody I've met ever said, "Oh, he's just terrible." No, just like everybody seems to like Billy.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, I mean h- we, him and I, um, you know, we have different ideas about law enforcement in my community, and I want more law enforcement down in southern Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And he doesn't have the budget to give it to me.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And I control his money, and he controls my deputies.
Michelle Bushnell: So-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … yeah, so it's this give and take with him and I.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, I respect law enforcement large, and, uh-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … he has a difficult job.
Michelle Bushnell: Uh-
Scott Hammond: Oh, boy
Michelle Bushnell: … especially being under budgeted and having such a large county. Um, I think he does it really well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, you know, if the pollsters are right, um, he's loved 63%, and the supervisors are, like, at 39%, so he's-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … he's loved well beyond us.
Scott Hammond: He's rock star status.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I was gonna say, when you me- mentioned Murder Mountain, um, Billy was on the show,
Scott Hammond: and he… He, I said, "Hey, you're all over this, this docudrama."
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And he, he goes, "I don't know. I've never watched it."
Michelle Bushnell: Well, and he didn't, he didn't know that they were gonna spin it the way they did.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, you know, and law enforcement actually helped them, and then it got spun. It should've been, like, Meth Mountain instead of about cannabis.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But, um, yeah, it just was… I never, I've never watched it. I won't-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … I won't give it the time of day because-
Scott Hammond: It's pretty spun
Michelle Bushnell: … uh, it's not what we are.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: It's not… Y- you… Yes, there, there's some crime here, and yes, there are some bad things that happen in Humboldt County, of course.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, it's not like, you know… There, it's in every county.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: Every county in California. It's all over the world.
Michelle Bushnell: And to me, that did not help our county.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Nobody wants to come to Murder Mountain area.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: You know?
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: They, it scares them, and that's not the truth of it.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: So.
Scott Hammond: I see that scaring tourists away.
Michelle Bushnell: That's what it did.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, it was terrible in my book.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: So. And I, I have a piece of property on, on Rancho Sequoia. That's what that is.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's not… It's a great community.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: There has been some bad things that have happened in that area. It's just like you say Alderpoint, and people are like, oh my gosh.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But I, I go through Alderpoint.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: I, you know, that's… My kids were raised there, and it's a great town.
Scott Hammond: Did you call it Rancho Sequoia?
Michelle Bushnell: Rancho, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Is that, is that a- an area around Alderpoint, or is that a Rancho-
Michelle Bushnell: That's Murder Mountain.
Scott Hammond: That is the mountain?
Michelle Bushnell: That's the Murder Mountain. It's called Rancho.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Michelle Bushnell: It's a subdivision, Rancho Sequoia subdivision.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Gotcha. Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, beautiful area.
Michelle Bushnell: It's totally gorgeous.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, really nice area. So, so, so back to Humboldt County, like, so our budget-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … definitely, um, we don't advertise our county very well. We don't have a budget to advertise our county.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so that, that's harmful for bringing tourists here when you don't sell your county well.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: I'll reference to Mendocino County that uses their, um… They s- they spent $1.5 million on advertisement, you know, to sell their wineries-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … to sell Fort Bragg, their coast-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … to get people there because that generates money.
Scott Hammond: It's a good budget.
Michelle Bushnell: That is a really healthy budget.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, unlike us that spent, you know, 300,000, which-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … you can't get anything with $300,000.
Scott Hammond: No.
Michelle Bushnell: So we need to do that better.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But with our budget being so lean, we're, we're working on it.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: We're, um, trying to find a way to do that-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … because our, our county's very dependent on tax dollars.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so, um, and I think, you know, you could come to Humboldt County and spend seven days and not see everything.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And so that's, that's the story we need to tell.
Scott Hammond: I like it.
Michelle Bushnell: And then the other issues, you know, um, even though we don't have the h- the largest, uh, homeless
Michelle Bushnell: population-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, I think we see them more because we're not as, um, populated as, like, LA or San
Michelle Bushnell: Francisco-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … Sacramento area. And so 10 homeless folks in Garberville streets, you see them every single day.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And so it, it's just more in your face than it would be, say, down in the cities.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, even though they have more homeless than us, it seems more acute here.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … and we don't have as many services, and we don't have as large a budget to help those folks, and you can't make them. That's another issue.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: You can't relocate them. You can't say, "You can't be in southern Humboldt where there are no services. Go to Eureka, where you can get services."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: You can't force people. It's not illegal to be homeless.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: So.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And then, uh, for the, um… You know, housing has always been a crisis, um, in the more rural areas right now. Like I said, you can find a house a dime a dozen.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But in the areas where there are jobs, Eureka, McKinleyville,
Michelle Bushnell: Arcata-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … there are still those housing issues, and-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … affordable housing.
