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

The Big Pine Civic Club is sponsoring the 4th District Supervisor Candidates
Forum on January 21st 6:30 at Town Hall
For more information, contact Cindy 760/938-2868

DISTRICT 4 SUPERVISORIAL CANDIDATE
DEENA DAVENPORT-CONWAY

Deena Davenport-Conway describes her strategy for community advocacy this way: I’m
nicely persistent until I see results. That persistence is what Inyo County will see first-hand if
Davenport-Conway is elected to the Board of Supervisors 4 th District seat.
She considers herself a third-generation Big Pine Creek Lover. Her family vacationed in Big Pine and
Davenport-Conway kept coming back to the area she considered her place of respite to hike Big
Pine canyon for the fresh water and clean air. She’s seen what she describe as a lot of bad
behavior on those trails. “People need to learn how to leave no trace,” she said. While that’s
outside the purview of the Board of Supervisors, it’s not out of Davenport-Conway’s purview.
She and her partner Gunner, owner of Indy  Coffee Roasting Company, bought a home in Independence five
years ago and moved in two years later. She opened Luxe Salon in Bishop, bringing a lot of color
to the valley, and dove into local issues like the peril of crossing U.S. Hwy. 395 in communities
with no traffic lights.
CalTrans is planning on replacing the speed limit signs in Big Pine with radar feedback
signs on the north and south ends of the community as well as a rectangular rapid flashing
beacon at U.S. Hwy. 395 and Crocker. Bishop will be getting a high-intensity pedestrian activated
crosswalk in front of the Post Office at Edwards and at 395 and Elm. The
existing signal at the Whitney Portal Road will get an upgrade to current Americans with
Disability Act standards.
According to Christine Knadler with CalTrans those projects have travelled through the
CalTrans process and are slated for this summer
Davenport-Conway’s activism is just an extension of what she did in San Francisco’s
Valencia Street, the location of her Glama-Rama salon. The area, just off the Lower Haight, was
threatenedby predatory tacticsof formula retail chains. She worked to

form a merchants’ association and helped to protect the areaand maintain the identity of the Valencia Corridor. Part of that advocacy was contact with then mayor, now governor, Gavin
Newsom.
If Davenport-Conway wins the election, her focus will be on preserving what Inyo
County has and enhancing it. “I want to help grow small businesses,” she said, “and encourage
a sense of community.”
Her wish list includes a small business advocacy group and a volunteer trail association.
She’s attended Supervisor meetings for the last five months and developed a good working
relationship with Supervisors Matt Kingsley and Jeff Griffiths. “I love our Board,” she said. “We
have good government in this county.”
She sees some of the changes in the County as a good thing, more like a natural
evolution than a negative disruption to life in the County. She cites the growth of rock-climbing,
and the development of the Bishop airport for commercial service as constructive additions to
the communities. A hint at what kind of Supervisor could be: Father Crowley, literally the father
of Inyo tourism. “I love his entrepreneurial spirit.”
“There’s going to be an influx of young people outside of Bishop,” she said. “We need
to be prepared.”
The Big Pine Civic Club is sponsoring 4th District Supervisor Candidates Forum on
January 21 st at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall on Dewey Street. The Independence Civic Club will hold a
candidate forum on February 3.