FILE – (L-R) Supervisors John Haschak, Madeline Cline and Ted Williams at a supervisors meeting in Ukiah, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Sydney Fishman/Bay City News)
MENDOCINO CO., 12/17/25 — The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday discussed amending language in the climate resilience section of the county’s 2026 legislative platform, a document that outlines the county’s priorities and positions on state and federal legislation.
On Nov. 18, the Board of Supervisors approved a draft of the 2026 legislative platform but clarified that supervisors can propose amendments if they believe the language needs to be revised.
At the November meeting, based on recommendations from the county’s executive office, the platform was edited to replace the words “climate change” with terms such as “climate resiliency.” One reason given for the change was to reduce the risk of the county being excluded from funding opportunities by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has sought to dismantle prior federal efforts to address climate change.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Supervisor Ted Williams proposed amending the language again to use words like climate change, along with other revisions to better reflect the priorities of Mendocino County residents.
Williams, who represents District 5 covering coastal areas of Mendocino, Albion, and Point Arena, spoke about why it’s crucial to alter the climate language in the legislative platform. He said one motivator was hearing from many constituents who oppose sanitizing the language to appease the current administration.
“The people have the same information I do, and overwhelmingly in one direction, they’re asking that we represent their values in the language of their choosing. It’s a way to be transparent about what we represent as a county,” Williams said. “I’m not comfortable going against the people and saying, ‘While I might agree with your stance, we’re going to strip the language because of what the federal administration might do to us.’ I don’t think the federal administration is going to do anything to us.”
Supervisor Madeline Cline spoke about the potential consequences of altering the language back to use terms like climate change, noting that she had seen the Trump administration revoke funding from climate projects in blue states earlier this year.
“These are projects for a variety of states across America. This is not us opining whether it’s right or wrong; this is just the reality of how certain administrations operate. I would rather err on the side of caution,” she said. “Our language still meets the same goals, but in a way that won’t harm us in the long run.”
However, Supervisor John Haschak, the board’s chair, said that the language should better reflect the county’s ethos and its stance on climate change.
“We don’t have to walk away from our belief that there is climate change … or our belief that we should have diversity in our county,” Haschak said. “I don’t think we need to compromise the language that we use or what we believe in.”
Haschak requested that Williams incorporate climate-related language from both legislative platform drafts and bring the proposed amendments to the board’s next meeting in January. Williams will collaborate with Supervisor Maureen Mulheren on the revisions.
The next Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Jan. 6 in the board chambers at 501 Low Gap Road, Ukiah. Meetings can also be watched virtually via Zoom. More information, including agendas, is available at this website.
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