Press release from Mary Burke for Supervisor:

Mary Burke, a long time active community member, has announced her candidacy for Humboldt County’s 5th District Supervisor in the 2026 election. Burke believes that Humboldt County’s livable future depends upon our ability to come together and make critical decisions that are based on values of community health and protection of our basic needs.

Burke’s public service is reflected in the saying that “the world is run by the people who show up.” Since Burke made McKinleyville her home, she saw the potential to build community connections through parks and trails and quickly looked for ways to get involved and better understand the landscape. She was appointed to MCSD’s Recreation Advisory Committee and in 2017 she was elected to the McKinleyville Community Services District Board of Directors; and was subsequently appointed to the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee (MMAC). After her elected role with MCSD, Mary continued with MMAC as a community member on subcommittees. There she worked to bring attention to multimodal issues; and to the connection between local governance and the underlying conditions for economic and community vitality.

“As Mary Burke’s neighbor, friend, and colleague, I have spent many hours working with Mary to identify and address the needs and aspirations of the people who live here,” says Lisa Dugan, former County Department Head and current MMAC subcommittee Chair. “In the past 5 years we researched and developed relationships with both local and state-wide colleagues in order to bring a future vision into focus through transparent planning at public meetings. Mary possesses a rare combination of skills: she’s a connector that helps people find shared values, and she has the ability to literally bring people from a variety of backgrounds to the table and give life to their vision.”

With more than a decade of hands-on work in watershed and salmon habitat restoration as well as experience in public works operations, Burke understands that the health of our people and landscapes are intertwined. She brings the ability to weave these elements of community health into the large-scale watershed restoration projects she manages and into connecting smaller communities like Orick to broader regional economic development.

“Mary Burke is the kind of leader that brings people together,” Supervisor Steve Madrone said. “Her curiosity about people’s experiences and what they value leads to a real sense of connection. I am pleased to endorse Mary Burke in her campaign for 5th District Supervisor, she has the skills and experience to lead the County into our future.”

Burke is clear-eyed about the challenges we face as a rural county - deteriorating or lacking infrastructure, economic conditions marked by instability and change, and under-resourced but vital services to meet our community’s basic needs. Burke is dedicated to the long game and the relationships it takes at the state and local level to develop a sustainable County-wide workforce. As a working mother, a neighbor, and with lifelong roots in McKinleyville, Burke’s family lives in the same neighborhood where she spent many hours as a youth along the forested bluffs of the Baduwa’t. She knows firsthand the connection our communities have to the land, whether through traditional ceremony, ranching, harvesting, or simply walking or rolling through our neighborhoods; these connections motivate and inspire Burke’s campaign.

“Politics is about actions that meet people’s needs. Working people who work together will find the best solutions for the people who live here,” Burke said. “I am ready to walk this path alongside my neighbors to build the future we all deserve.”

During her campaign, which will build momentum from now through November 2026, Burke will embark on a listening tour of the 5th District to get grounded in the successes and challenges people experience and their dreams for their future.

For more information, visit burkeforsupervisor.com and follow the campaign on social media.

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• HUMBOLDT’S CHAMP DISC HANDLER! Longtime McKinleyville Resident Inducted into the ‘Ultimate Hall of Fame’