Scott Hammond: Is Rio Dell affordable?
Michelle Bushnell: It is affordable.
Scott Hammond: And Scotia?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Yeah, they are affordable.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. And they're close enough to work areas that people can-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … you know, that's not too far of a drive. I think that we don't… We concentrate on low-income housing so much that we don't build very many medium-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, houses-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … you know, medium-income houses.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: I, I, I hear from doctors that come up here, "Well, there's… I can't find a house."
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: That, you know, they want not the lowest, not the richest, some- somewhere in the middle.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: And they can't find it, and they don't, they end up not staying.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And that brings healthcare too. Healthcare in Humboldt County-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … is difficult.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And if you are in a health crisis, it's forever to get diagnosed.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: It's forever to get treatment.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And people don't like that.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: So.
Scott Hammond: It's really personal for us. Joni had a stroke a year and a half ago, and it's been an odyssey and a journey and a sojourn, and let me give you another couple words.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, wow.
Scott Hammond: But-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … she's okay now, but it's-
Michelle Bushnell: Good
Scott Hammond: … just like Crazy stuff, man. It's really-
Michelle Bushnell: Well, and there's not, um… You know, our population, 130,000, we have people that have cancer here, we have people that have strokes, we have people that have MS, we have people that have everything, and there aren't the specialists here. And, and I'm not dissing on the healthcare because the ones that are here, they, they work hard-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and they try their best.
Scott Hammond: Oh, they're wonderful.
Michelle Bushnell: They are wonderful.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And I thank Go- I thank God every day for them.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, especially… Even, even the small, like in Southern Humboldt, the emergency room, people say it's a Band-Aid station, but when you need a Band-Aid-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … you better count your blessings for having them there-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … 'cause they can package you up and s- and ship you out.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Hey, time of the show to, uh… Nick, it's that time where we do the Humboldt County Quiz. Are you ready?
Michelle Bushnell: Sure.
Scott Hammond: So what's on the line today? Let's see. Oh, turns out it's your lucky day. It's a Belize bar from our friends at Dick Taylor Chocolate. I've never given them a full, full commercial. Dick Taylor Chocolate, located in Old Town Eureka, features the highest end of dark chocolate. You probably already know.
Michelle Bushnell: I do know, actually.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. They're great guys, so.
Michelle Bushnell: They, they are.
Scott Hammond: Um, hey, so Michelle, if you have… Question one, you have a day to do something in Humboldt. What… Just anything, no responsibilities, money's not the object, what would you go do?
Michelle Bushnell: Well, I like-
Scott Hammond: Dream, dream day
Michelle Bushnell: … Yeah. I like the coast. Um, so I would land probably in Shelter Cove.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, that beach down there is amazing.
Scott Hammond: And they have a brewery down there, right?
Michelle Bushnell: They have a brewery, and they have a Venezuelan restaurant, and they have a bistro, um, and they have a bar.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: And so it's just kind of its own community. But I also, um, really love Trinidad.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And Trinidad has a lot of really-
Scott Hammond: So cool
Michelle Bushnell: … cool things. But I, I, um, I would probably end, end up in Shelter Cove.
Scott Hammond: Shelter Cove. Let's see it on the map.
Scott Hammond: Ready?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: You know, Nick, where's my pointer? Oh, here it is. It's… Shelter Cove's way down at the bottom there.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep.
Scott Hammond: And Trinidad's up toward the top.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep.
Scott Hammond: But both magical harbors.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Just gorgeous.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. They're, uh… We, we spend a lot of time 'cause we live close to Tri-
Scott Hammond: Trinidad.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, nice.
Scott Hammond: We love it up there.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. I grew up, um, going to Shelter Cove.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, you know, they used to have the Mosquito Fleet out there-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and, uh, the Makki family, and it just, it was, and still is, just a magical place.
Scott Hammond: It's really fun.
Michelle Bushnell: It is.
Scott Hammond: How, how far is that from 101? Is it 45 minutes?
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, yeah, 45 minutes, about 24 miles.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Michelle Bushnell: Pretty windy, curvy.
