One on One with 5th District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins

Now chair of the board of supervisors, Hopkins talks about her priorities on the board and what surprised her most about being in politics

Fifth District Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who ran unopposed for her third term in 2024, became chair of the board of supervisors earlier this month. We thought this would be a good time to learn more about her priorities for the board and for the 5th district, which encompasses Sebastopol, the lower Russian River area, all of the Sonoma coast, and portions of northwest and southwest Santa Rosa. She also talks frankly about childhood experiences that shaped her into the person she is today, what brought her into government, and what it’s like being an elected in today’s fraught political environment.

This interview took place last Wednesday, during President Trump’s first few days in office.

Let’s start by talking about your priorities as chair of the board of supervisors.

My main goal is to address the frustration with government. I think that one of the takeaways from the November election was that folks are frustrated, and too many people don’t feel like government works. So I really want to double down on community engagement and government responsiveness—trying to take care of the things that matter most to people, right? People don't want to drive on roads that are so potholed that it breaks their axles. People are obviously fed up with the high cost of living, and the lack of affordable housing in Sonoma County. That’s not something that county government can solve quickly or easily. But, for instance, we already waive development impact fees to try to spur additional affordable housing development in Sonoma County.

I was wondering if that was part of the idea of having more supervisors’ meetings in different cities—like the one you had in Sebastopol earlier this month. Or was that just a one-off?

So that’s our annual planning retreat, and normally it’s more of an inward-facing affair. But my goal was to really make it a town hall and to invite the community and emphasize community participation. I would like to do more of that and try to meet people where they are.

Aside from your priorities as chair, what are your priorities for the 5th District in particular?

I have a long list. One of my big priorities for the 5th District is continuing to work on the EIFD, which is the Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District. We're looking at a potential partnership with the City of Sebastopol and then also a potential EIFD in unincorporated West County, that would essentially allow us to finance major infrastructure investments. It doesn’t have to be just the built environment. It can also be investments in parks and open spaces—without raising taxes, which I think is really important. And so that’s something that I’m very excited about.

I've also worked very hard on Ag and Open Space acquisitions in West County. And I'm also on the cusp of being able to announce one more that we're working on that should come out in the next week or two. And then we also are working on a lot of community spaces—so the little parklet in downtown Occidental, a park in Guerneville, the square in Graton. We were able to secure funding for a number of those. The Graton Town Square has already been purchased. I think we have a little bit longer to go on like the Guerneville Park in terms of permitting and development, but that's something that I’m looking forward to advancing now that we have the money from the Ag and Open Space District.

Can you remind me of which open space projects you’re talking about?

Silver Estates—it’s now called Russian River Redwoods—was slated to be harvested for timber, and we were actually able to acquire that, partnering with Save the Redwoods League. And then we also have the Monte Rio Redwoods property, which was previously owned by the Torr family, and then Chancellor Ranch—those are three of the big ones that I think have a lot of recreational benefits for folks.

How are you feeling about being an elected right now in the current political climate?

It's toxic. I have unfortunately had to have conversations with our threat assessment team. A friend of mine, who happens to be Jewish, was being targeted by Neo-Nazis, and I was sort of dragged into it by association and receiving just hideous communications. This all just happened in the last few weeks.

And I also get emails from anonymous sources that are going after me for supporting immigrants and refugees, right? They'll sign their names something like Patriot, and they'll have an email that’s like AmericanPatriot1774, and you don’t know who it is. And so that, unfortunately, has become very commonplace.

But I will say that the other thing that I personally love about West County is that I have friends who are Democrats. I have friends who are Republicans. And especially in rural areas, when push comes to shove, the political alignments don’t matter. We take care of each other. We show up for each other. Because at the end of the day in rural communities, all you have is your neighbors.

I know a lot of your constituents, and certainly a lot of our readers, are feeling really demoralized by the current administration in Washington, especially with the kind of Blitzkrieg of executive orders. What would you say to them?

I think Blitzkrieg is an appropriate word. I mean, I can’t read anything other than what Elon Musk did publicly as a Nazi salute, right? It’s just mind-blowing that someone would do that publicly. Either that’s what it was or he’s a complete idiot—and he’s not that much of an idiot. No one is that stupid to not know what that signifies. No one who had any kind of education, who grew up since World War Two, could mistake that.

I think that a lot of what we feared in Trump’s first term didn’t come to fruition because he was much less organized and didn’t think he'd win, right? I think that’s one of the things that kind of saved us was a lack of organization in the first term. But it’s a different game now. He has a massive machine, and it’s very well-organized.

