6.8 25-1061:00 P.M. - Consideration of Letters to (a) the United States Board on Geographic Names' (BGN's) Domestic Names Committee and (b) the California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names (CACGN) recommending changes to BGN's Principles, Policies, and Practices, in light of the January 20, 2025, Presidential Executive Order, "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness"
"The needs of the many outweigh the wants of the few,
The board of supervisors need to listen to their community and support our wishes! We have spoken and voted against this! We are done being idle and bullied by personal political agendas. Please listen to your community, retract the name change.
The Kelseys who lived and worked in Kelseyville long after Andrew Kelsey was murdered were the beginning of making Kelseyville a great town. Kelseyville today, is one of the most successful towns around the lake, largely due to its community spirit and wonderful businesses, and continues to help elevate our struggling Lake County to also be successful. SAVE the Kelseyville name!
This city has moved past its name and stands for something more. Please don't vote to change it. There is already a Konocti Unified School District in Lake County, and the school has already had its mascot changed. It would be a huge financial burden for all businesses.
Maybe the only point of agreement between the various factions involved with the Kelseyville name change is the frustration they all have felt and continue to feel in dealing with the BGN and CAGN. The latest update from the Save the Name group includes a footnote: *Clarification regarding BGN authority over incorporated vs unincorporated areas has been requested, as the Policies and Procedures are somewhat ambiguous.”
Certainly, we have heard many times from the Board of Supervisors that despite repeated requests for clarification from the BGN and the CAGN of roles, responsibilities, impact on the community, etc., no answers were provided. Residents were asking for information and expecting the Board of Supervisors to provide answers, but they had no information to provide.
With the issuance of an Executive Order by President Trump that specifically calls for changes to the current membership of the BGN and an opportunity to update its principles, policies and procedures, it seems very reasonable that the Lake County Board of Supervisors make a formal request to the BGN to ‘develop, update, and expand its procedures and policies to address specific issues concerning proposals to rename unincorporated “Populated Places.’ As the Board states – ‘these are places where people live, work, and own businesses, and the current policies lack clarity, contain conflicting information, and have generally frustrated the residents of Lake County.’
I will take it a step further – it has allowed wild interpretations of the current inadequate laws to be used on either side of this argument to sway opinion and caused great concern, distress and dissention in the community. Let the BGN decide what its next iteration is going to be and provide the precise guidelines so the community can be fully informed. Until then, no more time should be expended.
We have so many positive things happening – just this week Lake County was awarded 3 out of 8 CPUC broadband grants in the amount of $15M. Recently our county received a S+P Bond rating for the very first time and it was at the second highest level – AA – based on the strong financials of the county. Let’s work as a community to continue building a strong future for everyone.
We stand at a moral juncture where the echoes of our past demand a courageous and compassionate response. The name “Kelseyville” carries the weight of violent history against Native peoples—a legacy of injustice that continues to wound those whose voices have been overlooked for far too long. When we choose not to address these historical truths, we deny the sacred worth of our brothers and sisters who still feel the sting of that cruelty.
Some of you have claimed neutrality or dismissed the call for change, but neutrality in the face of oppression is itself an act of injustice. Supervisor Jessica Pyska and Supervisor Bruno Sabarier, through their disregard for the pleas of marginalized voices, have signaled a willingness to stand idly by—even as many call for recognition of centuries-old pain. By dismissing these concerns, they become accomplices to a legacy of hate that must be confronted and transformed, not ignored or trivialized.
The responsibility of leadership is not merely to follow the largest crowd, but to heed the voices of those who have historically been silenced. A majority can easily overlook the suffering of a minority, yet our moral mandate compels us to uplift those who have been held down. Real democracy honors the rights and dignity of all, especially those who have borne the weight of discrimination.
Let us be clear: when leadership shrugs off the cries of the oppressed, it fails its most basic mandate to protect and value every member of our community. True progress demands we face our history head-on, acknowledge its wrongs. That future will be defined by empathy, courage, and unwavering dedication to justice—not by fear of loosing your seat or complacency.
May this serve as a clarion call to every soul who believes in the transformative power of equity and truth: Do not let silence be mistaken for neutrality, for silence in the presence of injustice only prolongs our captivity to the sins of the past.