Scott Hammond: But, but also pretty if you wanna take your time.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. It's, it's beautiful. You have… You go through the, the town, the post office box of Whitethorn-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and the post office box of Bryceland.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, and then, you know, wind your way out to Shelter Cove.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: So they do have a gas station.
Scott Hammond: They do. There's a gas station.
Michelle Bushnell: They do.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I remember, um, yeah, just the, the cliffs above Black Sands-
Michelle Bushnell: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … looking out over the ocean and seeing ships and-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … the whole nine. It's just… It is a magical little place.
Michelle Bushnell: It is. You know-
Scott Hammond: What's the population? Is it 1,000?
Michelle Bushnell: Uh, I think it's around 1,200.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. It's, um, m- a lot of retirement community out there.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And they have one of the best fire departments in my district-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … as far as volunteer fire departments.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, they do a lot of water rescues.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, speaking of Black Sands, you know, Black Sands is, uh, known in Humboldt County for its large undertow.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: And people that come into Humboldt County and don't know that area tend to wanna get into that beach because it's beautiful, but it is just so treacherous and-
Scott Hammond: Sucks people out
Michelle Bushnell: … Oh, it's dangerous.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Hey, we're from Iowa. We don't know how to swim. And the water's 48 degrees.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep.
Scott Hammond: But we're gonna go for it.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. And it, and it goes straight downhill there-
Scott Hammond: Ah
Michelle Bushnell: … and it, there's no undertow where… You know, you go over to the marina, and you can walk out-
Scott Hammond: It's all flat.
Michelle Bushnell: It's all flat.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: You can walk out-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … and only be in five feet of water.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. We're up by Big Lagoon. We're the same thing. It just-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … you know, it's taken people over the years sad.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And there's signs everywhere.
Michelle Bushnell: And there is out there too.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, people just don't… You know, and then you can hike the Lost Coast.
Michelle Bushnell: So-
Scott Hammond: Right
Michelle Bushnell: … not only would I, you know, spend my day in Shelter Cove-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … but, um, hiking the Lost Coast is pretty magical.
Scott Hammond: Okay. Since we have our Southern Humboldt concierge, question
Scott Hammond: two. Where do you go… This is… These are hard. Where do you go to eat? 'Cause I guess, A, it's limited, B, they're all constituents. So if you could go top three or four places, where would you take people?
Michelle Bushnell: So I would go to Miranda.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And they have-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Michelle Bushnell: … the, um… And I'm gonna lose the name. Well, they have the Miranda Cafe-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … for breakfast and lunch, which is just amazing.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And then the best steak in, in a… or, you know, the, one of the best foods around is, um, the Miranda Palace.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um-
Scott Hammond: Never heard of it. That's funny.
Michelle Bushnell: It's amazing.
Scott Hammond: Huh.
Michelle Bushnell: It actually got voted for one of the best steaks.
Michelle Bushnell: Uh-
Scott Hammond: Is it grass-fed beef-
Michelle Bushnell: Yep, grass-fed
Scott Hammond: … from So- SoHum?
Michelle Bushnell: It's grass-fed. It's aged.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, a great atmosphere. Um, amazing wine.
Scott Hammond: Really?
Michelle Bushnell: So… And then there's always the Benbow Inn.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: So the Benbow Inn is just classic. You know, they-
Scott Hammond: So fun.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. And the, um… It just changed hands from John and Teresa
Michelle Bushnell: Porter.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: Just sold it to the McDonald sisters-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … which their father had owned a portion of it anyways, and so they just are running with that-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … and doing an amazing job.
Scott Hammond: Cool.
Michelle Bushnell: So those are the two. Um, you know, if I, if I was gonna take someone, um, I would… You know, Benbow is just really classy.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And then the Palace in Miranda is just super easy.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: You could go in your sweats.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's just… just has great food.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I like Benbow Inn a lot. We, we got to stay for a night, and it was… It's classy casual, right?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: It, it-
Michelle Bushnell: I love Benbow Inn.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And then people from all over the world come.
Michelle Bushnell: You know, it's weird, I grew up in Benbow.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: That's where my grandparents' ranch was and… When the lake was still there. I used to swim in the lake.
Scott Hammond: Oh, the lake was amazing.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. It was amazing. Never went to Benbow Inn until I was over 35.
Scott Hammond: Oh, that's funny.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Never, never had visited there.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Never stayed. Had never had eaten there.
