EUREKA -- North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said he and allies in Congress are working to overcome partisan politics surrounding aid for fishermen hit by the West Coast salmon fishery disaster.

”Sen. (Dianne) Feinstein and I are out trying to get people to sign a letter that we've drafted to go the different appropriators, the appropriations committees, to let them know the severity of the problem and the lives that are impacted by this,” said Thompson. “That, combined with the commerce secretary's declaration, sets the table to allow us to get the money that we need.”

The declaration he mentioned was the recent statement by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez calling the salmon fishery on the West Coast a commercial fishery failure.

”I don't want to sound the alarm bells too soon ... but it's been a very partisan issue to date,” Thompson said.

He's asked the Eureka City Council to send a letter to the governor to ask the Republicans within the state's congressional delegation to sign on to letters headed out to those who sign the checks.

”This is affecting the lives of everyone up and down the coast of California,” said Thompson. “We're dogging this as tenaciously as we possibly can. It's in our interest to get this done in the couple of weeks remaining in congressional session.”