Speaking of preposterous and air regulations

Apparently at the May 21 meeting of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, one of the board members, Mike Nelson, a Merced County Supervisor, made some questionable statements.

He joked that he was stuck with the job because no other supes would do it. He told me that was a standing joke among his fellow supervisors and he didn't mean it was a job he does with his nose pinched.

Then he also said, and this is worse, that everyone needs to listen to one another and he should follow that advice himself because when some people come to the podium he tends to tune out because he's found them in the past not to be credible.

Ooops, kicked over a beehive with that one!

I don't think public officials should tune out any constituents.

But Nelson's main point was that everyone should be open and listen to other points of view.

And personally, I take his other point that once someone proves themselves to be uncredible, it's hard to continue to listen as they repeat misleading or fact-challenged statements.

Still, environmentalists have called for Nelson to step down and will be protesting the meeting on Thursday. The weather should be nice, so I guess it's a good day for a picket.

Either way, it's not quite the Watergate our own Sen. Dean Florez made it out to be when he fired off a letter to Nelson demanding an explanation of his statements.

I have to wonder if Nelson, who's voting record shows he has voted both for and against the environmental side during his seven years on the board, had said he tunes out business interests whether Florez would have jumped on him with such speed and vengance?


Here's the letter FROM Florez to Nelson.

Here's Nelson's response.

And here's a flyer calling for Nelson's ouster.

Whew, much ado about not a lot of ado, if you ask me.