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Previously:

• California Governor Appoints Susan Masten to Fill Vacant Del Norte County District 5 Seat

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Susan Masten never sought the District 5 seat on the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors.

But she said yes when people — Del Norte residents and two members of the Yurok Tribal Council — asked if she’d be willing to accept an appointment from the governor through November.

“There were just a number of individuals who were concerned about the vacancy that had been left open for so long and were worried about not having representation for an additional eight months,” Masten told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Thursday. “I said yes. And then, once I said yes to that, the Board of Supervisors approved it to go out to vote in June. Then the people who were encouraging me to fill the position encouraged me to run for the position, so I took my papers out.”

Masten, who is one of five candidates seeking the position in June, was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday to fill the District 5 seat left vacant when former supervisor Bob Berkowitz died on March 2.

Masten is likely the first member of a local tribe to sit on the Board of Supervisors, according to former county assessor Jerry Cochran, who has worked in local politics for about 60 years.

Masten said she is also the first Klamath resident to represent District 5 since Mark Mellett’s last term ended in 1996.

“That’s a long time not to have a representative from the Klamath area,” she said. “And most of the residents in Klamath feel like a stepchild — out of sight, out of mind for programs and services from the county. That’s always been a major concern from the people who live in Klamath.”

Masten, whose family has lived at the mouth of the Klamath River since time began, was one of the founding members of the Yurok Tribe. She served on the Yurok Transition Team from 1988-1991 and on the Yurok Interim Council from 1991-1994. Masten was also a Yurok Tribal Councilwoman, serving as chair from 1998-2003 and as vice chair from 2007-2010 and from 2012-2015.

Masten is currently co-president of Women Empowering Women for Indigenous Nations and co-chair of the Red Nation International Film Festival Board of Directors.

She’s also a local business owner — operating the Steelhead Lodge in Klamath Glen — and as a result has felt the impacts of Last Chance Grade just like any other Klamath resident has.

Road closures at the slide-prone area south of Crescent City has made it difficult for goods and services and customers from the north making their way to the restaurant, Masten said. Residents don’t feel safe traveling over that road. And if the highway is shut down, the nearest hospital to the south is an hour away, she pointed out.

“Just being able to come to Crescent City for goods and services or medical appointments is extremely challenging,” she said. “When the roads are closed for periods of time, you have to leave hours in advance to ensure you get to your appointment on time. That is something I’m really looking forward to working on and helping to use my connections in DC and hte state to help move that project along on a faster track.”

Another priority for Masten is the Klamath River.

Masten, whose uncle, Raymond Mattz, won a U.S. Supreme Court Case in 1973 that reaffirmed the Yuroks’ rights to the river, said the Klamath River is sick and its salmon runs have declined to the point that they’re not able to support tribal families.

Masten pointed out that the commercial and recreational fisheries still offer living wage jobs and support Del Norte families and as such, the Board of Supervisor should support dam removal on the Klamath River.

“Supporting the undamming of the Klamath River so it can heal and restore itself is something we all should be supportive of,” she said. “We have a number of families that depend on that river and that resource.”

Masten said she also wants to conduct town hall meetings at each of the precincts in her district. She noted that because of Berkowitz’s long illness, District 5 didn’t have the representation its residents deserved. The remaining supervisors split Berkowitz’s committee responsibilities up between them, she said, but it’s not the same as the district having a voice.

Besides, solutions are driven by people, not the government, Masten said. She really wants to hear what people have to say, what their concerns are and what they envision for their community.

“I’m hoping that people will be able to see me as a supervisor and, of course, I would hope that would help me in my campaign,” she said. “But I still have to get out there and knock on doors and run a campaign because the election is coming up rapidly.”

In the District 5 race, she faces current Klamath Chamber of Commerce president, David Jones; Terri Colton, who ran for supervisor in 2016; former sheriff Dean Wilson; and David Markel, who hails from the Bertsch-Ocean View area of Crescent City.

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