You deserve to hear from me directly about the issue to rename the town of Kelseyville and where I stand in support of the people I represent.

I have been frustrated with this from the beginning because it is a bureaucratic process that does not involve the people, and the decision will ultimately be made by people who will never even come here.

I spent the past year pushing both the state and federal committees to show up to engage with the people. They did not and it has compounded the problem.

What was most important to me this year were two things. The first was to keep my promise to remain neutral so that I could be available to all constituents. Over the last year I sat with and listened to people from all sides of this issue, and I deeply value those perspectives. The second was to involve the people.

I called the special meeting in July to bring an advisory vote so we could see where the people stood on the name change. To be clear, no one asked me to do this, I did it because I wanted the people to participate.

This Tuesday, the item came back to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision. I said we needed to honor the vote of the people and suggested we pass it on to the state and federal committees as the recommendation of the people. Three of my colleagues disagreed and wanted to make a recommendation for the name change.

Before the vote was taken, I insisted the people’s vote be included in the recommendation. The vote was 3-2, in favor of the name changing, and with the results of the vote included. I voted “no” because I could not support the board making the recommendation.

I understand why people are so angry and feel like their vote did not matter. It does matter. The vote is on record, it happened, it is part of the history that is unfolding, and it is included in the final recommendation approved by the Board of Supervisors.

I take my role as your elected representative very seriously and I worked hard to ensure you had a place in this process. You may not agree with my decisions, and that is OK. Please know that as difficult as this year has been, I learned from you, I supported you, and I will always show up for you.

If you have questions or comments, as always, I am available to you at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Comments to the Board on Geographic Names (BGN) can be sent to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Comments to the California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Jessica Pyska is the District 5 representative on the Lake County Board of Supervisors.