Faced with a punishingly expensive housing market in the most income iniquitous county in the State of California, the modest Mariners of Richardson Bay have taken an extraordinary and courageous measure. They have housed themselves in their boats, an act that requires considerable self-discipline and physical fortitude.

So why is Harbormaster Havel continuing a program of unreasonable searches and seizures against the vulnerable Mariners, a population which includes US military veterans, women, and seniors?

Havel's harassment is particularly egregious given the current COVID-19 pandemic, during which time even those who rent apartments on land are facing mass eviction.

Harbormaster Havel has falsely asserted that the Mariners pose an environmental hazard. But the most serious environmental hazard in Richardson Bay continues to be the routine mass dumping by sewage systems belonging to the municipalities of Sausalito, Mill Valley, and Tiburon. And yet Harbormaster Havel has taken no action against these cities, which fund his association.

Clearly there is a double standard of accountability. Havel's harassment of the Mariners constitutes cruel and unusual punishment of the poor, with predictably deleterious effects on their mental and physical health.

Fortunately, there is a better way forward for all parties: instead of harassing the Mariners, Harbormaster Havel could advocate for genuine services to support the housing that the Mariners have adopted. This could include moorings, subsidized pumpout services, and a Mariner-specific docking station in Sausalito with showers and washing machines.

Above all, Harbormaster Havel must not be permitted to deny the Mariner population basic rights as set forth in the US Constitution.