I have a wonderful family, a successful business, and I've become a homeowner (home-moaner ;0). I've been twice elected to the Russian River Redevelopment Oversight Committee helping oversee millions of dollars of tax moneys for good local endeavors. I've been appointed by Supervisor Reilly to serve on the Sonoma County Economic Development Board to help develop jobs and businesses in the area. I am proud of my past activism but equally proud of my involvement in other areas.

If you look at some of the other political websites out there they tend to be very general and vague. There are a few photos and paragraphs about who they are and what they believe in. My website will not be like this; I am not a lite-beer commercial catering to the lowest common denominator comsumer lest we offend anybody. I want people to get to know me...where have I been, where am I now, and where do I think we should go from here. Paid consultants from both sides think this is a mistake. What do you think??

August 4, Stumptown stump speech

My name is Tom Lynch and I’m running for 5th District Supervisor. I would like to thank you all for joining us today for our campaign kick-off on my 50th birthday. 50 years ago today, Sunday August 4, 1957 I was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa. My family lived on a small farm in a house that had no indoor plumbing, there was an outhouse, my mom cooked with a woodstove, carried water from a well out by the barn, and bathed us in a galvanized tub telling us not to pee in the water (…and me the youngest of four was always last). 1957 was the peak of the baby boom; with the most babies ever born in America in one year 4.3 million and 1957 was the beginning of the space age when the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik from Baikonur, Kazakhstan the birthplace of my wife Sveta…many, many years later.

I grew up poor in a small town. I went to college at Iowa State Univ. majoring in Political Science …I tell people that’s why I’m a general contractor …In January of 1979, with a 4’ snow drift against the house and -40 below zero temperature I called a contractor in California looking for a job; he hired me. I hopped into a rusty old van and drove to the Hotel California. I was 21 years old looking for a job and taking a chance on a new life.

I discovered the Russian River, fell in love with this community and moved to Guerneville in Oct of 1980 renting a Riverfront home from the Rossi family. I got involved … community theater, environmental activism, volunteerism and politics. I was elected to the Russian River Redevelopment Oversight Committee six years ago, I serve on the Sonoma County Economic Development Board as an appointee of Supervisor Mike Reilly. Over the course of my 28 years of participation and involvement in the West County, I’ve even been arrested for civil disobedience. I suppose I will always be remembered by many as the Manure Man, a nickname I am very proud of.

In January of 1986 in protest of Santa Rosa’s continuing illegal discharges of wastewater in the Russian River I had enough; I wanted people in Santa Rosa to understand how we felt downriver subject to Santa Rosa’s discharges. I rented a tractor and a broadcast manure spreader and at 3AM January 28, 1986 I drove through downtown Santa Rosa covering 4 city blocks with cow manure. Thus began my involvement over the last twenty years with being part of the effort to protect and enhance the environment of the Russian River, the Coast and Sonoma County. I have made many great friends who are now among my stalwart supporters and I thank you. I am a lucky man.

While performing volunteer work in Odessa Ukraine seven years ago I had the good fortune to find the love of my life; my wife Svetlana. We met on a Monday…I asked her to marry me three days later…I called my travel agent Bob Flynn in Guerneville and asked him to extend my stay by three days because I had met a beautiful woman and we are engaged to be married; Bob said, “…Lynch we are never letting you out of the country again; every time we let you out of the country you get into trouble.” Fellow actor and newly elected Superior Court Judge Elliot Daum married Sveta and I at the Sportsman’s Club in Duncan’s Mills six years ago saying ours was his first life sentence. Since then we are blessed with our 4 year old daughter Katya, and Sveta’s mother Layma has joined our family as well. I traded up getting back more through my service than I ever dreamed. I am a lucky man.

Many of us travel, some the world over, and upon their return everyone I know says this is the place like no other. We enjoy a beautiful climate with a combination of Laguna, River and Ocean, dairies and vineyards, mountains, plains, and forests. We are blessed with an incredibly diverse array of people from all over the world, many lifestyles, races, religions living in peace. While much of the world is consumed with conflict we work together; this is our strength, embrace diversity! We truly live in Paradise.

But there are problems in Paradise. As the day approaches where my generation joins the ranks of those before me adding to the increasing percentage of the retired population; with the good problem of us living longer and healthier lives; there are going to be unprecedented challenges ahead people and we need to discuss solutions in an open and honest way. We can ill afford to bankrupt our children or under fund their needs while we take more and more from them because we have not set aside enough to look after us in the manner we would like to be. I’m talking about generational equity; creating a better future for all of us through equitable solutions to our problems. It is time…I think people are ready for this; I hope so… I want to represent not only those who do vote, but those who do not vote and those who can not vote. I want to represent their parents and grandparents, and I want to represent their children and grandchildren too.

The slogan of our campaign is “Together Toward a Sustainable Future.” I feel that the measure of all our challenges with the environment, the economy and government services is sustainability for the future. I agree with many of you that we are not conducting ourselves in a sustainable manner.

With respect to the environment we have concerns on issues with water, wastewater, global warming, transportation and more. My positions on water and wastewater have been burned into the synapses of my brain cells for over twenty years … conservation, reuse and reclamation; I would also add restoration. We need to restore habitat throughout the watershed and to me the single biggest project toward this goal is to restore the Laguna de Santa Rosa so the water flowing out of Mark West Creek in the summer time is as clean and clear down river as it is up river. With local sewer issues, we need local solutions to local problems without bankrupting rate payers with pipelines to the moon.

With respect to the economy we have concerns on issues with affordable housing, jobs, an aging population, health care costs, and lack of a living wage. We are losing jobs to other areas that have a lower cost of living. Many of the best and the brightest amongst us are moving away to where they are able to find better work and more reasonable housing prices. We need to develop creative and innovative solutions to keep jobs in Sonoma County, develop our economy and make affordable housing a reality.

With respect to government services we have concerns with issues of expense, inefficiency, lack of citizen involvement, lack of oversight and accountability, and lack of timely and affordable delivery of services. I almost chose my diet mantra as the campaign slogan. Maybe some of you have noticed I’ve gained a little weight since I quit smoking three years ago. I am now on a diet with the simple slogan “eat less move more.” I think government has to go on a diet too. Government services have become too expensive, are too often inefficient at serving us, and sometimes literally stifle the economic engine of Sonoma County. We must search together with the participation of ALL inside and outside of government to find ways to help government serve us better. Part of the solution is we all have to start stepping up to the plate to help government with fire services, police protection, and government efficiency. We need to revitalize our neighborhood watch programs and increase the involvement and participation of everyone in our communities to help serve our own needs without an expectation of government being able to do all these things for us.

We begin our efforts today as part of a listening campaign. Help us develop our campaign to serve our community. Tell us what you feel the issues are, what the problems are, what your ideas for possible solutions are. We need volunteers, we need people to get the word out and of course we need money! Money is the mother’s milk of politics.

Lastly, I am disturbed with the political debate in our society where our elected officials do not discuss some of the issues honestly. Many of the problems we are faced with locally are due to a failure on the part of the state and federal government to do their jobs and solve our problems with health care, with budget deficits, and promising people too many things that they fund with phony I.O.U’s. We need to stop this head in the sand ostrich style of government and be honest with each other what the real problems are. I refuse to be a Lite-beer commercial catering to the lowest common denominator consumer or voter lest I offend someone. I want to raise the bar in the debate for who represents you in the 5th district by sharing detailed and honest positions on all the issues.

Join us…Together Toward a Sustainable Future. We the people can reinvent America …reinvent Sonoma County. Thank YOU!!! Another beautiful day in paradise…no bad days!!! Enjoy!!!