Below: New North Coast Railroad Authority Board Member Richard Marks in 2011, shortly before getting drunk at College of the Redwoods.

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 this afternoon to appoint Humboldt Bay Harbor District Commissioner Richard Marks as one of its two representatives on the board the North Coast Railroad Authority. Supervisors Sundberg, Bass and Lovelace voted for Marks; Supervisors Bohn and Fennell voted for former State Assemblyman Dan Hauser, who wrote the legislation that created the beleaguered state-owned rail line back in the late ‘80s.

It was a close vote, and a somewhat contentious one. The train believers showed out at the meeting to carry the banner for Hauser, who is a true believer in the train. Marks’ railroad faith was questionable, given that he serves on the Harbor District, which has not embraced the iron horse’s glorious return to the shores of Humboldt Bay with sufficient zeal. Hauser, they argued, had the Sacramento connections required to breathe life into the moribund and line-wrecked train, which hasn’t made a trip to Humboldt County in 15 years.

The liberal/lefty contingency, meanwhile, came to sing the praises of Marks, as did his fellow Harbor District Commissioners. They saluted his support of trail projects and his realism in relation to train issues.

Board Chair Ryan Sundberg cast the last and deciding vote on the issue. Saying that he had a hard time making up his mind — and, in fact, had not yet made up his mind — he equivocated for several moments as he had the floor, eventually deciding on Marks on the argument that the NCRA and the Harbor District needed closer ties. 

Humboldt County’s other representative on the NCRA is Supervisor Estelle Fennell. She and Bohn, who joined her in supporting Hauser, expressed admiration and liking for Marks, and signaled that they would not be too disappointed if the vote went his way.

Arcata City Councilmember Alex Stillman was recently appointed to the board to represent city governments along the railroad’s right-of-way.

###

PREVIOUSLY: Notorious Arcata Liberal Alex Stillman Appointed to North Coast Railroad Authority Board