by Toni Fisher
We recently learned that George Mellen, Central Committee Controller, will soon be stepping down as he and his wife, Ladon, relocate to Eureka to be near their daughter and her soon-to-be husband. Like many of us, this is another stop on the road of life that George has travelled.
To fully appreciate the friend we have known, we asked George to share some personal details. He generously responded, beginning with his early years in Ohio, obtaining a Bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a graduate degree at Ohio State, majoring in Political Science and Economics. Upon graduating, he began down his road of life by moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, working for several years at the University of Michigan where he picked up some information technology skills. Responding to a variety of factors, George moved further down his life’s road to the west coast where he happily landed in Silicon Valley, working for Hewlett Packard for the next 31 years. Midway through his career, George and Ladon, who he met on a blind date, realized that he could transfer to Hewlett Packard in Roseville and live in a better place to raise children,
George’s political work began slowly as he worked on a limited basis for the Obama campaign in 2008 and again in 2012. He reports that his interest and motivation to be involved in politics changed dramatically with the election of Donald Trump which he says filled him with the same surprise, shock, and disgust as most sentient Americans. He later worked for the Regina Bateson campaign, followed by work for Jessica Morse.
George’s enthusiasm for local politics took off in 2018 when he was encouraged to run for an ADEM District 6 delegate position by those he describes as the great people on that slate. His election to ADEM encouraged him later to join several other slate members to run in 2020 for positions on the Central Committee and was elected to represent Placer County District 4. Believing his work at HP provided experience in managing budgets, he felt comfortable running to serve as Controller. He has performed that work with great skill for the past eighteen months even while serving as treasurer for the LaMills Garrett City Council campaign.
As George looks forward to moving to Humboldt County and living in a predominantly Democratic area, he expressed how honored he was and how much he enjoyed getting to know and working with great Placer County Democrats and helping the Central Committee establish solid financial practices and a long range budget to support its work to turn Placer blue. He believes this is an achievable goal as they get more Democrats elected to local offices. He plans to support the Democrats in Humboldt County to further Democratic causes there.
George wrapped up his personal comments by sharing their plans for what might be their last stop on life’s road in Eureka. He and Ladon will be supporting their daughter and her husband as they work addressing climate change by using their degrees in marine biology to open an aquaculture business producing seaweed. Although they will be farther away from their son in Gilroy, they will stay in touch as he, ironically, works in Silicon Valley.
Thank you, George, for your friendship and dedication, adding to the camaraderie and moving the cause of Democrats forward in Placer County. You will be missed!
