Crescent City’s Harbor District has faced some rough waters. Commercial fishing has declined. Two tsunamis in the last 20 years caused millions in damages. The district has racked up around $9 million in debt from loans and payout from a lawsuit by a former tenant — a boat repair shop that sued due to a failure to dredge the harbor. And the harbormaster recently resigned after scrutiny into his use of an official credit card.
It’s enough for some of the dozen or so tenants, which include restaurants, tourist shops and fishing businesses, to feel forgotten.
Sharon Sheets, who runs the Crescent Harbor Art Gallery, is one of those tenants. She said she’s been trying to get a new sign up by the highway to bring in more tourists. She’d like a candidate who takes her gallery seriously.
“We are a business in your harbor. We need better advertisement. Why can't you help us?” said Sheets. “They're not helping us. In fact, they're stopping us at every turn.”
Roger Gitlin, a former county supervisor and current editor for the Del Norte Triplicate, has been reporting on the Harbor District for years.
“They have a long history of bad behavior in dealing with the public and dealing with the tenants who reside in the harbor. And now they're paying the price,” he said.
He’s not surprised people want change. Many believe there’s untapped economic potential in the harbor. Candidates are running on realizing that potential and supporting local fishers.
Three of the five-member commission aren’t seeking re-election. There’s five candidates on the ballot running for those three spots. Those candidates are John Evans, Annie Nehmer, Linda Sutter, Devon Morgante and Dan Schmidt. The winners will join commissioners Rick Shepherd and Gerhard Weber to represent the Harbor District.
