On Monday, 04/17.2923 at 10:25pm, city council woman Karlee Meyer passed away.  Karlee was a very visible city council member; she had a big mouth and lots of guts! She cared deeply for the city she served and she wasn’t shy about admitting it.   She was loved by many, unloved by some and stood her ground.  She wasn’t easily intimidated. 

Karlee Meyer was City Council Member for District 1.  According to her website, found at Karlee Meyer, Mayor of Hemet and City Council, District 1 – Home,  “she is a 5th generation valley resident devoted to standing with you to make Hemet a better place.   As a resident for over 40 years, Karlee brought a unique perspective, bountiful energy and careful leadership to Hemet City Council (I am replacing some of the wording with past tense).  Karlee was born, raised and educated mostly in Hemet.   She attended Baptist Christian School, played sports and participated in student government.  She attended college in Pensacola, Florida and San Diego, California, moving back to Hemet, where she married her husband, Roger. They have 4 children, Grant, Gabby, Gavin & Garin. .

According to Karlee’s web site, there core issues she stood for.

· To deliver solutions to vagrancy and panhandling bringing safety to all

· To provide opportunity for new businesses and increase jobs in our valley

· To ensure our police and fire departments are equipped and staffed to respond to the needs of our citizens

· To encourage concerned citizens to lay aside their differences and develop collective strategies 

· To evaluate our processes and use of funds in order to meet city needs in a more efficient manner

· To serve beyond the walls of city hall, meeting our citizens in their neighborhoods on their time

Did she accomplish these goals?  Regarding vagrancy and panhandling, she was front and center in attempting to solve the problem of delivering solutions to mentally ill homeless.  Homelessness is a problem (not just in Hemet) and vagrancy and panhandling are part and parcel of that.  One of the things Karlee attempted to do was to encourage the County of Riverside University Health System to bring one of their multiple locations to Hemet.  The city council is currently embroiled in a battle with the county to stall the building of pods, acting as temporary homes for the mentally ill homeless.  The council recently sent a letter rescinding their previous support of that project.  Karlee Meyer and councilman Malcolm Lilienthal did not want to rescind that letter of support.  None of the council members were against such a program in Hemet but they were opposed to the location of the project.   This project is proposed as a one-stop project addressing many of the needs of the mentally ill homeless. We ALL agree on the need for this center, but there are ongoing debates about the proposed location.

As for jobs in the valley, new businesses are in fact arriving in Hemet regularly.  Happily, not all the incoming businesses are liquor stores or gas stations!

As for public safety, Karlee was instrumental in seeing the implementation of Measure U ($.01 tax) making it possible to hire more police and fire personnel. Public safety issues continue to plague Hemet and many other cities.

Karlee went out of her way to work with council members she didn’t agree with.  She was a model for laying aside differences to “develop collective strategies”

She absolutely served beyond the walls of city hall.  For the writer of this blog, I was one of many she helped. 

Was Karlee perfect?  Nope she sure wasn’t.  But she was good!  I remember her first year on city council and it was a steep learning curve for she.  She didn’t get a whole lot of help either.  Being a city council person is definitely not for taint of heart. 

According to a GoFundMe page set up by close friend Lisa Diehl (Fundraiser for Karlee Meyer by Lisa Diehl : Fight like Karlee against Cancer (gofundme.com)  “I was a fan before I was her friend. Now I am both. If you’ve ever met Karlee Meyer, this should be a familiar sentiment.  Seven years ago, I heard of a woman in my community that chased off an intruder with a stick, took his car keys and held him until the police arrived. I had to meet her, she was my hero and meeting her was not a disappointment. She is a real life, no nonsense, superhero and my best friend As many of you know, Karlee is now facing a battle with cancer. In true Karlee fashion, while most of us were processing the news of the diagnosis, she had posted publicly on Facebook and was ten steps ahead of all of us, consulting experts and trying on wigs. She is leading by example, even in her fight against cancer.

My bet is on Karlee and against cancer. I know that she will be the warrior that we all know, love and respect. Her strength, faith and support system including her family, friends and this community will get her through this. She is going to need our help and our strength, #fightlikekarlee. The fire fighters wrote, “Karlee’s strength is felt throughout our community because she never backs down until she finishes what she starts. ” https://www.facebook.com/hemetfirefighters/posts/5720948797946845

We don’t know all of the plans yet for treatment but we do know they will be costly.

I am asking for your help with medical expenses, to relieve her and her family of some of the financial burden, so that she can focus on fighting this cancer. Karlee is a strong-willed woman of action. She has no trouble rallying help for others, but would never as0k it for herself. Convincing her wasn’t easy but reluctantly she knows she needs support for the battle that is to come. We must follow these legal conditions: Since Karlee is an elected official and insists that everything is done according to guidelines, there are some rules for giving. The maximum gift amount is $520 in a calendar year, anything over $520 will be refunded. Please do not donate if you intend on having city council vote on any matter in the next 12 months. Since I am the organizer, I will see any anonymous gifts and all gifts over $50 will be documented according to FPPC requirements. We can fight like Karlee, for Karlee, for everything she has done for us personally and everything she has done for this community.  

According to senior report of the San Jacinto Hemet Chronicle, Rusty Strait, ““Karlee always played fairly as a Hemet city council member”. “She was a very good listener and weighed the facts before making decisions.” Rusty Strait, who is a senior reporter for the Hemet and San Jacinto Chronicle stated. “During her time as the District 1 Council Member, she worked to find solutions without compromising her beliefs and was steadfast in fighting to improve the lives of all Hemet residents.” 

Sadly, Karlee lost the battle with cancer and there is a new GoFundMePage established to help with some of the medical bills.  Fundraiser for Orville Dennis by Stephanie Spence : Fight like Karlee (gofundme.com)  Many have contributed to this page and no doubt, many more will contribute.  Karlee was a devout bible believing Christian however, there is an overwhelming number of people from all backgrounds that are devastated by the lost of this lady.  She was a force to be reckoned with and much loved and respected by citizens of Hemet.