Hollister
– Political candidates faced each other in a rapid-fire debate
last night, every one extolling their accomplishments and offering
their plan for the region’s economic development.
Hollister – Political candidates faced each other in a rapid-fire debate last night, every one extolling their accomplishments and offering their plan for the region’s economic development. Among those in attendance were candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, the State Assembly and the Board of Supervisors.
Holding with its tradition of 20 years, the San Benito County Farm Bureau hosted the debate. Advocates and opponents of Measures O, P, Q, R and S also spoke last night, as did school board candidates.
Most speakers were limited to two-minute statements; the candidates for the House, the Assembly and the Board of Supervisors gave three-minute opening statements, answered two questions for two minutes each and made one-minute closing statements.
Democrat Anna Caballero, who is campaigning to represent Assembly District 28, said the choice before voters is a simple one.
“You can choose someone with experience, someone who can get the job done,” said Caballero, who is currently the mayor of Salinas.
Republican Ignacio Velazquez, who owns The Vault restaurant in Hollister, disputed Caballero’s implication that he lacked experience.
“We’re in trouble, because we have elected officials who have no life experience,” he said. “I have experience, I have real-life experience.”
Each of the questions was created by a Farm Bureau committee. The Assembly candidates were first asked how they would improve county transportation. Caballero said transportation is a huge issue and one of her priorities.
“It may be that the only way we can solve this is getting everybody together in a room to figure out how we’re going to create the infrastructure,” she said. “There’s no question that the infrastructure needs to be changed, and it’s Caltrans’ responsibility, but we’re going to have a say in how that happens.”
Prompted by Caballero’s mention of Caltrans, Velazquez responded, “I know exactly how Caltrans works: It doesn’t.”
He argued that most of the state’s tax money goes to San Francisco and Los Angeles.
When asked how he would ensure that the district receives its fair share of state funds for transportation and water, Velazquez returned to the inequitable distribution of funds. He said he would go to Sacramento and say, “Hey, we’re a community also. We have needs.”
Answering the same question, Caballero pointed out that the district’s representative would only be one of 80 members of the Assembly.
Velazquez concluded by saying the county has an important choice to make.
“Do we want to finally make a change, or do we want to keep things the way they are?” he asked. Velazquez said his opponent’s only solution was to keep taxing people. He added, “We can’t keep buying the same excuses.”
Caballero re-emphasized her political experience in her closing remarks, and returned Velazquez’s barb with one of her own. Referring to the fact that Velazquez’s campaign is largely self-funded, she said, “I don’t think you want someone who’s trying to buy his way into the State Assembly.”
Caballero and Velazquez were followed by Sam Farr, who is currently running for re-election in the U.S. House of Representatives. His opponent, Anthony R. De Maio, did not attend the forum.
“This is the first time I’ve been in a candidates’ forum without an opponent,” Farr said.
He added that he deserves voters’ support because he pays attention to the details of his constituents’ needs.
The Bureau moderators first asked him whether consolidating the government’s regulatory agencies might have caused a faster response to the recent spinach-borne E. coli outbreak. Farr said there is currently too much bureaucracy – a problem he wants to address – and that the spinach recall had been indiscriminate, hurting farmers and businesses.
“When you have a car recall, you don’t recall every car.” he said.
Farr was then asked why Congress has yet to pass “a reasonable guest worker program without amnesty.” He said he supported the immigration bill passed by the Senate, but criticized the House’s version for making immigrants, employers and charitable organizations into felons.
“I support people who have been here, working hard and raising families,” he said.
In his conclusion, Farr referred again to De Maio’s absence.
“I’m tempted to quote an old adage: ‘The world belongs to those who show up,'” Farr said.
Incumbent Reb Monaco and Tracie Cone are competing for the District 4 seat on the Board of Supervisors. Cone’s opening remarks focused on the different issues she supported while publishing the Pinnacle newspaper, including her warnings that the sewage system would not be able to handle new developments. The validity of these warnings was demonstrated when 15 million gallons of treated wastewater spilled into the San Benito River in 2002.
At the end of Cone’s opening statement, one of the moderators was apparently so impressed by the breakneck speed of her delivery that he exclaimed, “Whoo!”
Monaco, on the other hand, emphasized his achievements his office and his long residency in San Benito County.
“My commitment and genuine love for San Benito County is demonstrated by my actions, but we can always do better,” Monaco said. “Our county is at a crossroads – do we seize the opportunity to grow, or do we want to stagnate and face economic disaster?”
The supervisorial candidates were asked about the pros and cons of master-planned communities, such as the proposed Rancho San Benito and Sun City Hollister projects. Cone said she was hard-pressed to find any cons.
“We do need to be better about setting policy about where we want our growth and what we want our growth to be like,” she said. “The only con is that they tend to be in areas that we would consider to be leapfrog development.”
Cone added that she’d want to work with developers to make sure their projects were built in the right location. She said she wants to avoid making these decisions “black-or-white issues, yes-or-note votes. … We can’t let developers set policy just because they got a good land deal.”
Monaco focused on the county’s planning needs, saying he continues to push for an updated general plan and a one-stop planning center to expedite the process.
“I believe in the planning process and I believe that if executed effectively, it will allow projects to be judged on their merits,” he said. Monaco added, “Any single development offers pros and cons.”
The candidates were next asked how they would improve the county’s rural roads. Monaco said he’s already gotten the ball rolling by hiring Public Works Director Jerry Lo.
“Jerry Lo is doing a great job and he has a plan.” Monaco said.
Cone, however, said, the problem with the roads is larger than any public works director could address, because the county doesn’t have enough money. She proposed creating economic enterprise zones that will allow the county to build more gas stations along the highways.
“We can turn that traffic burden into an economic windfall,” she said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566, ext. 330 or [email protected].
