LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — In December, the Board of Supervisors submitted a recommendation to the United States Board of Geographical Names to support renaming Kelseyville to Konocti following a board vote. Now, with newly sworn-in supervisors, the board faces calls to revisit the contentious decision.
Last Tuesday, former Supervisor Rob Brown urged the Board of Supervisors to revisit the matter during public comment at the boarding meeting.
Brown, who served five terms as District 5 supervisor until 2021, argued that the new supervisors, Helen Owen and Brad Rasmussen, should have the opportunity to “weigh in.”
“I think it’s important that the current board, including the two new board members, be involved in this discussion,” Brown said.
Brown also criticized the timing of the board’s December decision, which included votes made by two outgoing supervisors who were to leave office in January, and questioned the legitimacy of outgoing District 4 Supervisor Michael Green’s involvement in “an issue this magnitude.”
“They are not going to be here to deal with the ramifications and the fallout of this decision, regardless of how it comes down,” Brown continued.
“In fact, one of the board members was not even a legitimately elected board member, nor did he care enough to even run for office as a county supervisor,” said Brown, referring to Green, who was not elected but who Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed in 2022. He did not run for office in 2024.
“So I respectfully ask that it be placed on the earliest available agenda for reconsideration,” Brown added.
In addition to making public comment, Brown also contacted Supervisor Eddie Crandell, who serves as the board chair for 2025, prior to and right after the meeting regarding the matter. Last Wednesday, Crandell responded.
“Thank you again for touching base with me before the meeting. I will definitely reach out to you with the date and time this will be agendized,” Crandell said in the email to Brown, suggesting a positive response to Brown’s request.
As of Wednesday, Supervisor Crandell has not replied to Lake County News’ inquiries regarding if the board will bring back the matter and on what grounds it can be done so as the recommendation for the name change has been submitted.
For Brown, the December vote by the former board was not supposed to take place in the first place as two supervisors were stepping down.
“They should have held it off anyway,” Brown told Lake County News in a phone call. “The new board is the one who has to deal with the fallout on any name changes or not name change — either way.”
Although Brown has not heard back from Supervisor Crandell on when it will be agendized, he believes it’s coming soon.
“I’m assuming it’s going to be the first Tuesday of February,” said Brown. “There’s no reason for it to drag on.”
The pathway to the board’s name change recommendation
In October 2023, “Citizens for Healing” proposed renaming Kelseyville, citing its association with Andrew Kelsey, who, with Charles Stone, brutalized, raped and murdered Pomo tribal members. Their actions led to their deaths in 1849, sparking retaliatory violence, including the 1850 Bloody Island massacre.
In February, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, or the BGN, sought input from the Board of Supervisors on the matter.
The Board of Supervisors held a special meeting in July and placed the countywide advisory, non-binding Measure U on the ballot. It asked voters if the Board of Supervisors should recommend the name change of Kelseyville to Konocti, as Citizens for Healing proposed.
A majority of voters rejected the measure in November, with 70.58% voting “no” and 29.42% voting “yes.”
On Dec. 10, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to recommend the name change to the BGN despite voter opposition.
Supervisor Eddie Crandell, and outgoing supervisor Moke Simon and Michael Green voted in favor of the option to recommend the name change.
Crandell cited unanimous support from the National Congress of American Indians, which consists of 574 federally-recognized tribes in the nation. Simon said he got what he wanted — to have people’s vote “on the record.” Green said the name is derogatory and offensive and has to “go bye-bye.”
Supervisor Jessica Pyska and Bruno Sabatier voted against it. Pyska, in whose district Kelseyville is located, suggested giving no formal recommendation while Sabatier supported a name change but opposed “Konocti.”
Three days later on Dec. 13, the Board of Supervisors sent the formal recommendation letter by email to both the federal and state agencies — the BGN’s Domestic Names Committee and California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names — at 6:51 a.m., according to Chief Deputy County Administrative Officer Matthew Rothstein.
Rothstein provided Lake County News with a copy of this letter, titled “RE: Response to Citizens for Healing’s Proposed Kelseyville-Konocti Name Change.”
The letter included the ballot results on Measure U, as requested by Supervisor Pyska before casting her vote, and explained the board’s reason for supporting the name change. The last two paragraphs read:
“In response to Advisory Measure U, Lake County residents demonstrated their Opposition to the proposed Name Change (70.58% Opposed, 29.42% In Favor), and members of our Board
have concern changing a longstanding and valued town name is a non-trivial matter. However, our collective awareness of the violent acts committed by Kelsey and Stone demands change.
“Therefore, it is our collective Recommendation your Committee Approve the proposed Name Change.”
Later on the morning of Dec. 13, Executive Secretary Shellie Zahniser of the BGN’s Domestic Names Committee acknowledged the receipt of the email, Rothstein reported.
“But the County has not been provided any further updates on the timeline for either the State or Federal Naming Authorities’ decision-making,” Rothstein said in an email to Lake County News dated Jan 6.
For Brown, the fact that the BGN hasn’t acted on it leaves room for the Board of Supervisors to bring it back.
“So yeah, they can bring it back,” said Brown. “They have the obligation to bring it back.”
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Kelseyville’s name change may come back to the Board of Supervisors
- LINGZI CHEN
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