San Benito County supervisors Tuesday elected Margie Barrios as
chairwoman of the board and appointed three new planning
commissioners.
San Benito County supervisors Tuesday elected Margie Barrios as chairwoman of the board and appointed three new planning commissioners.
The officials unanimously elected the District 1 supervisor as chairwoman for the year – meaning she will preside over board meetings – and also unanimously ratified the new commissioners.
Barrios in accepting the nomination listed off five areas of focus and noted how she wanted to “restore San Benito County to the thriving county that it once was and it can still be”.
The other changes to the planning commission are on the heels of two new supervisors – Robert Rivas in District 3 and Jerry Muenzer in District 4 – being sworn in last week. A third position is open because former Commissioner Robert Scattini stepped down out of concerns for potential conflicts of interest – he recently took the oath for a seat on the Hollister City Council representing the west side.
In that District 5, Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz appointed longtime local businessman Ignacio Velazquez, the owner of The Vault and American Electrical Services in downtown Hollister, and who previously has run for State Assembly.
In District 3, Rivas appointed retired Hollister police Capt. Richard Vasquez.
In District 4, Muenzer appointed real estate professional Ray Pierce to the commission. Pierce has served as a planning commissioner for the City of Hollister.
The following is part of Barrios’ speech following her appointment as chairwoman:
“It’s a great place to live. It’s a great place to raise your family, to work, to play, and to retire. I know this board supports this sense of that hope for a brighter future for everybody. We are certainly the leaders that set policy. We balance budgets. We are also leaders that make decisions that improve the quality of life for the people in this county, the people that live here.
Now our decisions may not seem right to some – they’re always made with much thought and much compassionate consideration for those that are affected by them. So my plan, with help and support of this board, is to continue the commitment to restore San Benito County to the thriving county that it once was and it can still be. It will take the continued efforts of our staff because I know our staff has work diligently and really hard to make things happen and to continue to do so.
Of course, we will need the support of our community, our businesses. We will need to have close ties with Sacramento so that we can get back on our feet, and I believe that we will.
The five major areas of concern for me are … in hoping that the rest of the board feels very strongly as well to meet the general plan timeline because those timelines will save this county money and it will help us to set the future; the smooth transition of the offices of planning and building, public works and sheriff to the new location, with the continued commitment to streamlining services and modifying outdated ordinances and policy; to build a partnership with the state of California to improve our parks and recreation for our ever growing youth and senior population; to support our economic development corporation and to continue the efforts of attracting and recruiting green industry while retaining our number one industry, agriculture; and last but certainly the most critical, is to find creative and innovative ways of balancing our budget.
We all must be willing to continue, and I say continue because I know that everybody has worked really hard to balance the budget for the last two to three years, so we need to continue to roll up our sleeves. We need to continue to work hard and, above all, we need to compromise because there will be compromise when those decisions are made. So in closing, I feel that this board will work together with all of you and the community to keep our county solvent and restore the dream, the dream that I have, the dream that our family saw, come true not just for ourselves but for generations to come. I thank you, very, very much.”
