I recently heard Boone Bridges, candidate for District 5 supervisor, interviewed on a radio show. I was quite shocked when he stated that the current federal and state government spending on high-speed broadband is a “waste of money.”

Surprisingly, as a businessperson, he does not seem to understand the difference between spending and investing. He suggested the private sector should be responsible for providing the service.

Well, the private sector has been providing the internet for over 20 years and has yet to meet the needs of rural areas.

Mr. Bridges offered a solution — use Starlink, it works great, he has it at home.

He also suggests we use the money the county has been awarded for broadband to fix our roads.

Let me fill Mr. Bridges in on a few facts.

1. More than 30 million Americans live in areas where there is no internet access with minimally acceptable speed. This is a particular problem in rural communities. The U.S. government is expanding broadband access with a nearly $50 billion investment in infrastructure, planning, digital inclusion, and workforce development and Lake County is on track to receive approximately $82 million of those funds which will mean many high-paying jobs for our residents, a big boost to our economy and reliable, affordable high-speed internet access.

2. There are many issues with Starlink such as the need for unobstructed views in our densely treed county, its installation expense (up to $1,000 in equipment and installation costs and a monthly charge of $120) putting it out of reach for most Lake County residents. But my major concern is that Starlink is another large corporation that we are putting in charge of our essential services. And one that has lost $885 million in public funds because its services were not affordable to working class people. Aren’t we all already sick and tired of dealing with corporations like PG&E and ATT? These corporations’ whole motivation is to make a profit, which makes them a very poor partner for rural areas such as ours.

3. The purpose of the “Broadband for All” program is to bring the entire nation into the 21st century in communications. Like it or not, each day the internet gets more integrated into our personal and business lives. How many of you are taking advantage of telehealth visits or working remotely, or even just a good family movie night?

4. Mr. Bridges does not have the most basic concept of how grant funding works. You cannot accept a grant for a specific purpose and then just spend it elsewhere. Trade broadband funding for fixing local roads? Politicians go to jail for less.

Many of the solutions Bridges puts forward are based on his personal experience, or by talking to a small group of his acquaintances, who have very similar backgrounds to his own. I am not convinced that he has the desire to expand his knowledge – especially now that his line in the sand of his dedication to the job of supervisor has been upped to “I’ll give it 40 hours, that’s full time.” Lake County deserves so much better.

Supervisor Pyska is just that. She has shown herself to be the leader we deserve. She works tirelessly to ensure she is representing all in this diverse community. She serves on local, state, and federal committees that focus on issues that are priorities for Lake County. She is bringing millions of our tax dollars back home to invest in areas such as broadband which will equip Lake County to bring prosperity to all and equip us to compete in the 21st century. And she is just getting started.

Re-elect Supervisor Jessica Pyska.

John Carlisi lives in Cobb, California. He is the chair and CEO of the Neighborhood Development Collaborative, a national nonprofit that owns and operates affordable housing for working class families and engages in local economic development. In Lake County, he serves on the board of Lake County Broadband Solutions, LLC a local wireless internet service provider, or WISP, with over 400 subscribers, both households and businesses.