Scott Hammond: It was too bougie. It was, like, up, up there somewhere and-
Michelle Bushnell: I was poor.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: I was poor-
Scott Hammond: Hey, man, it costs-
Michelle Bushnell: … raising three kids.
Scott Hammond: It costs money to do a dinner out.
Michelle Bushnell: It does. It does.
Scott Hammond: So we have several kids, and I remember In-N-Out Burger used to just kill us.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Or McDonald's. That… Oh. Let's… Can we just do peanut butter sandwiches, please?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You know? You know, we're on the road.
Michelle Bushnell: I was a single mom with three kids, and I-
Scott Hammond: You know
Michelle Bushnell: … didn't have, um, I didn't have money to eat out with my kids and… You know, I barely had money to buy milk.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: So I paid my bills. I owned a house, but that-
Scott Hammond: Good for you
Michelle Bushnell: … you know, took care of my kids, but I didn't have money for extras.
Scott Hammond: Another defining thing of the past-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … which is good.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's like now we can make money- … budget a little bit.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, no, it's true.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's very true. Okay, question three. Where do you, when you're at a s- board of supes meeting, downtown
Scott Hammond: Eureka, where, where would you go for coffee?
Michelle Bushnell: The Grind-
Scott Hammond: Ah
Michelle Bushnell: … across the street.
Scott Hammond: Is that open aga- it was closed down. It's opened again? Is it-
Michelle Bushnell: So it's actually taken over the Courthouse Cafe.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so it's upstairs.
Scott Hammond: Okay. They moved-
Michelle Bushnell: Uh, in the courthouse, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Heard it's good.
Michelle Bushnell: It's really good.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep, yep. They have, uh, like breakfast burritos and really good coffee.
Scott Hammond: Super.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, yeah. So that's where I would go.
Scott Hammond: So speaking of Burbank Airport where you're flying soon-
Michelle Bushnell: Yep
Scott Hammond: … where we just came back, Joni, my wife, came back, she came back, we were waiting on the flight. She's, she's holding a Starbucks.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, uh-huh.
Scott Hammond: And I go, "What do you got?" I go, "What about me?" She goes, she goes, "Guess how much this cost?" And I go, "I don't know, five bucks?"
Scott Hammond: She goes,
Scott Hammond: "Higher."
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, wow
Scott Hammond: And I go, "I don't know. Um, maybe seven?" C- she goes, "It's a mocha, and it's, it i- it's delicious." She goes-
Michelle Bushnell: And you're in the airport, right?
Scott Hammond: We're in the airport.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, yeah.
Scott Hammond: And she goes-
Michelle Bushnell: 12 bucks
Scott Hammond: … $12.80. And I go, "What are you… Shut the front door." "Good night, nurse." I go, "This is crazy."
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: My dad used to exaggerate, um, when I was a younger man. We, I got a f- uh, like a three, $4 mocha up at S- Starbucks in Seattle, and he called it $5. And every time he told the story, it went up to maybe- … it started at four and it rounded six or seven, but-
Michelle Bushnell: How funny
Scott Hammond: … $12.80-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … you're, I gotta be kidding me.
Michelle Bushnell: Well, I'm a, I'm a pretty boring coffee drinker, black.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Uh, my husband drinks it black. And so even in the airports, black is five bucks.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: You know, black coffee is five bucks, and just kind of ridiculous.
Scott Hammond: Just deal with it, yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Well, you did really good. So let, let's-
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, I get some chocolate?
Scott Hammond: Let's see if we can… Here you go. I'll reach across the table.
Michelle Bushnell: Thank you.
Scott Hammond: So how could we as citizenry support y'all on the board? What can we do to, uh, replenish the coffers, to encourage you guys
Scott Hammond: to-
Michelle Bushnell: Mm
Scott Hammond: … run your race and do your darnedest and-
Michelle Bushnell: So I'm gonna pr- pretty frank.
