Keith Snow may be a relative newcomer to Hollister, but he has the desire to be a leader “for the people.”
Snow, 47, is a Minnesota native who has spent much of his life in California. He spent much of his career in construction – as an engineering foreman and owner of his own company for a while, before an accident cut his career short in 1996. That accident – a piece of equipment fell on him and crushed his aorta – left him with a speech impediment and in a wheelchair. But he said that won’t stop him from being a dedicated mayor.
Before Hollister, Snow lived in Los Banos for about a decade, and ran unsuccessfully for council and mayor there.
As for the two major problems facing Hollister – an annual budget deficit and stagnant economy – Snow said he will aim to add local jobs to the workforce. He said he would follow up on emails from outside companies and he would conduct “a lot of conference calls” to recruit businesses.
He went on regarding economic development: “If I do get elected, I want education for the kids. I don’t want to close the library.
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors recently broached the topic of possibly closing the library – due to its own $5 million-plus deficit – while the City of Hollister does not have any authority with the facility.
Snow referenced Hollister’s recent announcement regarding a $2.5 million federal grant that will improve the drainage conditions at the Hollister Municipal Airport and help pave the way for expanded economic development. Snow said he supports development at the airport.
“I want to broaden the airport,” he said, noting that he wants to cater it to larger airplanes and use land surrounding the current runways.
As for addressing the budget, Snow said he wants to focus on improving communication among with officials and with the public. Proposals for consolidating departments or consolidating services with county departments have been broached by city and county officials in recent years. Prospects for city-county mergers for fire and police services dies out in recent years, despite projected savings.
“I want them to work together and make a plan out,” said Snow, who mentioned using volunteers as one idea to save money.
Snow said he wants to generate more revenue for the city. He contended one way is to increase the number of police checkpoints, which are normally funded by outside grants.
“To create revenue for no license, drunk drivers, so our streets are safer, but create revenue,” he said.
Snow said he has ideas to deal with revenue shortages. Some officials, as one idea, have talked about creating a special tax district for parks and the library. Snow said he wants to advertise the parks and attract more tourists, while charging a low fee to cover costs.
Candidates in the race have talked a lot about the west side in particular, as an area to improve conditions and generate more revenue for government coffers. Snow said the city should push for commercial development on certain west-side lots. Another area of needed improvement, he said, is with road conditions. He wants to use some money and pave local roads.
“That’s my specialty,” he said. “I do construction.”