So back to the question of what would you say to your constituents who are feeling demoralized right now by this whole thing?

I would say that I feel tremendous hope locally and at the state level, so don’t despair. Instead, look at what you can do. If you feel demoralized, the best way to fight is by actually taking action.

And, I'll be honest, there is very little that we can do locally to control any kind of action coming out of Washington, D.C., but here—on the local level—is where it counts, and here’s where you can really make an impact. Volunteer for a local nonprofit organization. If you care about our immigrant and refugee members of our community, there are ways that you can donate or volunteer to try to help keep people safe. We have awesome food organizations like Food for Thought, Ceres and Redwood Empire Food Bank that can help provide a safety net for our entire community. There’s so much that we can do right here at home.

And another thing that I would say is that California is still the fourth- or fifth-largest economy in the world. So our policies in Sonoma County can actually impact the state. And we can advocate at the state level, and we can make changes here that still have impacts around the world. I truly believe that.

What would you like to say to conservatives among our readers who are excited about President Trump's agenda?

There’s one appointment I’m excited about—I’ve heard that renegade regenerative farmer Joel Salatin may wind up working at the USDA! The USDA has been geared toward large-scale industrial farms for far too long and actually makes it difficult for small, diversified family farms.

For what it’s worth, I drink raw milk and enjoy making raw milk cheese from my goat herd. So there are some anti-establishment potential policies I’m excited about.

I want to be very clear: I don’t have problems with people who voted for Trump. Humanity doesn’t break along political lines. And I understand and even resonate with the desire to tear existing government structures down and build something new, because so much of government is inefficient and frustrating.

I do, however, have problems with people who voted motivated by hate — who are supportive of an anti-LGBTQIA, anti-woman, anti-refugee agenda. That’s where I can’t agree. You do you; I’ll be me. But don’t tell me what to do with my body, don’t tell me what gender I can be, don’t tell me who I can love, and don’t tell me that my neighbor’s worth is determined by papers from a helplessly broken immigration system.

How did you get involved in politics? Like you probably didn’t grow up wanting to be a county supervisor. What did you want to be when you were growing up and when you were in college?

So when I was a child, probably a veterinarian, and by high school, I wanted to be a doctor. Then I went to college, and I decided that, honestly, pre-med students were kind of awful, and the people that I’m more aligned with, like the outdoorsy backpacking types who like to hike on weekends, were environmental scientists, and so I majored in Earth Systems and also creative writing in college. I’ve also always wanted to be a writer. And I always write, no matter what I’m doing.

But until I got angry at county government, I never had any inclination to go into politics. I was not class president of anything—not kindergarten, not in college. I had just zero interest in that. I mean I protested when George Bush was president. Remember when George Bush was president? We thought he was the worst ever. [rueful laughter] I marched against the war and different things like that.

I don’t actually know the story of how you decided to get into politics.

It was really frustration over lack of transparency and responsiveness of county government. And so that’s why I'm so focused on community engagement and trying to hear from the community what they want, and then I’m trying to also empower communities to govern themselves. So that’s why we created our lower Russian River and Coastal Municipal Advisory Councils (MACs), because I don't want to come in and act like I’m the mayor of Guerneville. I don’t live in Guerneville, and I want to hear from folks who live in Guerneville what their priorities are, so that then it’s my job to kind of take orders from them and go and deliver.

How are those MACs working out?

Really well. It’s kind of hard to believe that they’re as old as they are now, and we’ve really gotten into a good routine where, I think they get the appropriate deference from county department heads. And we have county department heads who will come out for an evening meeting in Guerneville or up at Timber Cove to hear from the community and respond directly to their concerns, which I think is powerful.

Let’s jump back to the personal again. I’m wondering what were the primary values emphasized in your home when you were growing up—and how that shaped you to be the person you are today.

I think it was really like self-reliance and working hard. My mom was a single, working mom, and you just always had to do your best at anything, and if you didn't succeed, keep trying. So I think that that work ethic was really ingrained in me.

My mom also shares the same, I would say, distaste for injustice. Like we’re the kind of people who can’t let something lie if it’s wrong—like if someone does something wrong to someone else, we have to take that on. You can’t just sort of turn the other cheek or walk away from something that’s being done that’s wrong—whether it’s to you or to someone else.