Michelle Bushnell: Um-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … we in Humboldt County don't get our, out of our way very easy when it comes to, um,
Michelle Bushnell: process-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … or trying to bring new economy
Michelle Bushnell: base in.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, we don't, we, we, and I'm, I'm gonna lump m- you know, most everybody into that same boat.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: Think to, like to think that, um, we don't want Humboldt County to change.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so we get a lot of people when projects come forward, they don't want it. They don't want that change.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: They don't, and they especially don't want something that's going to make their life a little different. And I think for myself o- on the board, it's frustrating for, for me when I see an opportunity that comes to Humboldt County, first of all, to bring
Michelle Bushnell: jobs-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … second of all, to bring economy into Humboldt County, and we pro- not protest it, but we complain about it.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And we don't wanna see it, and we don't wanna see that change.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so if people want Humboldt County to be vibrant-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … with good doctors, new doctors, um, new young families-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … we have to have something here for them.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And we can't keep saying no to-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … everything that crosses our board's path.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: Now, with that being said, it is also very important that we hear your voices-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, that we know what, w- where do you draw the line, what would be okay-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and how, if a project comes forward, can we modify it instead of just
Michelle Bushnell: saying no?
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: So think about, okay, well, I don't necessarily like that, but maybe if it was just this way a little bit, it would be okay for me.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: So try to, um, you know, I think we have to try to adapt a little bit.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's super important.
Scott Hammond: I like that. I like adapt v- versus compromise.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: But compromise is good, too. That's how we got here.
Michelle Bushnell: Compromise is good. Um, it, it is true. Um, compromise is okay, and if we can still get a viable product-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and you, and then the constituent base can be happy-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … that's a great compromise.
Scott Hammond: And a tax base, so we can afford-
Michelle Bushnell: And a tax base
Scott Hammond: … roads. So Measure O passed, is that correct?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, Measure O is passing.
Scott Hammond: Is that gonna be, that's gonna be helping especially your district.
Michelle Bushnell: It's gonna be helping my district a lot.
Scott Hammond: A lot, yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. My household was split on that.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, my husband, he was helping me fill my ballot out while I was doing dishes, and he was asking me the questions.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, and he got to Measure O, and he said, I, you know, he asked me, and I said, "That's a yes for me." And he said, "Nope, I can't do it. I'm gonna leave it blank. You're gonna have to do it yourself."
Scott Hammond: Oh. The, the protest-
Michelle Bushnell: The, yeah
Scott Hammond: … assistant.
Michelle Bushnell: So, um, it did pass, and it's-
Scott Hammond: Uh-huh
Michelle Bushnell: … gonna, um, at its maturity, which will be, you know, after one year, it'll bring $24 million into the county-
Scott Hammond: Good
Michelle Bushnell: … for roads and a little bit for public transit.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so I'm, I'm looking forward to, we'll see our first monies in April, and I'm really looking-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Michelle Bushnell: … forward to, um, getting some better county roads-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … especially in our rural areas, say to Shelter Cove or to Honeydew or to Willow Creek, out in those areas, where travelers, um, when I, when they come to southern Humboldt, that's what I hear, "Oh my gosh, these
Michelle Bushnell: roads."
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And so I think if we have a better, I know it will help keep-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … and attract people.
Scott Hammond: One of my favorite memes on Facebook is, uh, a car. Have you seen this one, Nick? It's a car. It's, it's, it's a washed-out road, and it's a car revving-
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, I've seen that
Scott Hammond: … in the air. Go for it. You can make it.
Michelle Bushnell: Yep, and lands in the middle.
Scott Hammond: Like, God, no.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Joni and I laugh at that one all the time.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So, uh, what about participation in government, but what about not being an obstructionist either to government-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … and, and a- assisting by staying out of the way or maybe-
Michelle Bushnell: That's that compromise as well.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: It is.
Scott Hammond: I'm, I'm hearing being a little bit more curious, a little bit more open-minded
Scott Hammond: about-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … hey, um, a fish farm, a wind farm, um, a Hershey's factory.
Michelle Bushnell: Mm-hmm, or-
Scott Hammond: I mean, that's not coming, but-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, or, you know, even, um, you know, Fortuna has a lot of area for growth.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: They have the mill site down there that is-
Scott Hammond: Right
Michelle Bushnell: … um, got bought and is they're going to be developing that. And so I, I have heard, you know- Things we don't have in Humboldt County.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: We don't have a, a Trader Joe's.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: We don't have, um… Oh, I always call it the orange store, but the building store.
Scott Hammond: Oh, Deep- Home Depot.
Michelle Bushnell: Home Depot. But the problem with that is that then you're competing with mom and pops-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … that have been here for a long time, and that's, and that's hard, too.
Michelle Bushnell: You know?
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: You don't wanna h- we're already struggling financially. Businesses are already-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … being crippled by the inflation and the-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, markets that, um, interest rates are killing the construction busin- business right now.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And so when you think about bringing in those stores, that really could bring a lot of revenue to Humboldt County.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: It's also a competition to-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … local folks.
