A tribute to SRA supporters
©2010-2011 Save Rural Angwin
"In all my years on the Napa County Planning Commission, I found that I was most impressed by the way in which Save Rural Angwin approached the issues facing them more than any other individual or collective before or since. You were facing some dire consequences if your voices went unheard and there were times circumstances were indeed bordering on hopeless. However, you, each and every one, maintained a calm and thoughtful posture and tone throughout. You did this when it seemed that those elected to represent and protect you and your vital interests were unwilling to speak for you or even truly hear what you had to say. When the pro-development camp painted you as nimbys without vision, you stood and spoke from a place of reason and allegiance to values you held most dear. Each of you may have come to the table spurred by your concern for your small parcel of peace and harmony but you quickly gained understanding of the wider scope of what might occur if the eco-village actually came to be."
"You embraced the history and essence of what makes the County of Napa special and worth preserving. This walk you embarked upon became a sojourn of the future. As much as you wished to protect your interests and your values, you knew that this was far more of a conversation about tomorrow than it was about today. The true interests were far more seated in the laps of our children and grandchildren than our own. Not once did any of you resort to stridency, anger, attack, or actions which would call your ethics into question. There were no moral compromises, only moral and ethical voices. I believe that the voices of reason from [SRA supporters] carried the day. You did your homework, you did not waver, and you brought understanding to a process which threw up obstacles at every level and every turn."
Jim King
"You embraced the history and essence of what makes the County of Napa special and worth preserving. This walk you embarked upon became a sojourn of the future. As much as you wished to protect your interests and your values, you knew that this was far more of a conversation about tomorrow than it was about today. The true interests were far more seated in the laps of our children and grandchildren than our own. Not once did any of you resort to stridency, anger, attack, or actions which would call your ethics into question. There were no moral compromises, only moral and ethical voices. I believe that the voices of reason from [SRA supporters] carried the day. You did your homework, you did not waver, and you brought understanding to a process which threw up obstacles at every level and every turn."
Jim King
Napa County Planning Commissioner, 1997-2009