When my parents divorced, it was really toxic. I ended up with a restraining order against my father. So we were estranged until he passed away, actually, right after I took office the first time. But I was often the peacemaker and caretaker in my family, being the glue while my mom was busy working. Obviously, she took care of us, but my little brothers were also five and 10 years younger, so I feel like that is something that I still do. I'm still trying to peace-make and find common ground and take care of people. Because being the oldest daughter with two much younger brothers, that's kind of the role that you’re born into.

Where do you draw your strength from? How do you keep persevering, even when government grinds so slowly?

I am an impatient person. Let me just tell you—the bureaucracy sometimes drives me crazy. I am the kind of person who tends to ask for forgiveness rather than permission to go and get things done, and I am not an endless process bureaucratic person. It drives me nuts. Where I get strength is from my family—my kids and wanting to make a better future for them. I know that sounds horribly cheesy, but it really is true.

And the other thing is this sense of wonder that has never left me. When I first decided to run for office, I drove the district, and I was driving up to the north coast and I was just dumbstruck by the beauty. And I was humbled by the fact that there might be some possibility that I might get to represent so much natural wonder, and that still gets me every time I drive to the Sea Ranch. I was actually at a couple of meetings in Bodega Bay, and driving there, driving back, I am so inspired by the natural wonders around us.

The ocean is always where I’ve sought solace my whole life. I grew up in San Diego and in college in the Bay Area, and if I was upset or I needed to clear my head, I would drive to the ocean and just park by the beach, and either walk or just sit in my car and open the windows and just think. So, yeah, for me, I would say it's my family, the ocean, and just the wonders that we live in—so gorgeous.

One of my favorite things is when I’m driving back from Santa Rosa on Highway 12, and you have the coast range and the sun is setting, and the trees are in silhouette, and it’s just like, ‘I'm headed home.’ It has that sense, and it’s lovely.

Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?

Absolutely, and actually, I’ve never been prouder to be an Episcopalian than I am today. I was raised Episcopalian, and I don’t actively attend church on a regular basis, but I do attend occasionally, and I was so proud of the bishop who spoke truth to power yesterday.

Do you ever go to St. Stephen’s Episcopal in Sebastopol?

I went there once, and I want to go again. They invited me because they were doing this speaker series, and it was so lovely. There was childcare, and there was food. This is precious because my husband was out of town, and so it was me and the three kids, but it actually worked because they went off to do little fun activities. I really, actually want to get involved in that church community because it seems awesome, and I love the pastor.

Would you consider running for higher office—and which one?

I really feel like I have the best job in the world. I love West County so deeply. And sometimes I think that the higher you get in office, the further away you get from people and from what matters. I have a lot of people encouraging me to run for assembly or senate. But why would I commute to Sacramento when I can commute to the Sea Ranch for a town hall meeting and to Santa Rosa, which is like 20 minutes from where I live.

And I do think that sometimes the higher up you go, it also just becomes kind of more and more about ego and personality.

One of the things I actually love about working locally is I still get to work with so many awesome city council members, who are unpaid and who are in a job that has no glory. They get all of the community frustrations. They’re volunteers. They are often trying to balance family and full-time jobs and are just damned good people who step forward because they care. I never want to get too far away from that. I feel very privileged and blessed that I am paid as a full-time county employee. I never take that for granted, and it makes me want to support and work with my city council colleagues all the more.

What do people who are not in public office not understand about politics?

I don’t know if I’ve actually told this to a reporter, but I say it a lot to other elected officials: the thing that surprised me most was how much it’s not about policy, it’s about personality. I kind of thought that people would have consistent policy positions—that progressive is progressive, conservative is conservative. But so much of it comes down to personality.

For instance, whether someone’s more of a risk taker or less of a risk taker. You can actually have someone who is at the left end of the political spectrum and the right, and they actually align on almost everything because they prefer the status quo, and they don’t want to shake things up.

I’m a disrupter by nature—like I see systems, and I want to take them apart and figure out what’s not working. I want to throw a wrench in the gear. I want to change things. And that’s actually not that common.

The other thing that I love is policy. Not everyone gets into the job because they care about policy. I’m not talking about my colleagues on the board. I’m just talking about the broader political system—that is, all the elected officials that I interact with throughout the Bay Area. A lot of people are not really interested in policy. Some people are really into being in the newspaper or being, you know, “the guy in the room.”

I actually love policy. I could spend hours talking about septic policy and trying to design solutions for ADUs on small parcels. Policy really matters to me, and it doesn't matter to everybody. But I’m a nerd. I’m a total nerd.

Got a policy question for Lynda Hopkins—or any kind of question really? Reach out to her at district5@sonoma-county.org

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