Candidate Statements — 5th District Lassen County Board of Supervisors
Jason Ingram
My name is Jason Ingram, and I’m a resident of Doyle in Lassen County, California. First and foremost, I am the proud father of two young daughters. I am also a volunteer firefighter and the Chairman of the Lassen County Planning Commission, of which I am the sitting District 5 member. I also serve on the board of the Long Valley Charter School. Since moving to our area, I’ve found it to be a great place to live and work and a tremendous place to raise a family.
Currently I make my living as a property developer, but I am proud to have worked for many years as a union carpenter. While I’ve always had a deep admiration for our community, my desire to serve has come largely from my experiences in the last few years. Seeing the way our shared tragedies brought us together, like the fires and the fallout of COVID-19, really put into perspective for me the dedication and resolve of our district’s residents. I was blown away by the strength, generosity and resourcefulness our community showed time and time again. Being a man of faith, I’ve always been a believer that when God calls you to serve, you answer the call. It was in watching our community respond to these challenging few years that I felt the call to serve.
I consider myself a dedicated civil servant, and I’m ready to take that public service to the next level. I’m running for District 5 Lassen County Supervisor because I believe I possess the necessary experience and commitment to our district to hit the ground running on day one. I’ve been proud to help organize and support many of our district’s community events, including our local backpack drives for students and events for our children like the Easter Egg hunts. I have been an active and involved member of our community and have seen how important it is to have an available, accessible county supervisor in a rural district like ours.
If elected, there are a few priorities I’d like to focus on. We desperately need economic development. Good job opportunities and new sources of tax revenue are crucial to our survival and our county’s wellbeing, especially with the potential closure of CCC (which I am against) and the economic fallout of the past few years. Our sheriff and his department need more resources and better funding to fight problems like crime and illegal marijuana grows, so I’ll work to support them. I’m a big believer in transparency and accountability, and as part of that belief, I’ll push the board to live stream the board meetings and post them online so you can see them at any time. I’d like to see the Highway 395 expansion project come to fruition, which would benefit commerce and make our local stretch of the 395 safer for travelers and residents. I’ll also continue the practice of hosting desert/district clean-up events and will make it a priority to be accessible to our residents and our seniors.
You will always be able to get a hold of me at any time, for any reason, at (530) 249-6431. I plan on earning your support and will work hard for every resident of our district, from the north to the south and everywhere in between. I won’t concern myself with needless distractions like national politics, and I will focus on constituent services and being available to you. I want you to know me as the supervisor who listens to you, reflects your needs and concerns with my vote and helps you solve problems when I can. I would appreciate your vote on your June 7 primary ballots and thank you!
Jason Ingram
Thomas Traphagan
My name is Thomas Traphagan and I’m a candidate for Lassen County District 5 Supervisor. I am grateful to be a husband and pleased to be a father and stepfather to eight children and a grandfather to five in a county I love.
I am a first-generation rancher/ farmer in Lassen County. I have dedicated the last 22 years of my life to educating myself in the growing agricultural industry. I actively share my knowledge with new farmers and enjoy helping established farmers enhance their operation.
I started Sunset Ranch with a cow calf operation by utilizing a program I continue to support which is open range —- on the Madaline plains.
Sunset Ranch has since evolved into a certified organic alfalfa and cereal grains operation with our on-farm flour mill. I want to encourage more small businesses through agritourism in our area and see this as a positive direction for multi-faceted tourism in Lassen County.
I’m also continuing my work with CDFA to bring state programs that help build ranchers and farmers’ infrastructure. This also provides for a school’s infrastructure improvement. This program unites ranchers/ farmers and schools together in an effort to feed our local school children nutritious food grown on local ranches and farms.
Lastly, I have been a first responder for 26 years, and I’m deeply concerned about the problems our small communities face fighting wildland fires. I was invited by Congressman (Doug) LaMalfa to represent Lassen County’s Region 5 hired equipment contractor negotiations with the Secretary of USDA to ensure hired equipment contracts were upheld.
I will work with local districts to find grants and programs to enhance our fire departments’ ability to staff stations with trained personnel and upgrade equipment. I will continue to help them in their mission to protect lives, property and the environment.
The last two years we have helped local fire victims displaced by fires. In listening to their stories, I came to understand many are rebuilding and hitting roadblocks, one of which is the ability to obtain fire insurance. I’m currently working on a fire suppression system to help rural communities reduce their ISO rating to obtain insurance to rebuild their homes.
With all my experience it is my hope to be of service to my district as well as the citizens of Lassen County. I will remain steady on building the Ag community as well as focusing on small businesses and furthering economic development. I want to help the small communities destroyed by fire in our area rebuild infrastructure to protect their homes and rebuild in our area.
These are some of the ideas I will bring with me to the office of County Supervisor in District 5. I will also bring my ability to listen to your needs and vote as your voice. I will always remember “I work for you.”
Thomas Traphagan
Joann Sterling
My name is JoAnn Sterling. I was raised on the central coast of California and came to Lake Tahoe when my parents decided to move to Incline Village in 1972. I moved to Reno 10 years later and lived there for many years until buying property in Chilcoot. I lived there for about 5 years before moving to Doyle. I have lived in Doyle for about 14 years. I am 68 years old with one son, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
I have never really been active in the political goings on of our area. But I can no longer sit by and be apathetic about our lack of many necessities in our communities! We can no longer accept the unacceptable!
Our secondary roads are in shambles. We need satellite medical clinics in several areas of our district. Our seniors are sorely lacking in many areas. We need to bring in businesses to our area such as hardware stores, feed and lumber, cafes/restaurants/food trucks/kiosks and other amenities to attract people to our area. We need special events with the infrastructure to support them. That will bring in revenue that will help the entire county.
Let’s start growing food as a community – green houses, co-op and farmers market. We can get the schools involved with that as well.
Talking about schools, we need to up our expectations for our schools and give them the resources that they need. We need to give some of these children something to do to keep their minds active with learning activities and hands on projects. Let’s help our young adults get interested in a trade and help them with those needs, be it transportation or local trade schools.
Not everyone needs to go to college but they do need something to give them a future and some self respect to help keep them out of trouble. Think about workshops with local people who know a trade. Our next generation needs to keep busy with positive, constructive things to keep their minds working and getting them excited about something.
Let’s clean up our neighborhoods so our area is more attractive for visitors and potential new people who might want to come live in our area.
Let’s work on improving our relationship with law enforcement in our communities. Let’s also give them the support they deserve and the tools they need to do their job. We need more of them and they need a bigger budget.
I am against growing cannabis in our area, but I am researching growing hemp. Hemp is easy to grow, does not take a lot of water, does not get you high and is a commodity of the future – carbon neutral. It also will not bring in illegal growers and cartels which is better for us as well as law enforcement.
I am the first to admit I will have a huge learning curve, but I am a capable and intelligent person who can learn quickly. I am open-minded and community minded. I also feel that we need a woman’s perspective. I would love input from any and all about thoughts, ideas, questions and anything I have not brought up. Call me at (530) 827-3373 or email me at zjsterling@hotmail.com. Text at (530) 249-2491
Joann Sterling