Scott Hammond: How do you bring in something, Brad, too, that no one doesn't, hasn't seen here? I, I don't know what industry that would, or business that would
Scott Hammond: be.
Michelle Bushnell: It isn't anything, and that's where you have to think for the-
Scott Hammond: Yeah, there's not much
Michelle Bushnell: … greater good.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: You know? Trader Joe's is a specialty store.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Most of what you can get at, um, you know, Safeway, which is not really local, but-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … some of, like, the, um, other smaller stores in Fortuna-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … are owned by local folks.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so it's a competition for them.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And s- and so they, they, they don't want it.
Scott Hammond: Spent a bunch of money at Trader's yesterday in Redding on the way home.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, that's-
Scott Hammond: Exactly. So like-
Michelle Bushnell: That's the thing. We, everybody in Humboldt County at one time, if we go to Santa Rosa, we stop at Trader Joe's.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Or we stop at Home Depot. Or we go to Ukiah just to go to Home Depot.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: So those areas are getting our money.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: That, and we're taking our money out of Humboldt County.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And we need, we need people to spend their money here to be healthy.
Scott Hammond: Somebody who's really weird, friend of ours, went down to Ukiah to In-N-Out Burger before we had one.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, really?
Scott Hammond: Just to get burgers and come back.
Scott Hammond: I'm going-
Michelle Bushnell: So I know someone, actually someone that I grew up with, um, really well. He lives in Fortuna now. I went to church with him for, um, all my life as a young girl. And he just loves In-N-Out Burger, and he-
Scott Hammond: Loves In-N-Out.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. And he, I, he, he wouldn't drive specifically 'cause that's
Michelle Bushnell: wasting gas.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But it's the first place he goes when he would go down that way.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: So.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I used to be there twice a week and-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … it's the only In-N-Out Burger with no lines and great service and former mayor of Arcata, Victor Green, who was really, uh, high, high level service.
Michelle Bushnell: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And he would really chase, chase away the folks that, you know, were just not customers.
Michelle Bushnell: Well, they have great food. I, I c-
Scott Hammond: And their food is delicious, yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: You can get a protein, the double double protein, which is no bun, and, uh, not get those carbs. And so the-
Scott Hammond: Love it.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. And it's just easy. You get a potato and meat. What do you want?
Scott Hammond: It's there.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And a water or Coke or whatever, so it's simple.
Scott Hammond: I'll get the iced tea 'cause there's nothing in it.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, that's true.
Scott Hammond: I'm going, "I'm really eating healthy here." As my burger's dripping everywhere.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I'm going, "Yeah, this is me on a diet."
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, so our board, um, back to, you know, trying to be helpful for Humboldt County, um, yeah. Our board goes through compromises every board meeting.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: We don't all think alike. We don't all have the c- same constituent base and so compromise is something we have to do.
Scott Hammond: Amen, yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And, and so I, you know, oftentimes vote on
Michelle Bushnell: things that
Michelle Bushnell: I don't… Uh, first of all, I'm not voting for myself ever.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: I'm voting for my constituent base in my district.
Scott Hammond: Right on.
Michelle Bushnell: And my, uh, how I feel about my job is I have two responsibilities: to my district and to the constituents in my district-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and then to my county. If my county's broke, I can't do anything for my constituents.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: So I have to make sure our county's healthy.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And you do that, you know, for, for one thing, um, the board of supervisors hires the department heads, so I don't know everything about planning. I don't know anything about planning, actually. Nor do I know anything about laying down asphalt, so you wanna put the smartest people you know in those seats.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: And then you trust them, and you really have to. And so that's, that's, you know, one of our responsibilities.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And then compromise, um, s- especially, you know, we're very diverse board, and,
Michelle Bushnell: um-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … Arcata is vastly different than Fortuna.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Michelle Bushnell: And so, you know, I trust when Supervisor Wilson says, "The constituents of Arcata want this-"
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … um, then I, I trust that because that's his constituent base.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But we are, we are not a 5-0 board. We, we often, uh, end up on the opposite ends of each other.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But I think we try hard to, uh, compromise for our county and our-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … constituents in it.
Scott Hammond: Someone mentioned, and I, I don't mean to oppose that, but somebody mentioned that there's a l- a bit more consensus on certain things
Scott Hammond: of late.