Should these supervisors remain silent or neutral in the face of such harm, let it be known that our community (the 20%+) reserves the right to pursue a recall. True progress demands moral courage, not apathy or compromise. If these officials refuse to address injustice, we will not hesitate to hold them accountable at the ballot box. Complacency yields deeper divisions, and those who betray the public trust risk being recalled.
I am deeply disappointed by this supplemental letter from the Board of Supervisors. What has been done to Kelseyville over the past year is nothing short of betrayal. The hurt caused by this endless cycle of inaction by our Supervisor cannot be overstated. Ambiguity in policy language is not an excuse—it never was—for the lack of leadership, the silence, and the refusal to make a clear stand for our community. The time for action was last year when you could have sent a definitive letter putting this matter to rest. Instead, we were left to fend for ourselves, our name questioned, and our town dragged through the mud.
And now, after all this, we know the name won’t change. But instead of using this moment to stand in solidarity with Kelseyville, amidst the attacks we’ve faced, you’ve failed even to acknowledge our community by name. No support, no recognition of the pain we’ve endured. The words "Kelseyville" are still left unspoken by those representing us. That is unacceptable.
Kelseyville is our name. It is our identity. It may be difficult to understand, but for us, it runs deep—woven into the very fabric of who we are. We won’t let it go. Not now, not ever.
This entire application was rooted in hate, and it has only caused distress and division. We never asked for this. We simply wanted to protect our identity and the community we’ve built here. You had several chances to put an end to this—to speak out, to defend us, to say that this wasn’t the way forward. But you chose not to. Now, this supplemental letter feels like a last-minute attempt to brush the issue aside without any real closure or accountability for the harm caused.
This conversation about changing Kelseyville’s name has dragged on long enough. Our town, our history, our name are not up for debate. We will not accept anything less than a clear commitment from the Board of Supervisors to bring this to an end, once and for all.
I am writing to express my disappointment in your Agenda Item 6.8 on the Tuesday, 2/4/2025 BOS meeting.
While President Trump's Executive Order is good news for Kelseyville, what you have on your agenda is a let down for Kelseyville residents as well as the 70.5% of Countywide voters who voted against the name change.
We have been requesting that the BOS recommendation to change the name of Kelseyville be rescinded and that the newly reconfigured BOS take a new vote on the issue. I believe the vote taken on December 10, 2024 was deeply flawed if not illegal.
Please update the agenda and put the name change recommendation back on for a new vote.
"The needs of the many outweigh the wants of the few,
The board of supervisors need to listen to their community and support our wishes! We have spoken and voted against this! We are done being idle and bullied by personal political agendas. Please listen to your community, retract the name change.
The Kelseys who lived and worked in Kelseyville long after Andrew Kelsey was murdered were the beginning of making Kelseyville a great town. Kelseyville today, is one of the most successful towns around the lake, largely due to its community spirit and wonderful businesses, and continues to help elevate our struggling Lake County to also be successful. SAVE the Kelseyville name!
This city has moved past its name and stands for something more. Please don't vote to change it. There is already a Konocti Unified School District in Lake County, and the school has already had its mascot changed. It would be a huge financial burden for all businesses.
Maybe the only point of agreement between the various factions involved with the Kelseyville name change is the frustration they all have felt and continue to feel in dealing with the BGN and CAGN. The latest update from the Save the Name group includes a footnote: *Clarification regarding BGN authority over incorporated vs unincorporated areas has been requested, as the Policies and Procedures are somewhat ambiguous.”
Certainly, we have heard many times from the Board of Supervisors that despite repeated requests for clarification from the BGN and the CAGN of roles, responsibilities, impact on the community, etc., no answers were provided. Residents were asking for information and expecting the Board of Supervisors to provide answers, but they had no information to provide.
With the issuance of an Executive Order by President Trump that specifically calls for changes to the current membership of the BGN and an opportunity to update its principles, policies and procedures, it seems very reasonable that the Lake County Board of Supervisors make a formal request to the BGN to ‘develop, update, and expand its procedures and policies to address specific issues concerning proposals to rename unincorporated “Populated Places.’ As the Board states – ‘these are places where people live, work, and own businesses, and the current policies lack clarity, contain conflicting information, and have generally frustrated the residents of Lake County.’
I will take it a step further – it has allowed wild interpretations of the current inadequate laws to be used on either side of this argument to sway opinion and caused great concern, distress and dissention in the community. Let the BGN decide what its next iteration is going to be and provide the precise guidelines so the community can be fully informed. Until then, no more time should be expended.
