March 2- We are reposting these stories to help people stay informed for Tuesday’s Election, in alphabetical order. Make sure to vote!

DISTRICT 2 SUPERVISOR JEFF GRIFFITHS
UP FOR RE-ELECTION

District 2 Supervisor Jeff Griffiths could be one of the busiest elected officials in Inyo County. He’s keeping up the pace, running for a third term to represent the City of Bishop,points east and north to Laws.

His “deep commitment to and love for the community” is his motivation, starting with two terms on the Bishop City Council. His focus, at both the City and County, has been to “retain what we all love” about the Eastern Sierra.

After working on commercial air service to the County for the past 20 years, Inyo is eight months away from the projected start of daily flights out of Bishop Airport. At the beginning of Griffiths’ tenure on the Board, that goal may have seemed an impossibility. But, he feels air service and his other goals are all feasible. “I try not to promise things that don’t have a chance,” he said.

As a Supervisor, Griffiths has dealt with some tough, potentially divisive, issues like cannabis, short-term rentals, Wilderness and the environment. The Board has been able to resolve those issues with compromise and a laser focus on what works best for local residents, Griffiths feels.

A primary concern for Griffiths has been troubled youth and foster care, putting in place resources and services that “keep kids from going down the wrong path and keeping them in the community, not sent to out-of-the-area group homes.”

“Our numbers are small,” he said. “You can see the results in the drop in juvenile crime. We’ve been able to break the cycle.”

Griffiths has a long list of projects and programs he wants to see completed. As an Inyo
Mono Advocates for Community Action board member, he has worked on the Silver Peaks
affordable housing project. Other future, or on-going, projects include a veterans housing
complex that also houses supportive services, “zoning to encourage housing development anywhere along the income spectrum” and a partnership with the City, County, the Small Business Administration, Cerro Coso Community College and the Sierra Business Council to develop a Small Business Development Center providing technical assistance, training and business planning to help grow the local economy.

The list seems ambitious, but Griffiths feels it’s all do-able, over time. The Ohio native has a varied background: a degree in forestry from Ohio State University, a stint as an agriculture volunteer in Panama with the Peace Corps. He’s worked in forest product planning, Spanish interpreting, grant writing and dairy farming, according to his campaign brochure.

The article on  Heather Lind ran on Friday, February 7th.