Editorial: Historic Hangtown Due For Political Culture Change

El Dorado County desperately needs climate change – political climate, that is. The county in historic Gold Country stretches from the tony estates of El Dorado Hills to the vacation resorts of South Lake Tahoe, but its government is still stuck firmly in Hangtown.

That’s the old handle of Placerville, county seat of El Dorado. There’s a historical marker noting the old hanging tree just down Main Street from the county courthouse.

The county’s spirit is more than physically rooted here. The rough-and-tumble mentality of the county’s beginning remains. It’s a place where an “old boys’ network” is said to still run things. Where voters still elect a surveyor, a relic from the mad Gold Rush era. Where loyalty and history mean more than professionalism, and political feuds can end up in court.

This is especially evident in county government, where even one of the top officials – Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Norma Santiago – characterized the atmosphere as “a culture of fear and retaliation.”

There is reason to believe that things might start changing soon – or rather, three reasons. Read the Whole Story.