Michelle Bushnell: That, that is more-
Scott Hammond: Is that true?
Michelle Bushnell: … 5-0?
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: It, it is getting there.
Scott Hammond: There must be a lot of 5-0 issues that are easy.
Michelle Bushnell: Well, consent, we always are 5-0.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: You know, most of the time on consent. Um, there's a lot of 5-0. Uh, there's, you know, um, three to two sometimes.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Uh, sometimes there's four to one.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: It just depends.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, it, uh, you know, because I don't vote f- personally for myself, I, I have, at times, thought, "Oh, my goodness. Uh, this is something that I just oppose."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: You know? But I'm one of 28,000 in my district.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: So I have to really… That, and that's another way people can help.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, email your supervisors.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Michelle Bushnell: Tell them your feelings.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, don't blast them at the board. That's not helpful.
Scott Hammond: It's not helpful.
Michelle Bushnell: It's not helpful if you don't have a base prior to that or have a conversation with your supervisor. Um, it's really important that we hear people.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And we hear as many diverse opinions-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … as we can.
Scott Hammond: So Michelle, what would you like to leave us with in terms of what's your legacy? What's your, what, what are we saying at your funeral? What, what do you- What do you, what would you like folks to remember you for?
Michelle Bushnell: That I'm a doer, that I care.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, I'm a little brassy sometimes. I, I, um, I'm not that warm and fuzzy person.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: But I do work really hard for the people of Humboldt County.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And, um, I'm passionate about trying to complete
Michelle Bushnell: things-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and do the best that I can. I love my family.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Um, and I love where I live.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And I love Humboldt County. I believe in it.
Scott Hammond: Right on.
Michelle Bushnell: So.
Scott Hammond: Glad you're th- glad you're there for us. I love it. Even though I'm on the other side of the county, I'm glad you're playing on the team down there.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. Rex sometimes tells me, uh, you know, he'll say, "Be a little nicer." And I'm like, "I didn't know I wasn't being."
Scott Hammond: Well-
Michelle Bushnell: Like, I'm just to the point, you know?
Michelle Bushnell: It's-
Scott Hammond: That's okay
Michelle Bushnell: … it's, it is, it's who I am, and people are learning it. Um, you know, I've been on the board four years now, and so I, I never-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … inten- intentionally would ever hurt somebody, but- If I don't like you, I don't talk to you.
Scott Hammond: Right. So if you're avoiding us, we don't like it.
Michelle Bushnell: There's no fake, there's no fake here, um-
Scott Hammond: It's good. I like it. That's true
Michelle Bushnell: … but as constituent base, I work for anybody. They're my constituents, so it doesn't matter-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Michelle Bushnell: … if I like you or I don't.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: But, um, I, I, I just really love our area, really love our
Michelle Bushnell: community.
Scott Hammond: That's cool.
Michelle Bushnell: So.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I think of New York brash, and I think of California schmooze- … on a spectrum, and I think there's some balance.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Let's get… Hey, can you just cut to the chase?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: What are we talking about here?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I'd like to know, and that's respectful just to go, "Hey, I wanna talk about whatever, roads."
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. I, I want… I, I would love for a lot of real honesty on our board.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Like, um, you know, sometimes you, you wanna hold things back because it's… You know, you're politically… You're elected.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And so you're, you're thinking, "Oh, if I say that, is that gonna-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … hurt me?" But i- if it's the truth, you know, and if it's-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … honest-
Scott Hammond: I like it
Michelle Bushnell: … then it shouldn't.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: And you know, I've voted no on things before, and people have gotten upset at me,
Michelle Bushnell: but-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … I, I always explain why.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: I always explain why.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: This is why I'm doing this, and people have said, "I wasn't happy about that, but I understand because you explained."
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And I think that's really important.
Scott Hammond: And when you prove that you're on the right side of history, then-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … hey, you're voting your truth.
Michelle Bushnell: Well, and, and people, um, I, I think they forget that supervisors are
Michelle Bushnell: people-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Michelle Bushnell: … and have feelings.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And, uh, social media is nobody's friend.
Scott Hammond: Not at all.
Michelle Bushnell: At, at all. And so-
Scott Hammond: Freaking trolls out there.
Michelle Bushnell: It… Don't-
Scott Hammond: How dare you, trolls?
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah, it's just, you know-
Scott Hammond: Get out of here with your trolling ways.