We have so many positive things happening – just this week Lake County was awarded 3 out of 8 CPUC broadband grants in the amount of $15M. Recently our county received a S+P Bond rating for the very first time and it was at the second highest level – AA – based on the strong financials of the county. Let’s work as a community to continue building a strong future for everyone.
We stand at a moral juncture where the echoes of our past demand a courageous and compassionate response. The name “Kelseyville” carries the weight of violent history against Native peoples—a legacy of injustice that continues to wound those whose voices have been overlooked for far too long. When we choose not to address these historical truths, we deny the sacred worth of our brothers and sisters who still feel the sting of that cruelty.
Some of you have claimed neutrality or dismissed the call for change, but neutrality in the face of oppression is itself an act of injustice. Supervisor Jessica Pyska and Supervisor Bruno Sabarier, through their disregard for the pleas of marginalized voices, have signaled a willingness to stand idly by—even as many call for recognition of centuries-old pain. By dismissing these concerns, they become accomplices to a legacy of hate that must be confronted and transformed, not ignored or trivialized.
The responsibility of leadership is not merely to follow the largest crowd, but to heed the voices of those who have historically been silenced. A majority can easily overlook the suffering of a minority, yet our moral mandate compels us to uplift those who have been held down. Real democracy honors the rights and dignity of all, especially those who have borne the weight of discrimination.
Let us be clear: when leadership shrugs off the cries of the oppressed, it fails its most basic mandate to protect and value every member of our community. True progress demands we face our history head-on, acknowledge its wrongs. That future will be defined by empathy, courage, and unwavering dedication to justice—not by fear of loosing your seat or complacency.
May this serve as a clarion call to every soul who believes in the transformative power of equity and truth: Do not let silence be mistaken for neutrality, for silence in the presence of injustice only prolongs our captivity to the sins of the past.
Should these supervisors remain silent or neutral in the face of such harm, let it be known that our community (the 20%+) reserves the right to pursue a recall. True progress demands moral courage, not apathy or compromise. If these officials refuse to address injustice, we will not hesitate to hold them accountable at the ballot box. Complacency yields deeper divisions, and those who betray the public trust risk being recalled.
I am deeply disappointed by this supplemental letter from the Board of Supervisors. What has been done to Kelseyville over the past year is nothing short of betrayal. The hurt caused by this endless cycle of inaction by our Supervisor cannot be overstated. Ambiguity in policy language is not an excuse—it never was—for the lack of leadership, the silence, and the refusal to make a clear stand for our community. The time for action was last year when you could have sent a definitive letter putting this matter to rest. Instead, we were left to fend for ourselves, our name questioned, and our town dragged through the mud.
And now, after all this, we know the name won’t change. But instead of using this moment to stand in solidarity with Kelseyville, amidst the attacks we’ve faced, you’ve failed even to acknowledge our community by name. No support, no recognition of the pain we’ve endured. The words "Kelseyville" are still left unspoken by those representing us. That is unacceptable.
Kelseyville is our name. It is our identity. It may be difficult to understand, but for us, it runs deep—woven into the very fabric of who we are. We won’t let it go. Not now, not ever.
This entire application was rooted in hate, and it has only caused distress and division. We never asked for this. We simply wanted to protect our identity and the community we’ve built here. You had several chances to put an end to this—to speak out, to defend us, to say that this wasn’t the way forward. But you chose not to. Now, this supplemental letter feels like a last-minute attempt to brush the issue aside without any real closure or accountability for the harm caused.
This conversation about changing Kelseyville’s name has dragged on long enough. Our town, our history, our name are not up for debate. We will not accept anything less than a clear commitment from the Board of Supervisors to bring this to an end, once and for all.
WE DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE OUR NAME!
I am writing to express my disappointment in your Agenda Item 6.8 on the Tuesday, 2/4/2025 BOS meeting.
While President Trump's Executive Order is good news for Kelseyville, what you have on your agenda is a let down for Kelseyville residents as well as the 70.5% of Countywide voters who voted against the name change.
We have been requesting that the BOS recommendation to change the name of Kelseyville be rescinded and that the newly reconfigured BOS take a new vote on the issue. I believe the vote taken on December 10, 2024 was deeply flawed if not illegal.
Please update the agenda and put the name change recommendation back on for a new vote.
Thank you for your consideration.