Candidates for the District 4 seat on the Kern County Board of Supervisors will be appearing together Wednesday, April 4 in Lebec. The person who wins this office will have more impact on the Mountain Communities than any other official in the state or country. It matters that we use our votes wisely.

David Couch and Harley Pinson will be at the forum hosted by the Rotary Club of Frazier Park & the Mountain Communities at Los Pinos Restaurant in Lebec, 6 p.m. The public is invited. Come meet the candidates in person and decide on their merits and priorities for yourself. The election is June 5, along with California’s presidential primaries. If you are not registered to vote in Kern County, register before May 21.

Harley Pinson was the special guest for the Mountain Communities Chamber of Commerce meeting March 22. David Couch will be the special guest at the chamber meeting on April 26 (chamber phone is 661-245-1212).
We’ll be publishing more about the candidates next month. —P. Hedund

From our interviews, here is a brief introduction of the two candidates on the ballot for District 4 Supervisor:
Pinson
Harley Pinson is a corporate attorney who has worked for oil companies throughout his career. He has not held public office before, though he says he became interested in politics at age 10 during the Nixon-Kennedy debates. He volunteered in campaigns for Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan and George McGovern.

According to his website, Harley Pinson has a total of 22 endorsements from State Senator Jean Fuller, Kern County Young Republicans and individuals including Tejon Ranch Company President Bob Stine and his wife Betty, and Kern County political power broker Ray Dezember and his wife Joan

Couch
David Couch is a financial manager with Morgan Stanley who has served on the Bakersfield City Council for 14 years. He chaired the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Bakersfield, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) and the city water board; he served on the board of directors of the League of California Cities and the Kern Council of Governments (Kern-COG).

According to his website, David Couch has a total of 27 endorsements from individuals, former law enforcement officials and first responders, including former Kern County Sheriff Carl Sparks, former Kern County Sheriff Mack Wimbish, former District Attorney Ed Jagels, former Taft Chief of Police Ken McMinn, former Shafter Chief of Police Charlie Fivecoat, Hall Ambulance Owner Harvey Hall and Liberty Ambulance Owner Peter Brandon.
 

This is part of the March 30, 2012 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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