Michelle Bushnell: Well, and my family reads that.
Michelle Bushnell: My kids-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … read that.
Scott Hammond: Terrible.
Michelle Bushnell: And it is, uh, social media is nobody's friend.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Jodi says there's a couple of people on, on the local trolling line that just hammer. Like Pastor Bethany, she writes for LoCo, and, and, and Nick's interviewed Bethany. I have.
Scott Hammond: She's-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … she's great.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And it's like, are you kidding? What? What? Stop it. Just get out of here.
Michelle Bushnell: Well, I don't believe anybody on our board is out to do bad.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: That's, that's, that's-
Scott Hammond: No, everybody's well-intended
Michelle Bushnell: … w- very well-intended, and, and we might not agree with that intent,
Michelle Bushnell: but they're-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … not… It's not ill. It's not an ill, uh, vote-
Scott Hammond: No
Michelle Bushnell: … or it's, uh, not malicious. Um, excuse me. I, I know that they care.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: They're doing it for the same reasons I am.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And, and, uh, a- and just because we don't see eye to eye-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … doesn't mean that they don't care.
Michelle Bushnell: Um-
Scott Hammond: Right
Michelle Bushnell: … and people don't remember that very, very well.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And they don't remember to be kind and, um… And I know there's not a lot of kind in government, but it-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … it can, it can just have a real conversation.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Michelle Bushnell: Not the anger, not the, you know, his side, my side.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: Just, just a real conversation and-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … and say your piece.
Scott Hammond: I love it.
Michelle Bushnell: And it's important.
Scott Hammond: I love it. It's true in life and true in government.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Well, thanks for being here.
Michelle Bushnell: Well, thanks for having me.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, Michelle.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And can I be back?
Michelle Bushnell: And I, I wanna say that I really love the Humboldt Heroes.
Scott Hammond: Oh, thanks.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah. It's, um-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Michelle Bushnell: … you know, you've honored quite a few of, um, people from my district,
Michelle Bushnell: and I-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … really love coming up and-
Scott Hammond: Thank you
Michelle Bushnell: … and seeing that. I think it's so important that we r- remember our veterans, and
Michelle Bushnell: we-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … just had Veterans Day this last, um-
Scott Hammond: Right
Michelle Bushnell: … Monday, and, uh, I went to the service that they had in Fortuna.
Scott Hammond: Oh, cool.
Michelle Bushnell: It was amazing.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: And you know, you think about what those people went through-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Michelle Bushnell: … and what they had to see, and, and as a young generation, we don't remember that very often.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Michelle Bushnell: We haven't had wars like that.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Michelle Bushnell: And so I just think it's really awesome.
Scott Hammond: Thank you, yeah. So it's Humboldt Heroes. We do it once a month at my State Farm agency-
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … downtown Eureka, and, uh, last Friday of the month, and it's 15 minutes. Somebody goes, "Hey, you wanna go statewide and make it big?" I go-
Scott Hammond: … "Why would you… No. Why would you wreck it?"
Michelle Bushnell: No.
Scott Hammond: It's wonderful.
Michelle Bushnell: It's Humboldt Heroes.
Scott Hammond: The reason that you and I are sitting here is 'cause of this man that you
Scott Hammond: can't see.
Michelle Bushnell: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You and I can. Nick, uh, invited me in to talk about Humboldt Heroes-
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, nice
Scott Hammond: … and what it was and how we honor vets for eight, eight years.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, yeah.
Scott Hammond: So nominations are always welcome. Well, thanks again for being here.
Michelle Bushnell: Oh, well, thank you.
Scott Hammond: And I'm gonna do all my end-of-the-show disclaimers-
Michelle Bushnell: Okay
Scott Hammond: … and other things.
Michelle Bushnell: Okay.
Scott Hammond: They're not even disclaiming. First of all, thanks for watching and listening. Number two is, uh, if you wanna repost or share or subscribe, please do. And you, that goes for you, too.
Michelle Bushnell: Thank you.
Scott Hammond: And, um, you know, we're gonna be back next week with somebody super cool, another super cool guest. And without, uh, anything else, uh, subscribe to us on podcast, YouTube, um, Access Humboldt. We're on TV. You're gonna be on TV. It's gonna be great.
Michelle Bushnell: Okay.
Scott Hammond: And, uh, with that, I'm gonna sign off and say, uh, see you next week. Scott Hammond, 100% Humboldt. Have a good day.