[env-trinity] Redding.com- Re-election not in supervisors' plans; Pair served in Trinity County

[Tom Stokely]

Otto wants to spend time with her husband.

Jaegel seeks to enjoy more time with his family.
http://www.redding.com/news/2012/feb/24/re-election-not-in-supervisors-plans/

A pair of two-term Trinity County supervisors, Roger Jaegel and Wendy Otto, won't be running for re-election.

Jaegel, 67, said his reasons for stepping down are simple enough.

"I want to spend more time with my kids and grandkids and do some traveling and finally retire," he said this week. "I'm getting up there, you know?"

Jaegel, a retired U.S. Forest Service employee who lives in Hayfork, said he's proud of his time on the five-member board. He said it was especially rewarding to work with land managers to come up with more thinning projects to cut back on wildfire danger and create biomass.

Although that work is far from complete, it was nonetheless time to step down, he said.

Another ongoing issue is the hugely contentious debate over marijuana growing. Jaegel said the growing "just got out of control" amid the state's inability to provide local governments direction on how to manage medical marijuana growers.

"I think I always tried to do what was best for the people of Trinity County," Jaegel said. "I think in today's political world and climate, two terms is enough."

Otto, 52, also lives in Hayfork but in a neighboring district. She said her reason for leaving also was simple — she wants to spend time with her new husband.

In 2004, her husband, Robert Reiss, died and she was appointed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to fill his seat.

She was married to Greg Otto in 2010.

"The job is a bit demanding, and I found out the hard way how short life is when my husband died," she said.

Otto said she's most proud of her work in completing her husband's project to get cellphone towers installed in southern Trinity County.

She also helped lead the charge to get safety improvements on the road to Hyampom, she said.

She said the county's ongoing efforts to regulate growers has left both sides a little unhappy — something she thinks is good because it means everyone had to compromise.

"While it has been a painful process — that's in capital letters: a PAINFUL PROCESS — I think we'll come out on the other side having protected everyone's needs without everyone absolutely getting their own way," she said.

Otto and Jaegel said they'll continue working as diligently as they have been until their terms expire at the end of the year.

It's unclear whether anyone in Trinity County has announced they'll run for the two seats. Trinity County elections officials this week didn't respond to repeated messages.
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